water changes?

[andersoned14]

since I have not seen a poll in a while I am going to post this a poll and see what you guys think.
Water changes ---- taking out the time and hassle factor what is the best for the fish and corals to do water changes.
10% a week once a week
only when levels get off/low
once a month
every day
assuming amount of water changed would be the same in all cases. I can do a water change of 1 gal on my 29 gal tank in less than five minutes and was thinking this would be better than one a week of the same amount.

 

[bjohanson1234]

I do a 5 gallon change on my 29 gallon every week.

 

[yote]

I went with 10% once a week.
But on my 125.I've found that by changing 10 gallons every 8th day,my tank is a lot more stable and I dont have to worry about dosing anything.

 

[Zissou]

I think with a smaller tank it's crucial to change the water every week. Those nitrates build up fast in a small tank; just by looking at the creatures and their behaviour I can tell they're suffering if I let it go two weeks or more, even if I plan to do a big change. So, 10% each week for me now.

 

[BL1]

I usually do 10% a week.

Here's a good article I read this morning about water changes Water Changes in Reef Aquaria by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

 

[Dakwan]

I just started doing 30 Gallons every monday on my 180

 

[OhNoNemo]

I do them every Saturday,but not 10%...i do 5 gallons on my 125

 

[SeattleDarko]

I will be honest I am a once a month. Sometimes longer, I am too busy to do weekly plus the bucket sits in my kitchen when in use, so its not like I can have it out all the time. I do have a RKL that tells me the PH every time a walk by so if something starts to go wrong I am going to know pretty fast...

 

[dcantucson]

I went with 10% once a week, but I must confess I haven't done that. I must be more diligent with my Zero restart.

 

[d2mini]

One of the reasons I set up my auto water changes system which changes out just a matter of ounces every few minutes, 24/7, is because i figured it's the least stressful on the inhabitants and closest to nature.

With my nano that's not hooked up this way, I plan on changing about 10% per week all at once.

 

[sen5241b]

I do a 50% change once a month and my tank has never been the worse for it. I will say it has added a bit of instability to my cal levels but I have been able to correct this in the past with a 50% followed by two 25% changes within a week.

If you do a 50% be damn sure the salinity, Ph and temp match your tank perfectly.

 

[Hiker4twenty]

I've got a 75g and do 10g every 14 days. It has been working out well for me and I only have to do that PITA water changes 2x per month which is nice.

 

[Piratefish]

I have not changed my water for 3 months. Its in perfect condition. It is time to clean the sump though, so I will replace some water probably not more than 5gal. I love my scrubber!

 

[PRC]

I change 30g of water per week. Roughly about 20%

 

[Hiker4twenty]

I have not changed my water for 3 months. Its in perfect condition. It is time to clean the sump though, so I will replace some water probably not more than 5gal. I love my scrubber!

Wow...three months is a long time. The main reason behind water changes is to replenish trace elements that dissipate over time. The water params such as nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, etc can all be fine, but you should still do water changed more often than 3 months IMO. :twocents:

 

[Piratefish]

When using a scrubber water changes are a debatable subject. There is a lot of info about it on the algae forum. I do dose for Ca and other trace elements.

 

[Dana42078]

Well im no pro and new to this hobby but i have 46g tank and i do 5 gallon water change every month on the dot. It seems to be working okay for me. I test my water right before the change and everytime ive checked my perameters they are still perfect. I really think it depends on the individual tank and size of it and how much fish/coral/inverts in your tank IMO. Smaller tanks tend to need weekly or biweekly changes while bigger tanks dont need the change as often. Thats jus my two cents.

 

[ccCapt]

I do 20g every 2 weeks.

When using a scrubber water changes are a debatable subject. There is a lot of info about it on the algae forum. I do dose for Ca and other trace elements.

What other trace elements and how are your testing your trace elements to know how much you need to bump them up?

 

[coolhandgoose]

I went with 10% a week even though it's more like 10% every week and a half to two.

 

[Reefrookie]

I do 20% biweekly on my 125