Are water changes a must?

i find the more I mess with my tank the more it gets messed up. That includes water changes. I test about once every 3 to 4 months and done 1 water change a year on my 36. my 75 I have never done one. I do add 20 gal of water a week to my systems and run natrual filtration on one. I am not saying my way is right but it has been working for me. just cause your way works don't mean mine can't. I just won my first battle with ick too and the best solution was do nothing. my systems changes little so far so good. good luck to all

 

Wow this thread had changed my views on WC's. Hearing from so many seasoned Reefers doing minimal or no water changes really made me think, do I really need to do so many? Hmmmmmm

Maybe Not...

So I've decided to do a 3 month experiment and see if I see any changes good or bad with weekly testing.

Normally I do about a 12gal change every 1.5weeks or so.

Topoffs Only for the next 3 months

 

good luck

 

i dont do water changes either and i have stuff that grows everywhere in my tank






p.s. this was a joke, and not my tank

 

LOL...at first I was worried!;D;D;D

 

Its been a year since I did one and if it was not for a dead fish I would not have needed to do one. The high nitrates are my reason behind it. I only dosed and had great liuck again until the dead fish! water changes are over rated imo

 

Agree. Between constant shipments with new fish, stressed fish and cycling water... you have to in that position.

RODI isn't the same as water changes. RODI is needed for stripped water (if your's has been tested inadequit). Water changes are dependant on your tanks parameters and stock. If you have 100 clowns in a 55 gallon tank you're going to have to substitute the over-stocked water more often then compared to one clown. The sand and rock will pick up thebio-load. (is the theory, some don't believe).

Agree... RODI systems are also installed in peoples houses for their consuption. I am unfamiliar with why or the science behind it but have heard it is like distilled when coming from the unit. I just removed a woman's unit from under her sink who swore she's never owned a tank and just had it installed because she had bad water quality.

This is totally my view on the topic. If I keep my hands out, it goes smooth. Start agrivating everyone and stuff starts to slip.

 

if i keep my hands out?

If you keep your hands out? Just wondering if putting your hands in the tank is a no no. I some times hand feed my fish (due to the overflow and some foods seem harder to feed). Do you think this disrupts the tank? I mean i'm not moving rocks around or disturbing the sand bed. Just wondering because i could easily break this habit.

 

it may disrupt your skimmer from changes in surface tension. I hand feed too. some people are adamant about not putting there hands in the tank, i just think its alil too anal. i probably wouldnt do it if your hands are dirty, you use lotion or just finished working on your car, etc.

if corals were fragile enough to die from some human skin and oil, every time a diver or boat goes by a coral reef everything would die. and if they were that fragile they would never survive in a glass box in your living room.


edit: i cant believe this threads still going. theres no one way to run a tank, only ways that work and ways that dont. if your tanks working just keep doing it and hope it still works in the future.

 

I would like to add for myself altho im not a very experienced marine aquarist but rather a good one in freshwater i know my fair share of aquaria in general and i help many of my friends with their tanks and so far so good, in freshwater and now in saltwater i have been noticing two things.

The first is that i used to think waterchanges were not necesary in freshwater but may be in marine since its a more complex ecosystem, it didnt much sense to me since what waterchanges to me only ment was stress on the live stock, exposure time of LR to air, upkeep money for constant water (salt water) and RODI cartirdges and so on.

From the marine tanks i help upkeep two couldnt do waterchanges due to a lack or salt in the shops in the city (pretty weird) during that single month the character of all fish without constant waterchanges i have to say improved and coral thrived more (very hard to see in one month but still noticeable), this doesnt mean to me that waterchanges are not necesary, i still see the replentishment of some minerals and other trace elements of the water, but since the aditives exist i dont see a real need for waterchanges in marine anymore.

I am starting my own marine tank pretty soon and i want to keep a rule of only doing waterchanges when my parameters call for one, this thread has showed me it can be done.

Second :One thing i would like to say help greatly any system making much less necesary waterchanges is a mangle refugium in the sump, for what i have seen they almost make RODI systems obsolete^^.