No water changes?

Merc Dr.

Reefing newb
I was at my local aquarium store yesterday trying to learn about reef tanks as I'm coming from a freshwater tank. The owner was telling me how she/they are in the "No water change" frame of mind. They use supplements to keep everything in check. Does anyone here use this process instead of doing watre changes? This was the first time I'd heard of this and want to learn more just to see if this is a proven method or just a passing fad.
 
IMO, the LFS is just setting you up to fail. Water changes are a vital step to keeping your tank inhabitants healthy. They not only replenish the nutrients that are used up by the corals, but also removes the waste that fish excrete. It is also cheaper to do water changes than to supplement for most aquariums. A box of salt that can change 200 gallons of water can be ordered for around 50 bucks. Whereas buying all the different supplements to add plus all the test kits to keep track of all those elements will cost a lot more than that.
 
There are many trace elements that are necessary for a healthy reef that can't really be tested for, the easiest way to keep them in check is regular water changes with a quality salt mixture
 
I agree with above. Dosing and water changes are two separate things.

I follow the multiple tiny water changes way of thinking, so much so that I implemented an auto water change system that changes out a very small amount 24x per day, every day, resulting in around 15% total volume per week. It's mostly hands off and very stable. And I dose to keep up with trace elements.

Here's some good reading on water changes.
Water Changes in Reef Aquaria by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com
 
When I had my 45g, it was a fowlr (fish only with live rock, and sand; no corals) I put in a ball of chaeto in the sump so my nitrates went to 0. So I stopped doing water changes. My ammonia, nitrites and nitrates were all 0, so I figured "Eh, I don't need water changes; just top off w/ fresh rodi water". Sure my fish were fine. But I noticed they didn't look as vibrant; things in there were alive, but just looked like they were living as opposed to thriving. So a few months later, I started water changes again. From the first water change, all of a sudden, things perked up -- the fish looked brighter, my feather dusters and everything looked lively.

So I would have to agree with everyone above. There is something about giving the tank a nice boost. There's nothing like a nice burst of new water to liven things up!

I can't explain all the science behind RO/DI, but I know it removes a lot of the metals and chemicals from the water; essentially making it soft water.
 
Has anyone here actually used the other method?

Sure, there are plenty of people that decide not to do water changes.
And some people don't run a skimmer.
Some people feed once a week, some people feed 4x per day.
Some people have a fuge and sump, some have neither.

See where I'm going with this?

Read about water changes in the link I provided above and decide which method works best for you. But the short answer is the majority of people do water changes in some shape or form, and the fact of the matter is that water changes alone can not replenish everything being used up in a full reef system.
 
Everyone talks about topping off their tank with RO. How do you go about making RO?

Thanks for that last reply Wonton. That's the kind of experience based response I was looking for. In my mind I believe water changes are the way to go. I just wanted to hear the opposition's response. Not tring to start trouble, just an intelligent, fact based debate.
 
Some people stop water changes once the tank matures to a point where it becomes more self sustaining. But this takes several years. And you have to have a lot of chaeto in a large refugium. I tried this on my 240 (not intentionally - I was just lazy). It had been set up for years. My nitrates got high and I got algae.
 
The owner mentioned something about burying a sock of something under the live rock to help sustain the chemistry. Don't remember what, but that was part of the "no change" procedure.

I read that article you posted. I understood 75% of it. Like I said, I always believed in changes. I just wanted to educate myself on the alternative theory.

Do I have to use RO or can I just use tap water with an additive like I used to do with fresh water?
 
you dont have to. but if your going to have corals you are better off to either get the system or buy the water. right now im fowlr and i have well water and other then the diatoms i have will keep getting silicates from my water so its going to hard to get rid of them untill i can get a RO/DI filter system. but most reefers will tell you tap water is a no no but if you do use it test it for amona, nitrite, and nitrates to be sure you are not adding them to your tank on water changes
 
Everyone talks about topping off their tank with RO. How do you go about making RO?

We use an RODI filter unit. Mine is Captive Purity....a 4 stage filter w/ a tds meter. They're not cheap, but with my 125g, it has paid itself off. If you have a small tank, you can just get distilled water from Walmart for like $1/gallon. Remember salt doesn't evaporate; so you must replenish the lost water w/ fresh, NOT salt water.

Mind you, I got away w/ no water changes because I had no corals whatsoever. If you plan to have corals, you need water changes to replenish the trace elements that corals use up.
 
You're asking for problems if you use tap with saltwater.
RO/DI units are cheap and worth it.

i know RO/DI is the best because it will take out heavy metal and other things out of the water. my question in on a fowlr is it as big of a deal? I am askinf for my info only
 
We use an RODI filter unit. Mine is Captive Purity....a 4 stage filter w/ a tds meter. They're not cheap, but with my 125g, it has paid itself off. .

Even on small tanks, they pay for themselves. You factor in the driving to get the water, and them it being atleast 50 cents a gallon, and between water changes and top off, you could still be looking at 5-10 dollars a week. So spending 150-200 on a RO unit breaks even in about 6 months. Even after replacing the filter media every year it is cheaper than haulling water.
 
I'm so glad I started asking these questions. An RO filter was not something I origanally budgeted for. Iwas only planning on powerheads, skimmer, return pump, and baffles to make my sump box out of an old 20gal tank I have. I was planning on just doing a fowlr tank. But you never know in the future if you decide to add a little something extra.
 
if you are a diy guy i plans for a protein skimmer that i have built and it does work and plans for a sump mine is a 10 gal tank but using a 20 gal you can make your chambers bigger
 
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