Water changes??

bdejong

Reefing newb
I was talking to my LFS fish guy about water changes and he made the statement that if it ain't broke don't fix it. What he meant was that there is no reason to do a water change if you test levels are normal. As long as the test results are clean there is no reason do a change even if it has been a few weeks since the last one. Is this true, should the need for a water change be dictated solely by the results of the tests?

He stated that he only has to change out water about once a month.
 
Some people say that. Other people will argue that elements found in water are used up and changing a percentage of the water out will replenish these elements. Monthly water changes are not uncommon, in fact regular monthly water changes are fine too. I prefer to do a smaller water change more frequently (weekly) but some say that doing a larger water change less often works too. I think it's up to you.
 
If you have no nitrate or phosphate,I wouldn't think you would need to do a water change.You may need to dose calcium,ph,dkb,trace elements if needed though.
 
Heres how I look at water changes.You wouldnt wait untill a rod in your car started knocking before you do an oil change,so why wait untill you have water peremeter issues before doing a water change?
 
I agree with Biff and the others there are things that are depleeded from the water and a change is the only way to replace them.I do one big change once a month and small ones weekly.After every change my corals seem to come to life and grow the best .They open up bigger.
 
OK, I see you point(s). Thanks, I will start my routine. I like the idea of a monthly largre % change with smaller weekly changes. For my 29 gallon setup how does this sound: This is based on a tank capacity of 22 gallons wwhen my live rock is taken into consideration.

Every week - 2 gallon change out. (almost 10%)
Every Month - 5-6 gallons. (22 - 25%)


This would change if the test results show a spike or some other condition warrants it.
 
I agree that water changes are important and needed for long term success. how much and how often is a matter of the overall maintenance routine. for 22 gal of water I would not do more than two gallons a week and if my parameters were good one gal a week. you will just have to see what is needed to replenish the minerals, vitamins etc that are depleted by the animals,filtering, and skimming. good luck let us know how it works for you and where you decide to settle in with the water changes.
 
I would go with a 10% rule, regardless of your live rock count. I have heard a good rule of thumb is not to do more than 50% a month. If you have a 29 gallon, go with 3 gallons a week, 12 a month. That will keep you under that 50% rule for the month. The other part of routine water changes is to assist your cleaning crew rid the tank of fish waste. You can have more inches of fish by having regular water changes (a must for me since I like to push my bioload to the max, cuz I LOVE fish). I am not sure what everyone else thinks about vacuuming the sand, I do - to make sure that I pick up all that yuck in the substrate. Just my :twocents:

-Dr Marco:sfish:
 
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