Water changes pro's con's

Is there a big difference between Doing a 8 gallon water change once a week or doing 2-4gallon water changes just wondering. I only have one extra power head and heater but can order more. I would think there is less of a swing in doing the two changes but hey what do I know Thanks in advance. I have a Hundred gallons of water in the tank.

 

The larger change removes more pollutants, but that is not as much of difference with the percentages you are talking about. I have been using a Rubbermaid style 18 gallon container to do my water changes so I don't need all the extra equipment. A 20 gallon Brute would work well also.

 

It's best to bring your water change water to the same spec as your tank water. This avoids the swings you are talking about. There is of course trace elements that will be replaced. But for the most part you should get your SG, PH, Temp CA, ALK levels to match.

J

 

For an example a popular reef chemist crunched the numbers of doing a 30g single monthly water change over a 1 gallon daily water change. At the end of the month the 1 gallon daily change (30g total) was the equivalent of doing a 26g single water change.

 

This would depend greatly in the size of your tank. You would be replacing replaced water at a higher rate in a 90 vs a 300.

 

I was trying to do the cliffs notes. The data is for a 90g tank. The 30g/month is roughly 10%/week which is a common amount.