max water change in 1 session
- Thread starter SeeFu
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EmdeReef
2500 Club Member
As long as you don’t make a sudden change in alkalinity, assuming you grow sps, then there’s really no max. In general unless there’s an emergency ~30% would be my number - completely anecdotal. I’ve done more than that.
Just to show an extreme 
100% change plus 33 mins drain before refill. Anyone got 40 post /
(Record I’ve seen online, daily timed 3 hour drains)
12 hours later
A hidden risk in full changes is when people pour back in on top of cruddy rocks or sand that re casts detritus into suspension. That’s more of a detritus export issue vs the water change issue. My reef isn’t even harmed if we swap for a totally new salt brand upon refill/ happened hundreds of times I just use lfs water and whatever they have, don’t care what brand it is.
100% change plus 33 mins drain before refill. Anyone got 40 post /
(Record I’ve seen online, daily timed 3 hour drains)
12 hours later
A hidden risk in full changes is when people pour back in on top of cruddy rocks or sand that re casts detritus into suspension. That’s more of a detritus export issue vs the water change issue. My reef isn’t even harmed if we swap for a totally new salt brand upon refill/ happened hundreds of times I just use lfs water and whatever they have, don’t care what brand it is.
you cannot alter the cycle of your dt no matter what you do to it. as soon as it was hydrated, the cycle began and will complete regardless of actions taken/water used etc.
I use water from my FT for the QT. They are both in the basement fish room so it's real easy that way. Like Brandon429 said, you won't really affect the cycle of the DT by doing what amounts to small water changes on it to keep the QT in spec. (0 Ammonia). It will have the added benefit of ensuring that the parameters are the same when it comes time to let the livestock into their new home.
