Frequency of water changes to lower nitrates

[Velcro]

TLDR; how does 20% every 2 or 3 days sound? I use salt that very closely matches my alk/ca/etc.

Turns out I had a bad test kit and was assuming my nitrates were 3-5ppm the past few months. Well, they are more like 20-25 in my SPS tank. Some stuff has great colors, other stuff is brown. Have some algae issues but nothing major.

I'd like to be in the 5-10ppm range. Is 20% every three days okay? Should take about 4-5 of these changes to get down to 10 per hamzasreef calculator.

 

[CodyRVA]

If your salt matches your current parameters, just do a large water change to knock them down. As far as continual maintenance; this heavily relies on your particular system: how much you feed, bio load, etc. Some folks do continual water changes, some do weekly, bi weekly or not at all.

 

[Velcro]

If your salt matches your current parameters, just do a large water change to knock them down. As far as continual maintenance; this heavily relies on your particular system: how much you feed, bio load, etc. Some folks do continual water changes, some do weekly, bi weekly or not at all.

Honestly 20% is really easy for me and 3x20% vs 1x60% really isn't that much different when you do the math.

 

[Mike N]

Its really dependent on what you're running. If you have a sump/refugium with chaeto, you can cut down on the water changes big time (and save $$).
For example:
In my Evo 13.5 AIO with a chaeto in the back chamber, I do maybe one water change every couple months and the nitrate levels are near-undetectable at all times.
In my 30 gallon tank (no AIO/no sump) I have to do 25-35% water change per week to keep nitrates in check.

 

[Velcro]

I think people are misunderstanding what I'm asking. I'm not looking for an answer on how often to do changes as a routine... I'm just wondering how frequently I can change 20% without worrying about upsetting the system (ie too fast of a drop in nitratres). They certainly didn't get this high overnight so I doubt I want to lower them overnight.

 

[CodyRVA]

I think people are misunderstanding what I'm asking. I'm not looking for an answer on how often to do changes as a routine... I'm just wondering how frequently I can change 20% without worrying about upsetting the system (ie too fast of a drop in nitratres). They certainly didn't get this high overnight so I doubt I want to lower them overnight.

There is still no concrete answer, it heavily depends on your system and the state that its in. Like most things in this hobby, start small, test and respond. Don't change too much off the bat if you're not familiar with your system to that extent. Better to do too little and it have no affect than do too much.

 

[ps2cho]

I think 20% water change every other day should be ok if you want to be conservative