No water changes in over 4 months and better results then ever

[JLAudio]

Ok, im not an advocate of neglecting an aquarium, but I have been in this game for over 7 years now and have had sps tanks, FOWLR...everything. Currently I am running a 125 with a fuge with calurpa, a OCT 160 skimmer, (no phos reactor) and all the basic frills (lots of LR and minimal feeding), however this tank has not had a water change in many months and being the fact that there isnt a hint of algae and livestock is flourishing, im beginning to think that sometimes leaving a tank alone is beneficial.

Bare in mind I do all top off with RODI and minimally feed. I had a big water loss (40 gallons, 1/3 total volume) do to a canister filter breaking (only briefly used) and had a huge algae out break afer.

Basically my assumption is once a tank is fully established the 10% weekly water change is like overtraining in the gym and only beneficial if you have no other way to remove excess nutrients (skimmer, reactors, fuge, etc), and a way to add cal/alk/mag.

Also keep in mind ive been a 10% w/c guy my entire career, but have never seen less algae in any of my tanks...

Just a thought

JLLLLLL awdio

 

[pdnyc69]

i have had similar situations with my tank. i feel when you water change you take out good bacteria, nutrients etc with the bad

 

[jadakiss]

This is going to be a good thread, well I usually do 10g water change for my 55g reef tank with 3 fish's I also have a 10g sump , I think I should do a water change every 2 weeks instead of every week


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[JLAudio]

Not trying to be a troll and start up a controversial thread, but after such good results (that totally surprise me), im curious if this is some propoganda from the salt companies to sell product.

 

[Wes]

Let's see some pics.


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[jadakiss]

Pics!!!


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[fcamargo6thave]

I havent done a water change in my tank in 4 weeks and everything is going well, on a side not my audi is done up all in jl audio jl audi xr's in front and rear, jl500/1, jl300/4 my w6 busted so now i am using a kicker cvx sub

Let us know how ur tank holds up

 

[mckostya]

how many fish do you have? what do you feed and how often? what corals are you keeping? what do you dose? all these play an important role.

 

[OzoneParkGuy]

Ok, im not an advocate of neglecting an aquarium, but I have been in this game for over 7 years now and have had sps tanks, FOWLR...everything. Currently I am running a 125 with a fuge with calurpa, a OCT 160 skimmer, (no phos reactor) and all the basic frills (lots of LR and minimal feeding), however this tank has not had a water change in many months and being the fact that there isnt a hint of algae and livestock is flourishing, im beginning to think that sometimes leaving a tank alone is beneficial.

Different strokes for different folks!! LOL!!

Bare in mind I do all top off with RODI and minimally feed. I had a big water loss (40 gallons, 1/3 total volume) do to a canister filter breaking (only briefly used) and had a huge algae out break afer.

How long ago did this happen?

Basically my assumption is once a tank is fully established the 10% weekly water change is like overtraining in the gym and only beneficial if you have no other way to remove excess nutrients (skimmer, reactors, fuge, etc), and a way to add cal/alk/mag.

Answer... You said it... FULLY ESTABLISHED!!
You do need to add other trace elements other than the 3 you listed. There's quite a few...Thus the need for partial water changes to replenish what has been depleted. I'm sure you will have more growth with at least monthly water changes.

Also keep in mind ive been a 10% w/c guy my entire career, but have never seen less algae in any of my tanks...

Just a thought

JLLLLLL awdio

Things that make you go hmmmmm........

 

[Master Shake]

for a good system a water cahnge is mostly to put back in rather than to take out

 

[lanacane214]

i think the bigger the tank the less necesary it is to do a water change,i have a 65g with a 55g sump with 6 fish i do a 25g water change every 2 week and i notice the corals look a lot more healthy after the water change

 

[mcnuggget]

if u can maintain a good looking sps tank after 4 months with no wc. i sure would like to see a pic of it.

 

[aznt1217]

Word keeping it simple is awesome. Lol.

JL Audio has an awesome tank btw.

 

[bizarrecorals]

if your water perm are all adequate, why bother with w/c?, don't understand why people do weekly w/c, what are they trying to accomplish? good job man, keep up with the good work.

 

[Awibrandy]

if your water perm are all adequate, why bother with w/c?, don't understand why people do weekly w/c, what are they trying to accomplish? good job man, keep up with the good work.

Here is the respose to your question.

for a good system a water cahnge is mostly to put back in rather than to take out

J, I did the same last year, and at the 5th. month corals did not look as happy. Started doing my weekly 20% water changes, and all the animals have improved.

 

[Wes]

Unfortunately with reef tanks Everything can look fine until it's too late. In my opinion it's much easier to keep up with regular maintenance vs. dealing with the potential consequences of neglect down the road.

I scaled back to large volume monthly changes in my 65g. I havnt detected nitrates in years but I continue with the regular maintenance.

Maintenance should be Preventive, not Reactionary.


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[JLAudio]

Hey guys one point I should make is that although I have corals in my tank, they are easy to keep ones such as mushrooms, polys and a softies (I had trouble keeping corals due to copper getting in tank). So this advice might not be best for people with advanced reefs, but my point is more that the mere cleanliness and lack of algae has to indicate lack of nitrates and phosphates. I do think I could do a better job in adding all essential elements beyond the 3 basics (cal, alk, mag) but just that overall the calurpa which has the water completely passing through it and all the 200 lbs of rock seem to be keeping the ecosystem together.

I am basically noting that this tank seems to be significantly cleaner than my former 54 sps reef that I did 10 gallons a week on religiously. I am not saying that it will win "reefer of the month" or anything but merely noting that it is almost completely without algae and the last time I had trouble with algae was immediately after doing a 40 gallon W/C...I will try and post pics later...

Peace all and dont take this thread as an excuse to neglect your tank, but merely assess what is necessary and what is "overtraining" (metaphor).

 

[JLAudio]

I havent done a water change in my tank in 4 weeks and everything is going well, on a side not my audi is done up all in jl audio jl audi xr's in front and rear, jl500/1, jl300/4 my w6 busted so now i am using a kicker cvx sub

Let us know how ur tank holds up

Funny side note, "JLAUDIO" is a nickname I had in college that someone gave me because those are my initials and in fact I didnt know what it meant and never had anything but stock in my cars....However I heard its top of the line stuff

 

[basiab]

If it works for you fine. I have a small 24 gallon and without water changes nothing gets replenished. So that is how I do my dosing. I doubt that dosing nutrients would be any cheaper and is probably more complicated. This way I do not have to measure anything other than a specific amount of salt per gallon of water. Also if you have a mix of corals the chances are they are each releasing chemicals into the water to harm the other corals. Water changes are a good way to dilute this problem.

 

[michael Jack]

I have had the same results if its not broke dont fix it