Water Changes

[Guest Kimo]

Hey everyone -

 

I've decided to start doing water changes.

 

I have a 180 gallon tank, with about 200 gallons total volume, so a 10%-20% change is pretty major.  I have NEVER done them before, and I think it would really help my tank if I started.

 

I am interested in everyone's routine for water changes...

 

Do you do them?  

How often?  

How much water do you change?  

Do you mix up a lot of saltwater and store it somewhere?  

What do you store it in?

What is your method for getting the old water out of the aquarium, and the new water in?

 

Finally, how is it working for you?

 

It will really help me figure out what would be a good place to start and give me an idea of what works and what doesn't.  

 

Thanks!

 

Jamie

[Marty]

Do you do them?  YES!!

How often?  monthly (usually!)

How much water do you change?  15-20g for a ~140g system

Do you mix up a lot of saltwater and store it somewhere?  No, I filter and mix water change s/w when I need it.  I keep make-up (f/w) water, but not water change water.

What do you store it in?  big rubbermaid container

What is your method for getting the old water out of the aquarium, and the new water in?  I use a powerhead and a length of rubber hose that fits over the outflow of the powerhead and a bucket.  Reverse the process for the new water.

 

Finally, how is it working for you?  works great, highly recommend it, if not mandate it!

[Guest andrejka]

10% monthly (5G on 50G system).  I think that bigger change might be stressful for the critters.

 

I mix 10G at a time and store remaining 5G in a regular 5G drinking water bottle in a closet (should be in dark to prevent bacteria/algae growth).  With your big system you might not want/don’t need to store substantial amounts of pre-mixed saltwater, just keep some (1-2G) to replace water taken from the tank for fish/inverts/coral acclimation if you are planning new additions (or taking frags from your tank).

 

Worked great so far (tank is 1.5 year old, nitrates are undetectable).  But I never noticed any effect on critters immediately after water change.  Some people report “perking up” of corals right after a change (much better polyp extension etc.), while others see some negative signs for some time after a change.

 

As to how to remove/add water, Marty covered that .  A good idea (I’ll do that when go bigger) is to install a "T" with a valve into overflow pipe (into part which is outside the tank ).  Normally valve is closed, and water goes from tank to sump.  Open it, and remove water from the system without any additional hoses and even getting your hands wet.

[Guest tgallo]

water changes, you bet . nothing makes my corals and fish happier.

 

in change 100 gallons each time out of a 400 gallon plus system.  i mix the salt and ro water in a 100 gallon rubbermaid tub and 2 days later i do the water change.

 

i also make sure that the new water has the same ph, salinaty, alk, calcium,  and temp etc etc as the main tank.

[kevinsparent]

I can't remember where I read it - but someone did a study about removing impurities from your tank.  As it turns out doing lots of 10% changes doesn't help much.  It was much better to do less frequent changes of a greater magnatude.  I liked the idea because it meant less water changes.

 

That being said - I do 15 - 20 gallon changes every 2-3 months on a 130 gallon system.  Mostly due to the fact that my water mixing system is an old 15 gallon tank that I transfer to the tank with 5 gallon buckets.  It is a pain and I really don't like doing them.    Although the corals and fish seem to appreciate them.

 

I'm thinking of getting a rubbermaid garbage can so that I can do 50 gallon changes 3 times a year.

[ReefMon]

Do you do them?  Yes!  The solution to pollution is dilution....

How often?  Once a month or so, depending on how the tanks are looking.

How much water do you change?  40+/- gal on my 180

Do you mix up a lot of saltwater and store it somewhere? I keep 40-50 gals of fresh salt water mixing at all times. (plus try to have an extra 40-50 of fresh RO/DI)  

What do you store it in? 45 gal rubbermaid bruit trash cans and a 55 gal drum.

What is your method for getting the old water out of the aquarium, and the new water in?  I use a Mag 24 to pump the water out of the tank and then back into the tank.  Only takes me 20 minutes to do a 50 gal change.

[Sph2sail]

Do you do them?  Yes!  "The solution to pollution is dilution...." I learned from ReefMon

How often?  Once a month or so.

How much water do you change?  15+/- gal on my 90

Do you mix up a lot of saltwater and store it somewhere? I plan for changes and set up 15G RO/DI fresh water in a 40G rubbermaid brute. Throw in a heater and powerheads to circulate and aerate.  I'm sure reefmon does the same.

What do you store it in? 40 gal rubbermaid brute trash can.

What is your method for getting the old water out of the aquarium, and the new water in?  I use a Rio1200 to pump the water out of the tank and then back into the tank.  Only takes me 10mins minutes to do a 15 gal change.

[quazi]

Do you do them?  rarely

 

How often?  rarely (2-3 times a year)

 

How much water do you change?  ~15 gallons in a 65 gallon system

 

Do you mix up a lot of saltwater and store it somewhere?  No

 

What do you store it in?    bucket

 

What is your method for getting the old water out of the aquarium, and the new water in?     Siphon, and use a bucket to pour it in!

 

Finally, how is it working for you?   Great, I'd change more water if I needed to.  But I do not need to and see no ill affects.  I use polyfilters to ensure no heavy metal build up, I add Tropic Marin Bio-Calcium for trace and Ca and kalkwasser (Balls pickling lime) for Alk and Ca.  My tank is out of control, I have to kill and/or prune stuff to keep my coral population under control.  I have been doing this for 17 years, with great success.

 

Your milage my vary. Do not try this at home  :p

[Guest cjm033]

Do you do them?  yes

How often?  weekly or every other week,depends on how busy i am

How much water do you change?  1/2 gal (weekly) 1 gallon (if i do it every other) 1/4 and 1/2 on my 1 gal (applys to same before)

Do you mix up a lot of saltwater and store it somewhere?  yes

What do you store it in? 1 gallon jug

What is your method for getting the old water out of the aquarium, and the new water in? i syphon it out with air line tubing and pour the water in through my hob

 

Finally, how is it working for you? great

[michaelg]

One part of the equation that should have been put in here is the type of tank that is being kept.  From my observations on my nano and the sps tank, there is a huge difference.  The nano seems to prefer higher nutrients in the water, whereas the sps tank does not.

 

I am a firm believer in water changes though.  One thing they help to do is replace those "mysterious" trace elements, thus I don't worry too much about them.

 

Keveinsparent- you probably read about the volume- bigger is better from something Craig Bingman wrote some time back.  Mathematically it makes sence, no way to argue it.  This is especially true when you are trying to alter something wrong with your water chemistry (alk/CA all screwed up, nitrates off the roof,  major tank crash, etc)

 

That said I try to change about 10-15% every 2 weeks. and 2x/ year a 20-30% change.  If it slips to 3 weeks, I don't sweat it.

[Guest Bemmer]

Water changes, as I am sure many will attest to, are no fun but a necessary evil.  I have a 120 g and I take out 25% every 2-4 weeks.  Right now I have a FOWLR tank but plan on moving to a reef system.  I do the larger changes because my tank is still relatively new and I have a high nitrate issue, which I hope my refugium will take care of, once I get in up and running.  Anyway, my changes take about 30-45 minutes doing it the old fashion way.  I use two 5 gallon pails and take the water out of the tank alternating pails and running the other to dispose while one is getting filled.  That takes about 10-15 minutes.  Then I attach my 805 AquarClear to a long tube and push the water from my 30 gal. garbage can into the sump.  It is rather labor intensive but well worth it.  

 

Only hiccup I have is that I have to keep turning the main pump between the sump and my main tank on and off while filling the sump.  The main pump pulls the water out of the sump faster than my 805 airpump can put it in the sump so it gets sucked dry unless I turn the main pump off and let it fill up.  Is there a better way to do this because turning on and off the main pump is not good for the pump or the fish.  It is very disruptive.  

 

With all that said, water changes are very important to the quality of the fish and inverts that I have in my tank.

 

HTH.  Rebecca

[michaelg]

Rebecca- an easy solution for you might be to put a ball valve on the output side of your return pump- this way you can either totally shut off the flow, or restrict it.

[Aquariareview]

Because I have a system that is a little dirty because of the way I feed, I change as follows:

 

On a system with 220 gals of water I do a 30 gal change once a week.. I make the water in a 50 gal container the night before a change.(red sea salt and well water)

 

I let it mix overnight with a power head and a airline so it mixes well. I test salt and ph.

 

To take water out of tank I drain to a line painted on the back of my tank (placed there for this purpose) with a siphon to a nearby bathtub, then I use a small ace hardware sump pump hooked to a 5 ft hose to pump the new water to the tank.

 

By doing small regular changes I dont shock the system and I keep strong mineral and trace levels, low need for additives and very low levels of pollutants.

 

I have been doing this for years with great success.

[AquariaUSA]

Hi Jamie!

 

Reefmon's statement is perfect...solution to pollution is dillution...calfo says that a lot too! hehe

 

Michael brought up an excellent point about types of corals kept in a system, and what prefers or requires better water quality...Most softie systems can go for much longer periods of time without a water change, and with infrequent trace element additions. Try this with SPS on several systems, I am sure you would start seeing a few bryopsis or derbesia blooms. Not all SPS would give the same result, but if you set up a controlled experiment I am sure this would be the outcome. Utilizing refugiums, scrubbers, highly productive skimmers, and clams helps to alleviate some water quality issues as well.

 

Do you do them?  Certainly (our tanks are closed systems)

How often?  Weekly, Every Two Weeks, Monthly

How much water do you change?  10-20% at a time

Do you mix up a lot of saltwater and store it somewhere? Make about 90-120+ gallons of RO/DI per day. Top off water uses KH and CA additives added separately.  

What do you store it in? Storing only RO/DI in 32 gallon Rubbermaid trashcans $8, Pre-made salt water does not sit more than 1 day.

What is your method for getting the old water out of the aquarium, and the new water in? Pumps, float valves, switches.

 

Finally, how is it working for you? It has worked for us for years, and for the clients we see on a weekly or every two week basis the results are estimated at about 80% better than those not on contract or that call us once in a blue moon for the tank "looks dirty" due to massive overfeeding. "The fish were hungry" lol

 

Next month I will be experimenting with Salifert's Boron additive to see if there is a noticeable difference on coral growth/coloration (from same size frags~same lighting~same water except the Boron). Will try to post results Some salts claim B is in the salt mix, but so far nothing has shown (IO,RC,CS,TM) on the tests, except for a trace in Tropic Marin.