Why do we do water changes

[blackcloudmedia]

SO I was wondering, since we do water changes and remove "old saltwater" for "new saltwater" what exactly is missing from the old saltwater? Is the chemical level off balance or is there just a lot of nutrients in there. Wouldnt it be possible to create a stand-alone tank that would have something in it to make the "old saltwater" useable again rather than throwing it out with the bathwater?
Ive been trying to find info on whether the old saltwater is missing any chemicals and Ive yet to find any info.

 

[Anonymous]

dilution is the solution to reduce pollution!

 

[Len]

Yup. I do it to remove nutrients. It's also like a "reset button" for elements that get depleted (Mg, Sr, Ca, etc.). You can add additives to keep the chemistry comparable, but it is a losing battle and is easier and more complete to do a water change.

 

[camaroracer214]

i agree with sfsuphysics and len...we do water changes to remove excess nutrients and pollutants and replace certain elements that get used up.

 

[Anonymous]

I do it because its the only reason my floors ever get mopped...

 

[blackcloudmedia]

Ah I wonder if those nutrients could be replaced somehow. I cant use it as an excuse to mop my floors, they're carpetted. :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

not replaced, removed.

I mean yeah you can dose all those little trace elements, you could also build a sulfur denitrator to remove the nitrates, a phosphate reactor to remove the phosphates, carbon for dissolved organics, etc, but sometimes it's just easier to do a water change.

 

[JeremyR]

Some people go to great lengths to avoid water changes, and see it as a badge of honor to be able to say "no water changes in X years". If they had just done the changes, they would have saved money, time, effort, and probably had better growth/color. As far as the ionic differences between unchanged water vs. changed.. you can't test for everything easily, and even if you could doing 40 tests all the time would be pretty crazy. Just do it!