Water changes

Personally I'd do 10-15% weekly water changes. Be sure to let the freshly mixed salt sit for a day before the change. :)

ok thnx guys

I have done two 30G water changes in the 5 months my (265G) tank has been running.

I have some free time so I started writing. Unfortunately, I couldn't stop. Hope it's helpful

Depending on how the tank has progressed and how much coral is in the new tank, I don't worry about a water change for 2-3 months. I use lots of algae to eat polllution(the N compounds of Ammonia, Nitrite, & Nitrate). Algae growth is the key to helping a tank grow, mature and stabilize as fast as possible. Coralline Algae, Caulerpa, Chaetomorpha, Sargassum, Dictyota and other algae can make a huge difference in water quality. In the ocean, algae is everywhere in great abundance. It's the basis of life.
Fish just pollute the water.

In a new tank, the biggest need for a water change is to help reduce pollution.
In an older tank, a greater % of the need for a water change is to replace minerals that have been eaten/used by the animals. Coral eat dissolved minerals as they clean the water. Fish just pollute the water.

Fish are usually a very small percentage of the total animal life in a mature tank. Bacteria, worms, sponges and coral are typically the greatest percentage of the total. If we could isolate the bacteria and tiny invertebrate life from a mature 10 gal reef tank and then weigh it on a scale, it would be a surprising amount, probably over 2 pounds.

Since those pounds of organisms are a significant part of the biofiltration and since a new tank has very little of this, there is a greater need for growing algae to eat/reduce pollution. If it is difficult to keep sufficient algae in the system, due to the presence of algae eating fish, then water changes become more important.

If the aquarium system includes a refugium, making the Refugium work at peak capacity is a big help to biofiltration and water quality. A brighter light, more algae and occasional 24/7 lighting is very helpful in working the Refugium to it's fullest. If it is to do as well, a Refugium-less tank needs to have good algae growth and not too many herbivorous fish.

FYI, a great response to a filtration emergency is typically not lots of large water changes, but 24/7 lighting of an extra amount of algae. Chaetomorpha is awesome for this. Certainly a quick water change is a fast way to reduce pollution in an emergency, but the % reduction in pollution is only equal to the % change of water. (10% water change = 10% reduction in N compounds) Algae can significantly reduce pollution in a matter of hours with minimal effort from the hobbyist. Since the reef tank can often handle a temporary increase of pollution, sometimes all it takes is to leave all the lights ON for 48 hours or up to a week in severe cases.

In the end, each reef aquarium is different so each one deserves slightly different maintenance. If you do a search here, this topic has been discusseded hundreds of times. You will also find the tendency for the ~30% that have been in the hobby over 5 years, to do less water changes. These more seasoned hobbyists usually have developed a routine of 10-20% or less water changes every 1-3 months. They have also learned to be mindful of adding Alkalinity and Calcium as needed.

Sometimes the manual routine is handled automatically with a Calcium Reactor and/or nighttime Kalkwasser dosing system.  As pointed out in the Reefkeeping Tips, Alk and Ca are the most important additives. Adequate levels of these two components are critical to the long term health of the reef. Alk should be 8-14 dKH and Ca should be 350-500 ppm.


Edited by Mark Peterson - December 16 2011 at 7:15pm

Oh and as an after thought everything in my tank is bright open and seems to love my attention :), btw Billy i counted 2 new on the dragon !!!!!!!! >----Happy guy

Akira wrote: Oh and as an after thought everything in my tank is bright open and seems to love my attention :), btw Billy i counted 2 new on the dragon !!!!!!!! >----Happy guy

Sweet man glad to hear that! I'm impressed with how fast you're learning and able to maintain a reef. Everyone will tell you something different like disneymania said about water changes. Just do your own experimenting and your corals will tell you if you're doing it right.

Originally I was doing around 5% every 4 days...  Now I do about 5% every week.  Sunday is water change day!!

LMFAO ok so i read the first post ! I sure hope with what i have learned that while im still riding  on the short bus now i can stop being the window licker and assume my correct spot as the guy who only wears the safety helmet ...... Hopefully soon i can remove my protective mask too...wonder if I could ever drive my bus lol