The water change poll on the homepage surprises me
- Thread starter Len
- Start date
martin1042":1h7adl2f said:
Evaporation does not have the same effect that a water change has.
A water Change removes water with nutrient buildup/wastes.
When water evaporates the wastes are left behind in the water. You top up to keep the salinity at normal levels. Adding top up water does not make the tank any cleaner.
fwiw, i've done up to 80-90% wc's at times-you should see how 'pumped' corals will get-it's akin to completely changing to fresh air in a smoke filled room - everyone takes in a deep breath and goes 'ahhh' 
(the only caveat is that temp, sg, pH etc etc should be as exact a match as is possible, natch)
(the only caveat is that temp, sg, pH etc etc should be as exact a match as is possible, natch)
I went to Disney World last fall and visited their Living Seas exhibit in Epcot Center. I remember one of the things they boasted was that their filtration methods were so good that over 90% of their water was original from 10 years ago when they set it up.
I know the scale is very different, but how do they accomplish that? Do any of their methods translate to our systems?
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I know the scale is very different, but how do they accomplish that? Do any of their methods translate to our systems?
_________________
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One thing I've noticed in this thread is that it seems no one is measuring what they hope to change w/ wc's. You can say wc's are necessary, but how much should you change? Are you even changing enough?
Are you trying to to regain a chemical balance? How much water do you need to change?
Are you trying to reduce the amount of chemicals your corals are bombarding each other with? How much water do you need to change?
Replace trace elements? Reduce salinity? Get rid of that yellow tinge in the water? How much will you need to change?
Unless you have measured what you're trying to fix, you're changing water in the the dark, although less in the dark than the people who don't do water changes out of complete ignorance.
Also some of the worst reef tanks I've seen have been run by public aquaria w/ access to unlimited filtered natural sea water, so where does that leave us?
If someone is monitoring their salinity, measuring their calcium carbonate consumption, filtering with charcoal, replacing trace elements (ASW may not be the best way to do this, do you really know the chemical make-up of your ASW?), they may not need to do a water change. Maybe.
I mostly grow Goniastrea, Platygyra, Montipora, Stylophora, Pocillopora, Acropora, Zoanthus and Protopolythoa w/ a few Ricrodia.
I removed the worst chemical warmongers in my tank: charcoal and wc's couldn't keep up. I change about 16% of my water per week, don't use a skimmer, and use a 50%-50% mix of Oceanic and Reef Crystals, because my corals don't particularly like either one alone. I dose w/ 2-part calcium chloride/sodium carbonate solutions, Salifert Trace Elements, potassium iodide and iron. I feed my fish. I started dosing trace elements to get more algae to grow for my blenny and snails, but the result was better growth in my corals and less algae growth.
I measure what I can, and use careful trial and error to figure out the rest. As far as I know this method will only work in my tank. It may not work forever. Please do not follow my example because after 6 years of keeping a reef tank, I know enough to take all my personal experience, as well as everything I read with a bag of salt mix.
Cheers,
John
Are you trying to to regain a chemical balance? How much water do you need to change?
Are you trying to reduce the amount of chemicals your corals are bombarding each other with? How much water do you need to change?
Replace trace elements? Reduce salinity? Get rid of that yellow tinge in the water? How much will you need to change?
Unless you have measured what you're trying to fix, you're changing water in the the dark, although less in the dark than the people who don't do water changes out of complete ignorance.
Also some of the worst reef tanks I've seen have been run by public aquaria w/ access to unlimited filtered natural sea water, so where does that leave us?
If someone is monitoring their salinity, measuring their calcium carbonate consumption, filtering with charcoal, replacing trace elements (ASW may not be the best way to do this, do you really know the chemical make-up of your ASW?), they may not need to do a water change. Maybe.
I mostly grow Goniastrea, Platygyra, Montipora, Stylophora, Pocillopora, Acropora, Zoanthus and Protopolythoa w/ a few Ricrodia.
I removed the worst chemical warmongers in my tank: charcoal and wc's couldn't keep up. I change about 16% of my water per week, don't use a skimmer, and use a 50%-50% mix of Oceanic and Reef Crystals, because my corals don't particularly like either one alone. I dose w/ 2-part calcium chloride/sodium carbonate solutions, Salifert Trace Elements, potassium iodide and iron. I feed my fish. I started dosing trace elements to get more algae to grow for my blenny and snails, but the result was better growth in my corals and less algae growth.
I measure what I can, and use careful trial and error to figure out the rest. As far as I know this method will only work in my tank. It may not work forever. Please do not follow my example because after 6 years of keeping a reef tank, I know enough to take all my personal experience, as well as everything I read with a bag of salt mix.
Cheers,
John
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