Do I need water changes

[chester]

Just wondering as I replace @ 2 pints of R.O. water daily in my open top 50 gallon ,do I need water changes,I have always done them every 2 weeks but was curious to known if anyone relied on replaced water from
evaporation? or if they increased time intervals between water changes?

 

[Anonymous]

It's would be impossible for someone here to tell you for sure that you can discontinue WC's. If your tank is lightly loaded, has good macro-algea growth, good protien skimming, a functioning DSB with LR, it is possible that you could discontinue them. Mayn people do this. I don't. WC's aren't that much trouble and it is the best way to replace trace elements.

If your tanks is not to heavily loaded, why don't you try scaling back on the WC. If no problems arise, scale back a little more.

HTH

Louey

 

[reefsRcool]

adding top off water is not the same as doing a water change. a water change will remove old water and anything that is in it. when water evaporates it leaves behind any chemicals that may have been disolved in it. adding top off doesn't give you cleaner water, just restores the salinity. also like mentioned by the last poster new salt mix will restore trace elements and IME is the simplist way to be sure you won't have a problem. To save time i have cut down on the frequency of my water testing not my water changing. just my .02

 

[2poor2reef]

IMO water changes are even more important for diluting buildup in the system than in replacing trace elements. I would not go without at least periodic water changes. I see nothing wrong with doing larger changes less frequently as long as you match temp, salinity and ph prior to doing a large change. Actually, you should equalize those with even a small water change.

 

[Ritteri&Bubbles]

I think the waterchange subject will be open for debate for quite a long time to come.

I know folks who do 10-20 percent WC's every month,some who do em bi monthly, tri monthly, every 6 months etc with excellent sucess. I myself only do a water change when my tank tells me its time to do one. THat seems to be once every 3 seasons, and I do a 25 percent change roughly. My tanks have heavy bioloads too. But I would say that for a beginner it would be safe to do one every 2 months to start at roughly 10 percent and go from there.

 

[bstruss]

If it ain't broken don't fix it is another way to look at it. I have a 55 loaded with mostly soft corals and it had been 6 months since I did a 10% water change. Still, the corals were fully open and healthy and I did one just because I thought I ought to. I did a 15% and it really made no difference in the way things looked. So one way of looking at is if everything is happy and healthy then why bother? If this is not the case, go for it!

Bailey--

 

[esmithiii]

In a word: Yes. You should still do water changes. As previously mentioned, adding top off water does not replace the need for water changes. There are people who get away with less frequent water changes, and others who do more frequently. Keep in mind that a monthly 20% water change is more effective at removing waste and replenishing trace elements than a 5% water change 4 times a month.

My tank is less stocked than most (6 small fish and one yellow tang in a 180G + 20 g sump) so I can go longer without water changes. The higher your relative bioload, the more frequent the water changes should be.

Ernie

 

[Merritt]

I found this essay posted on this site illuminating regarding water changes.
http://www.reefs.org/library/article/t_ ... ll_wc.html

 

[SPC]

From an article I just finished reading by Eric Borneman:

In fact, I feel the most beneficial nutrient export mechanism is the "old-fashioned" water change. Not only does this simple procedure remove excess nutrients and toxins, but also provides a more balanced replacement of water constituents to a baseline level.

-I think I'll stick with his advice on this subject.
Steve

 

[Merritt]

We could cite opinions on this subject for ever. Nilsen and Fossa say: "In our aquariums we exchange only about 10 percent of water per year." (p. 264, vol 1, MCRA) At least the article mentioned above seems to provde a scientific argument. Could a chemist weigh in on it?

 

[Anonymous]

Have you noticed the size(s) of Nilsen and Fossa's tank(s)?

Their tanks are hundreds of gallons and have tremendous skimmers as well as other filters like algal scrubbers and refugiums. I don't think I could compare my 55 gallon to one of their 500 gallon tanks.

I do not change water regularly, however I do change water at about 10% every 1-3 months depending on how the livestock look.

 

[SPC]

Posted by Merrit:

We could cite opinions on this subject for ever. Nilsen and Fossa say: "In our aquariums we exchange only about 10 percent of water per year." (p. 264, vol 1, MCRA)

-And in the article you sited by Mr Brightwell he states:

I feel strongly that a properly run reef aquarium - utilizing protein skimming, calcium hydroxide dosing, dosing of potassium iodide and other essential trace elements, and a monthly cleaning requiring about a 10% water change - will thrive.

-Now it seems to me that he is advocating a 10% water change per month, this would be quite different than 10% per year. He also believes in dosing potassium iodide, I would be interested to see his "scientific argument" that this is a good practice. I also would like to know how he arrives at the proper amount to dose and how he tests for it.

At least the article mentioned above seems to provde a scientific argument. Could a chemist weigh in on it?

-Mr Brightwell does not advocate no water changes for our aquarium. His point is that it is better to try and run a more stable system rather than relying on water changes to bring the paremeters back to normal.
Steve

 

[Merritt]

Sounds like Brightwell changing water as part of cleaning the gravel. That's different, and may not be necessary. The reason for water changes often cited on this board is to dilute nutrients. That Brightwell discounts that completely and I think his calculations should be verifiable. These water change discussions don't mention tank size. You could just as well argue that a smaller tank is more likely to be disrupted by water changes than a larger one. I'm not against water changes. I'd just like a good reason for performing them.