I never do water changes

[probe dms]

I have my tank running since march. Only reason i remember is cause i got it for my birthday. So from then til now i think ive done one water change. I add water due to evaporation but thats it. 29 gallon. 2 hang on filters and no skimmer. All fish and coral seems to be doing just fine. My lfs guy told me he doesnt do water changes either and he has a ton of life happening. He 's using a skimmer tough. Well my tank is a success so far. I wonder what the the test kit will reveal!!

 

[crox99]

I wonder what the the test kit will reveal!!

I would like to know but I can tell you that if you keep going this route it will unfold on you.

 

[tosiek]

This march? You won't see anything negative for another month or two depending on how stocked your tank is. Po4 will build along with nitrates and you will see some sort of algae bloom or loss in color in your coral.

Post up pics and parameters =0) im interested.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

The reason some LFS's don't do water changes is because the are constantly selling things from their tanks. With that sale they take water out and send it home with customers. So he might noe realize it but he is doing water changes.

 

[lazibonez]

The reason some LFS's don't do water changes is because the are constantly selling things from their tanks. With that sale they take water out and send it home with customers. So he might noe realize it but he is doing water changes.

Good point!

 

[Eznet2u]

I set up my 65g in November. I did a water change when it completed the cycle. Haven't done one since. Good growth, good color. No algae except Coraline.

Parameters:

Am - 0
NitrIte - 0
NitrAte - 20 - I cut my Chaeto in half for someone. It has spiked, and hasn't come back down yet. It's on it's way down.
Calcium 380 putting Calcium reactor online soon.
Magnesium - 1180 - Forgot to dose.
Phosphates - undetectable.

There is no secrets. Set up the system to handle as much flow as you can throw at it, and skim like crazy.

 

[probe dms]

guess i'm goin rambo with the no skimmer then huh..I dont have any algae except for some coralline thats starting to grow on the back YAY! finally growth.

 

[Killerdrgn]

The reason some LFS's don't do water changes is because the are constantly selling things from their tanks. With that sale they take water out and send it home with customers. So he might not realize it but he is doing water changes.

I think the LFS guy meant from his own personal tank. I've heard of other people keeping successful reefs without regular water changes. Just dose on a regular basis, top off fresh water, have a load of live rock with a lot of denitrating areas, and some do have refugiums also. The systems i've heard that don't really change their water on a regular basis usually are pretty large though.

 

[JLAudio]

guess i'm goin rambo with the no skimmer then huh..I dont have any algae except for some coralline thats starting to grow on the back YAY! finally growth.

Not going rambo, just letting waste build up in your tank and have acclimated some corals, fish to a polluted enviornment. Im the last person to argue from some ethical poit of view but understanding the nitrogen cycle and concept of how nutrients build up and get removed from a an enclose aquarium enviornment. Assuming you do know water changes and have not skimmer, fuge, how do nitrates and phosphates get taken out???
Easy, they dont. Its like taking trees from our enviornment and CO2 would have no way of leaving (green house effect)

I am no expert and try not to judge, if this is working for you than goodluck, just use this method because you think it will work and not just out of a lack of desire to remore 5 gallons of water twice a month or pat $100 once for a skimmer.

Just my opinion

 

[mray]

A sufficient sized refugium with macro algae should be able to handle the nitrates and phosphates. I think there are only two problems: a build up of protein and the depletion of trace elements. I could be wrong.

 

[ming]

One misconception of a refugium taking care of nitrates and phosphates is that you may have more of one then another, and therefore even with the largest refugium, you will still have one or the other. Just like SPS, if you have a lack of calcium but plenty of alk, the SPS won't utilize that alk because of lack of calcium, or vice versa

http://extension.usu.edu/smac/images/uploads/most_limiting_factor_nutrients.jpg

 

[Timbo]

Not a good idea to not change water.

 

[probe dms]

ammonia test were kool but my nitrates were 10. Im doing one tomorrow! i'll just keep it to once a month.

 

[Paul B]

I don't understand this thread at all. One water change since March. It's only July.
I haven't changed water once since March.
I change about 20% of my water about 5 times a year. I know many people change much more water which is of course not harmful, only iMO wasteful.
My tank is overstocked and overfed due to experiments but if the tank is running correctly with the proper bacteria, you should not have any nitrates, if you add the correct make up water you should also have no phosphate problems, at least for a few months.
Your tank is very new and really needs water changes more often but after a few years, maybe five or more, the water will remain healthier longer.

 

[marki24]

Well i say, whatever works for you. Good luck but i would not risk it. I am figuring your corals are softies and they are very easy to maintain when you decide to switch to Lps or Sps you will see that you need to do regular water changes. Happy reef keeping.

 

[marki24]

I don't understand this thread at all. One water change since March. It's only July.
I haven't changed water once since March.
I change about 20% of my water about 5 times a year. I know many people change much more water which is of course not harmful, only iMO wasteful.
My tank is overstocked and overfed due to experiments but if the tank is running correctly with the proper bacteria, you should not have any nitrates, if you add the correct make up water you should also have no phosphate problems, at least for a few months.
Your tank is very new and really needs water changes more often but after a few years, maybe five or more, the water will remain healthier longer.

Well Paul you have to take into consideration that his tank is only 29 gallon and from what i remember yours is at least 100 gallons more so you do less water changes. I have the same size tank and i do bi monthly water changes.

 

[Paul B]

Marki you are correct but the title of this thread is "I never do water changes"
Never is longer than 8 weeks. I thought he was going to say 8 years or so. Any tank can go a couple of months with no water changes unless it is in really bad shape and a 4 month old tank with new water should have all the trace elements it needs without the addition of any new water.
As for it being a 29 gallon tank, my first tank was 29 gallons and it is kind of relative. You should change water more frequently in a small tank if you feed more or if you overstock. I know my tank is unusual and I don't want to get into that but I feel as I said that water changes are certainly not bad (in most cases) but a water change every 8 weeks sounds at least normal to me and not really "never" changing water.
A properly run tank is "almost" self sustaining where the things we consider bad like nitrates, phosphates etc. are "almost" completely eliminated naturally. We do eventually have to change water because our transfer and reduction methods are not perfect and our water quantity is too small. The goal is to have these methods of removal keep up with supply as much as possable. As the tank ages we should come close.
Never is like 5 years. :bablefish

 

[Wes]

it also depends on what type of corals you want to keep. I keep mostly acropora, and even though my nitrates are always 0 and my phosphates never rise above 0.04, the more often i do water changes, the acropora responds w/ better color and growth rates. Not "wasteful" in the least in my opinion. I do a water change every weekend that I am home, regardless of what the parameters say.

 

[probe dms]

Yeah im not too stocked by the way.. only 4 fish. 2 frogspawns, 2 small zoos a few hermits, a arrow crab and a condy. The post was really to see who'd freak out on me. but i guess some of yous also have success with a few water changes. my step dad who got me into salt tanks over 15 years used to run a 15 high and he did about 2 water changes per year. now that i think about it, there were no coral, only fish but still 2 changes per year. no live rock either..go figure

 

[NYPDFrogman]

The post was really to see who'd freak out on me.

:smash: glad I didnt waste time typing a sensible reply to help:arg: