Water Changes: Weekly, When needed, or Not at all?

[KenRexford]

125g mixed, but no acropora yet. No water changes. I run dieses for calcium, alkalinity, magnesium, Red Sea abcd, and Red Sea ab+ (Yes, 8 pumps). I run gfo,Carbon, co2 scrubber, and hand dose 10ml/week vibrant. Sump with refugium, protein skimmer. Seems great, and icp tests are always good; mild tweaks only on weird stuff like Vanadium. Lots of pulsing Xenia on a rock up high seems to help — garbage eaters. Also, I am convinced that keeping my stupid old penguin hob filter helps. The dang thing just sucks up crud better than my socks down in the sump. I can’t get myself to part with it after 17 years.

 

[ShepherdReefer]

When we started with 10% weekly, the tank started looking much better...not saying it was not before.

 

[KyOsIBa515]

This is always a debate. I feel like this choice is based upon your life. I have seen people find success with zero to minimal changes. However, me personally have found changing 10% weekly is beneficial for my choices. Some may find themselves so busy in their life they find a way to pull it off where water changed aren’t 100% necessary to their system.

Though I have never planned it where there is no need to change water I do think the planning involved would almost be more work then the dreaded water changes. You would have to be extremely disciplined in feeding and dosing. I have certainly neglected my tank throughout the years and it never ended well and because of the n forward thinking with feeding and dosing some thing unfortunately met their demise.

I use to hate water changes but now that I am a little older I genuinely look forward to changing the water and giving the glass a good scrub down. My tank always looks nice due it it.

If the money isn’t an issue buying salt and you don’t mind changing water there isn’t too many disadvantages to doing so. Only gain IMO.

 

[tigre44]

Water changes are essentially for nutrient export and replenishing trace elements. The general rule in the hobby is weekly water changes. This has come up for debate over the last several years as more and more reefers adopt systems/methods of reefing that reduce or remove the need for weekly water changes and some even argue that water changes are detrimental since they cause a "shock" to the ecosystem. Still, more of us are simply infrequent/inconsistent in our water change schedules due to neglect/laziness, and perhaps some people are infrequent water changes by choice--choosing only to do them when they see a need. So where do you land on water changes, and what's your reasoning?

I do regular weekly changes unless my nitrates drop to zero then I’ll not change for a week

 

[ReeferMadness01]

I’m just starting out with a 75 gallon. Trying to work my way to once a week since I don’t want to do the constant testing and dosing of nutrients.

 

[X-37B]

This is always a debate. I feel like this choice is based upon your life. I have seen people find success with zero to minimal changes. However, me personally have found changing 10% weekly is beneficial for my choices. Some may find themselves so busy in their life they find a way to pull it off where water changed aren’t 100% necessary to their system.

Though I have never planned it where there is no need to change water I do think the planning involved would almost be more work then the dreaded water changes. You would have to be extremely disciplined in feeding and dosing. I have certainly neglected my tank throughout the years and it never ended well and because of the n forward thinking with feeding and dosing some thing unfortunately met their demise.

I use to hate water changes but now that I am a little older I genuinely look forward to changing the water and giving the glass a good scrub down. My tank always looks nice due it it.

If the money isn’t an issue buying salt and you don’t mind changing water there isn’t too many disadvantages to doing so. Only gain IMO.

Well said! Discipline is where its at.
Many issues people have with their tank is from neglect.
If you are disciplined enough to do 10% water changes every week you will have sucess.
Same with a no scheduled WC system.
You must be intune with your tank.

 

[X-37B]

I’m just starting out with a 75 gallon. Trying to work my way to once a week since I don’t want to do the constant testing and dosing of nutrients.

You need a plan! Get one and stay with it and success will follow.
Testing is the name of the game.
Plan your tests and stick to a schedule for success.
Many people make this hobby harder than it needs to be.

 

[blstravler]

I do AWC every day .75 gal a day. That seems to keep things right where I want them. If Nutrients sneak up I’ll increase to 1 gal a day. AWC tank is 50gal so it will last a while which is also nice.

 

[X-37B]

I do AWC every day .75 gal a day. That seems to keep things right where I want them. If Nutrients sneak up I’ll increase to 1 gal a day. AWC tank is 50gal so it will last a while which is also nice.

Very nice. On my upgrade of at least 3x my current 120 I plan on 1% a day automated WC.

 

[alexbg4]

My aquarium is 5 years old, I used to do Water change every month for the first year and then every six months and then every year, 14 months at the moment and No water changes
Check my YouTube channel

 

[ChrisKSB]

32 Gallon BioCube - Been battling GHA for quite awhile and doing ~30% water change (10 gallons) every week. Now starting to do only 5 gallons every week. Still trying to figure this all out... Water change = scrubbing rocks, vacuuming etc and takes 2 hours.

 

[AKreefgirl]

Having a system that works for you is the best answer. I've just gone back to weekly water changes after my tank crashed. I've done weekly, biweekly and as needed based on testing and coral appearance. At this point I'm choosing to make it a weekly routine that replenishes nutrients since my system is very basic and not automated. In the past month I finally overcame a huge dino bloom and have my crystal clear tank back, so regular/daily maintenance is working. Now to rebuild the reef I lost . . .

 

[calvinstevens04]

I do about 20% weekly. I know some may think this is excessive but it helps with trace elements and I can feed very heavy.

What size tank do you have? I have a similar methodology for my waterbox cube 10. Inhabitants are a pair of phantom clowns, Madagascar spotted croucher goby, and a bangai cardinal.

 

[Mike1970]

weekly 10%

 

[ReeferMadness01]

You need a plan! Get one and stay with it and success will follow.
Testing is the name of the game.
Plan your tests and stick to a schedule for success.
Many people make this hobby harder than it needs to be.

Well my work schedule is crazy sometimes... where I’m out of town for days or weeks... weekends... night shifts. I just never know. I try to buy the best I can afford so that I shouldn’t have to mess with it nearly as much. So far it’s been going good.

 

[JustJoan]

I said other because currently I am doing 20% every 10 to 12 days. I tried to move to 20% every 2 weeks but then began to have problems with algae.

 

[kerbfish]

I typically do 20% every two weeks religiously. I increase frequency as needed. My tank is fallow now so I am knocking down nitrates with weekly changes. I feel I need to do pretty regularly just because I don’t like algae on the sand.

would love to hear how people think they keep algae down. Water changes help for sure but am wondering what most people do. I know UV would help and I hear some people have good success with a refugium.....

 

[mauisue]

Have 90 gal tank change 40 gallons every 4 weeks

 

[X-37B]

I typically do 20% every two weeks religiously. I increase frequency as needed. My tank is fallow now so I am knocking down nitrates with weekly changes. I feel I need to do pretty regularly just because I don’t like algae on the sand.

would love to hear how people think they keep algae down. Water changes help for sure but am wondering what most people do. I know UV would help and I hear some people have good success with a refugium.....

I have sand in my frag system with no algae.
I have a diamond goby and around 10 nassarius snails that keep the sand clean.
Bare bottom in my 120 with no algae.

Since your tank is fallow I would run a fluconazole treatment.
I ran one on my frag and 120 and have been algae free ever since.
It had no effect on my corals.
Just watch alk as consumption lowers and may stay reduced for a few weeks after completing the treatment.

 

[kerbfish]

I have sand in my frag system with no algae.
I have a diamond goby and around 10 nassarius snails that keep the sand clean.
Bare bottom in my 120 with no algae.

Since your tank is fallow I would run a fluconazole treatment.
I ran one on my frag and 120 and have been algae free ever since.
It had no effect on my corals.
Just watch alk as consumption lowers and may stay reduced for a few weeks after completing the treatment.

Interesting.....well I have cut my light photo period down and with water changes has helped.....then again no fish right now...so no new nutrient input.

looks like this aims at green hair algae and Bryopsis which I don’t have....algae regimes change...this is browns, so Probly just diatoms perhaps....I do have cyano crop up from time to time....but that’s about it and I keep it at bay...but just a bad look.

I def need to look into getting livestock to clean the sand as you mentioned because I never had sand sifter invertebrates or fish