water changes

[BowieReefer84]

My tank has been up for almost a year now, and I have done ZERO water changes.  I just tested nitrates last night and they are b/t 0 and 5. 

 

What reasons are there for doing water changes on tanks other than to lower nitrates/phosphates?

 

I know on tanks with coral you want to replace trace minerals via water changes.  Does this also apply to fish only tanks?

 

I don't dose anything to the tank.  I simply run a big skimmer and two filter bags with carbon and gfo floating in the sump.

[howaboutme]

Are you BB?

[smallreef]

For reef tanks its to replace cal., mg, Alk and trace elements....

For a FOWLR basically just to reduce phosphates and nitrates...if your good on that front then I'd only do one or two changes a year to 'freshen' the water for your fishes....it will also help get corralline up if you like it...

[Coral Hind]

I think water changes help to replenish some trace elements that the fish also benefit from. If you are only adding top off I would think air pollutants that have settled into the tank could build up over time. Doing a large water change even yearly would help to dilute the contaminants.

[BowieReefer84]

Are you BB?

          No, about 3/4"-1" of sand.

 

For reef tanks its to replace cal., mg, Alk and trace elements....

For a FOWLR basically just to reduce phosphates and nitrates...if your good on that front then I'd only do one or two changes a year to 'freshen' the water for your fishes....it will also help get corralline up if you like it...

Agreed.

 

 

 

I think water changes help to replenish some trace elements that the fish also benefit from. If you are only adding top off I would think air pollutants that have settled into the tank could build up over time. Doing a large water change even yearly would help to dilute the contaminants.

Yea, I have a 30 gallon brute with the float valve hooked to my rodi unit (never used it).  Maybe I will do a 30% change just to freshen up.  I bought all this salt last year, and haven't even opened the box.

[Jan]

And do you still feed my food? I had zero nitrates when my DT was packed and I only fed my blends. I'm just curious. I think that if you feed too much and don't have good filtration you will have nitrate issues.  

My tank has been up for almost a year now, and I have done ZERO water changes.  I just tested nitrates last night and they are b/t 0 and 5. 

 

What reasons are there for doing water changes on tanks other than to lower nitrates/phosphates?

 

I know on tanks with coral you want to replace trace minerals via water changes.  Does this also apply to fish only tanks?

 

I don't dose anything to the tank.  I simply run a big skimmer and two filter bags with carbon and gfo floating in the sump.

[BowieReefer84]

Yea, I feed one cube of your food a day.  Also, pellets, mysis, cycopeeze, and freeze dried blackworms soaked in selcon.

 

I can't feed enough to raise nitrates if I try... lol.  Time to add another fish

[smallreef]

Lol when I had a fowlr (150g) my nitrates were like 150ish most of the time due to over feeding, though I had a bubble tip (yeah the one in the pic, was white most of the Years was in there,lol) but I'd do a water change and it would bring the nitrates down to about 50.I overfed my fishy puppies....i know it was bad but thedidn't care, and the yumas loved it!

only really ever did the changes once a month or so...also when i upgradeI skimmers that helped a lot...

so if your not having an issueI don't think this a reason to do monthly nor semimonthly changes...maybe quarterly...

[Coral Hind]

It sounds like you were beyond a FOWLR if you had inverts and corals in it. I'm surprised they even survived with it at 150ish.

[flooddc]

I used to do a 10% WC every 1 month or 2. For some reason, recently I have to change 10% (2nd one the next day) twice one day ever 2 week. If I don't change, my red plating monti will start bleaching! (Nitrates and phos not even that high prior to WC (5 and 0.25, respectively). I guessed my corals are spoiled.

[smallreef]

It sounds like you were beyond a FOWLR if you had inverts and corals in it. I'm surprised they even survived with it at 150ish.

Lol yeah only snails the triggers didn't eat and a few yumas and one lonely white bta...when I took the tank down and took the bta to my LFS,,,,it greened up in a week or so in his system,lol

[jimlin]

when i had freshwater planted tanks i noticed the fish grew a lot faster when i did weekly water changes. 2009 i setup a tankfull of angelfish and dither fishes and change 15% water weekly and the angels grew to adult size within 6 months. i tore it down and setup the same tank in 2011 with the same type of fish except i only changed water 2 times within a year and during that year the angels had yet to reach the size of my previous setup. water tests were identical for both setups, but i purchased the fishes from different stores.

[angel not fish]

http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/MarineTrace.html

 

Good explanation.

Edited May 25, 2013 by angel not fish

[paul b]

You can go a lot longer than a year with no problems as all of your water was new when you started.  I only change 100% of my water in a year, but I do it 20% at a time 5 times a year.  I have no problems with SPS LPS or anything else.  But like everything else, that won't last forever, corals need more than calcium, they also need iron, iodine, and the rest of the 80 or so elements in ASW or the thousand chemicals in NSW.  When fish and corals grow, they remove chemicals from the water and add chemicals that will build up, not just chemicals we test for.

But there are tanks that go 10 years with no water changes.