How often do you do water changes? Anyone do none?
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Cabinetman
Well-Known Member
I’m 3.5 months in on my 560 gallon with 700 gallon system total and I’ve yet to change one drop. Sump has about 50 lbs of miricle mud. I use kalk in top off to maintain alk. Also have a huge cheato grow area. Once the tank starts drawing more I’ll be setting up my calcium reactor
R.Weller
Active Member
Salt doesn’t go bad & while there is an argument for trace elements, it‘s not strong enough to convince me to replace 60gallons monthly.
For maintenance, I do very much enjoy scraping the screen of our DIY algae scrubber knowing that it is one of the reasons that water changes are not necessary for our system right now.
Tank Talker
New Member
The “water change” question has been around for years. The reason we did water changes was to remove nutrients. With today’s modern equipment and knowledge about bacteria, trace elements, excess nutrients are no longer an issue. I’m just coming up to 5 years with no schedule water changes. I haven’t run a skimmer on my 1100 liter system for the last 9 months. I have 200 kgs of crushed coral under constant water flow and a algae scrubber for nutrient control. The only manically filter is a power filter (see DSR) to remove the liquid phosphate reducer I use.
Nitrates: 2-5 ppm
Phosphate: 0.01ppm
Nitrates: 2-5 ppm
Phosphate: 0.01ppm
OP
OP
joshwaggs
Active Member
Holy crap. That is a massive tank.I’m 3.5 months in on my 560 gallon with 700 gallon system total and I’ve yet to change one drop. Sump has about 50 lbs of miricle mud. I use kalk in top off to maintain alk. Also have a huge cheato grow area. Once the tank starts drawing more I’ll be setting up my calcium reactor
Randy Holmes-Farley
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That isn't why I recommend them. It's to export many things you cannot or do not measure (especially organics, but also including inorganic ions) and potentially drive every inorganic ion in the tank toward the level in the new water used.
IMO, the question is not whether one can have a wonderful aquarium without water changes. That answer is obviously yes.
The question is whether any given tank might be "better" with them or without them (and presumably what is "better" is decided by the aquarist. That is impossible to answer unless someone who is doing one method (such as no water changes) switches to the other to see what happens.
tony'stank
Active Member
I have not done a water change in three years. I use a skimmer, a refugium, Boyd’s chemipure , and Brightwell phosphate remover ( as necessary). I do an ICP test every three months and add trace elements (ATI) as necessary. I used to use a surfer denigrators but took it down because it wasn’t necessary. My tank is a RSR 450 (93 G) mixed reef with Mostly LPS a few easy SPS and lots of fish.
I used to never do water changes. All my coral grew and looked great. Sps grew on the slower side. After doing water changes, my sps started to take off. My tank parameters have always been stable’ through a calcium reactor during the no water changes. Also ran icp tests and trace elements were great. There’s just something about that fresh salt water that makes the coral grow faster in my experience.
Philip Chin
Active Member
What trace elements are needed if you stop water changes after the tank is running more than a year? Thanks
Mike from TN
Owner/ Operator of the worlds most crowded Evo
Call me crazy, call me weird, call it advance OCD. Whichever you prefer.
I have a Fluval Evo 13.5 and I change one gallon every single morning while my coffee is dripping. Takes me just a few minutes.
I have a Fluval Evo 13.5 and I change one gallon every single morning while my coffee is dripping. Takes me just a few minutes.
R.Weller
Active Member
There is a lot of debate on the trace elements topic & several posts in the chemistry forum. For our system, we do not do water changes, & we do not add trace elements. We did for awhile (~6 months), but there was no observable benefit so we stopped & there has not been any observable impact (~18 months). We have a constant drip of klak for CA & AK that matches the evaporation rate.
That said, every system is different & depending on your livestock, there might be a need for iodine. It would be best to research based on your system & goals.
Tank Talker
New Member
IMO Trace Elements are definitely needed even if you don't do water changes.
I've been keeping SPS for over 10 years. At one stage with the help of Acro Al (the clam guru) I was doing 1000 liter water changes every two weeks on a 1600 liter system. The SPS loved the clean water and the growth was good. But the colors were hard to keep right as I had to get the temp, water chemistry prefect before the change. And then there was cost.
About 6 years ago, I started to play with liquid carbon dosing. With LCD, I could keep the nutrients low without the big water changes. I found that the SPS like stability and kept color for a while but the growth slowed. I then thought that they must be lacking trace elements as I was not doing water changes. I used RedSea Colors for about 6 months. But didn't see a big improvement in color, no matter how much I dosed. Around that time, I got onto a liquid phosphate remover that was iron ll based. I found that if I got the phosphate lower that 0.03ppm, the growth of SPS was amazing. Because of the carbon dosing, I had a tight control on the amount of food I put in each day. I could put the liquid phosphate reducer on a dosing pump and tune in to keep the tank at 0.015ppm. I had great growth again.
With the help of a fellow reefer, we researched a lot of papers on trace elements in coral. It has taken a long time of R&D. Over two years and a lot of ICP tests. I have come up with a formula of 17 trace elements that intensifies growth and color of SPS. I also find that the trace elements improves the overall health of the corals. They definitely heal and regrow quickly after cutting. The SPS base more and shoot out from the base which gives you more of a bush, which is nice.
All the reefers that visit my tank, want to try the trace elements. So now they are available in our LFS shops and online.
I just tell reefers to try them and see the results for yourself in your own tank.
If anyone is interested please check out www.professionalcoralsolutions.com
Those that are consumed and you need at least 3 ICP tests (with the same vendor) in order to see that - IMO.
Sincerely Lasse
Mikosreef
Active Member
I am seeing up a new 90 gal with the goal of not doing any water changes by using an algae turf scrubber.
Anyone on here have experience setting up a fresh tank with only a scrubber? Would like to hear.
Water changes make reefing way harder and more expensive than it needs to be.
Anyone on here have experience setting up a fresh tank with only a scrubber? Would like to hear.
Water changes make reefing way harder and more expensive than it needs to be.
blasterman
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I'm not so tired of the argument of water changes vs non water changes. What I'm tired of is the non factual and baloney infused technical nonsense surrounding the topic.
Every time I hear the trace element argument debate I can feel the IQ points getting sucked from my skull.
Salt makers could claim their salt mix contains unicorn droppings as a trace element and people believe them. They then make up even more ridiculous excuses for it.
I stop by the reef store and I see the guy loading multiple 25gal containers of RODI water in his SUV. Gotta export that 25ppm of nitrate somehow.
The fact we have awesome SPS tanks with no WCs should fire up the frontal lobes on a mammal with an opposable thumb to to at least work out what they are doing in their own tank. Nope...need to keep buying those pretty buckets of common minerals and sidewalk de icer.
Every time I hear the trace element argument debate I can feel the IQ points getting sucked from my skull.
Salt makers could claim their salt mix contains unicorn droppings as a trace element and people believe them. They then make up even more ridiculous excuses for it.
I stop by the reef store and I see the guy loading multiple 25gal containers of RODI water in his SUV. Gotta export that 25ppm of nitrate somehow.
The fact we have awesome SPS tanks with no WCs should fire up the frontal lobes on a mammal with an opposable thumb to to at least work out what they are doing in their own tank. Nope...need to keep buying those pretty buckets of common minerals and sidewalk de icer.
