Water Changes
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: Reef Chemistry
Forum Description: A place to discuss reef chemistry.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=45690
Printed Date: July 18 2026 at 7:33am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.03 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Water Changes
Posted By: FlooringGuy
Subject: Water Changes
Date Posted: December 28 2010 at 12:02pm
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I have a 29 gallon bio cube. By the time you subtract for live rock and sand it is 25 gallons of water. I have anywhere from 6-8 gallons of evaporation a month. Do I still need to do water changes? I monitor my alkalinity, salinity, & PH every day or other day. My calcium I measure weekly due to it being high. ------------- Call me for Carpet, Tile, or Hardwood. (801) 263-9600 |
Replies:
Posted By: Josh95
Date Posted: December 28 2010 at 12:11pm
| i would. I would do a 10% every 2 weeks and a 20% water change every month and a half to 2 months. |
Posted By: Nick801
Date Posted: December 28 2010 at 12:27pm
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Id still do water changes too, for me I just do a 15% once a month in my mind it helps bring in some of the elements from newly mixed saltwater
------------- http://www.reefinsanity.com" rel="nofollow - www.ReefInsanity.com http://www.facebook.com/ReefInsanity" rel="nofollow - www.Facebook.com/ReefInsanity 801-680-4676 |
Posted By: tileman
Date Posted: December 28 2010 at 12:47pm
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If you run any kind of mechanical filtration on your tank, it will eventually take essentual elements and nutrients out of your saltwater. My coral always looks very "happy" when I do waterchanges. 12% every other week for me. ------------- 335G Reef TOTM. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2015/2/aquarium ReefKeepers TOTM Feb. 2012 http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index....k-of-the-month & |
Posted By: SGH360
Date Posted: December 28 2010 at 1:11pm
| Not to mention that this a way to export nutrients also |
Posted By: Jeremyw
Date Posted: December 28 2010 at 1:31pm
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Brad why 12% why not 10% ? ------------- Next meeting: |
Posted By: tileman
Date Posted: December 28 2010 at 2:06pm
Thats just what my watermixing barrell holds . 32 gallons and I take 5 gallons out for my tank upstairs leaving me with 27 gallons for my big tank which is about 250g total. Just a close guess.  ------------- 335G Reef TOTM. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2015/2/aquarium ReefKeepers TOTM Feb. 2012 http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index....k-of-the-month & |
disneymania wrote:Posted By: Jeremyw
Date Posted: December 28 2010 at 2:21pm
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lol i like it! Just sounded random... ------------- Next meeting: |
Posted By: smacky
Date Posted: December 28 2010 at 3:38pm
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Evaporation and water changes are two VERY different things. Saltwater does not evaporate from your tank, only fresh water evaporates from your tank and should be replaced with pure, clean, preferably RO filtered water. Water changes do export some nutrients, but keep in mind that it also introduces other things to your tank. Just one example, silicates are added to salt mixes to keep it from clumping. Silicates are a food source for nuisance algae. Also a 10% water change will only reduce nutrient levels in the water by 10%. Effective biological filtration through LR, LS and macroalgae is, in my opinion, much more effective. |
Posted By: wickedsnowman
Date Posted: December 28 2010 at 4:35pm
| wow i only do 10% about every 6 weeks sometimes even a little longer |
Posted By: Josh95
Date Posted: December 28 2010 at 4:45pm
| we tend to do about 10% every 2 weeks then 15% the other 2 weeks |
Posted By: wickedsnowman
Date Posted: December 28 2010 at 5:02pm
| Personally I think when a tank is established water changes aren't all that important. I wouldn't go as far as to say don't do them cause there still is beneficial elements in new salt water that most people don't dose for... but I think most people change their water way to much. Like Smacky said LR, LS and macro is way more effective for filtration. With you asking if you will still need them based on your evaporation rate. That kind of makes me think you might be doing top offs with salt water. If that is the case you need to check your salinity for sure. |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: December 28 2010 at 5:03pm
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If you look back at the history of this hobby, water changes were a definite must on the maintenance list. That was before we knew how to keep things in line with adequate biofiltration and inexpensive supplements. Some atypical tanks are so overstocked with fish and overgrown with coral that the rule book gets thrown out the window.  I'd say that 75% of ~1000 reef tanks I've seen can do just fine with a 10% monthly water change. The key is setting them up with efficient biofiltration and knowing what and when to supplement. I end up changing 10% every 1-2 months.  ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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Posted By: MadReefer
Date Posted: December 28 2010 at 5:32pm
| I do 10-20% every 2-6 months. It's kind of random and depends on how things look. I'm always switching things up and I've never had a tank setup for more than about 1.5 years so I don't have a standard that works for me for many years. |
Posted By: Will Spencer
Date Posted: December 28 2010 at 5:34pm
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This is a good question and a much debated topic. I personally do water changes every...time I feel like it. That usually ends up meaning about 15-20% every 3 or 4 months. It's probably been 3 months since I've done one, but I'll likely do one next week. At any rate that would seem to mean I don't find them very important. However, I actually do think they are important. Why? Because my tank looks awesome after a water change. Almost every "Expert" in the hobby will tell you how important water changes are. Anthony Calfo suggested weekly 100% water changes last time he spoke here. (Of course that was for a nano tank, but still...) Nearly every single public aquarium that has the ability does 100% water changes anywhere between daily to monthly. Many of them do this with natural seawater pumped into the aquarium directly from the ocean, but it still counts as a water change. I'd bet most of their professional aquarists would tell us how important these large water changes are even though they also have massive filtration systems. On the other hand I have seen some beautiful tanks that have rarely if ever had a water change. One example I can think of is the Winterbottoms tank. Shawn claims to have never done a water change and his tank is fantastic and it has been for years. Let the debate go on... |
Posted By: bfessler
Date Posted: December 28 2010 at 7:16pm
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I am kind of like Will on this one but I do one, whenever I have time to do one, which usually winds up being 15% to 20% every 6 weeks to 3 months. I'd like to say that everything looks better because of the water change but I also do my major tank cleaning at the same time so I think it's more likely that the clean glass and filter materials make the tank look so good when I do a water change. I do keep water parameters in line using BRS 2 part between water changes and using a Kalk Reactor in line with the top off water. ------------- Burt An equal opportunity reefer, I support all hobbyists and organizations involved in Marine Aquarium Keeping. [email protected] |
Posted By: FlooringGuy
Date Posted: December 28 2010 at 9:04pm
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I always top off with RO water, Not Salt Water. ------------- Call me for Carpet, Tile, or Hardwood. (801) 263-9600 |
Posted By: Luckedout
Date Posted: December 28 2010 at 9:08pm
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I do water changes whenever..... Honestly I didn't notice much change in my tank the last couple of times I did water changes. When I've noticed the most change was when I increased/improved my flow and changed my lighting. ------------- -Ben 90g Mixed reef www.body-balancechiropractic.com |