How much is too much...

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treehugger

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Any opinions out there about doing too many water changes to your tank? I'm curious if there are any negative affects to doing 10% water changes every couple of days? If you're using good ro/di water (tds of 0) and a decent salt mix (and matching temp/s.g.) then no harm right? Just a massive reduction in waste in your tank and replacement of trace elements? I ask because since I've moved my tank (250g h2o volume) I have not been able to get the tank to stablilize (ie phosphates and nitrates probably from moving my DSB) and have been battling hair algae. Please share thoughts/experiences.
Jeff
 
I've changed as much as 90% & done it every three/four days to stabilize things, never had issues.
I'd start by Isolating your DSB, see how your system runs without it!
I'd consider doing a few huge changes also, little changes are good for maintenance but not for problems like your saying.
 
I'm with Scootie here. I can't find the article right now, but there was one dedicated to the water change and they measured the resulting parameters. The end result showed that large water changes less frequently did more than more frequent smaller changes.
 
I started off with 50 gallons this morning and have 30 more mixed up for tonight. I was going to do 30gallons every other day for the next two weeks to see how that does. BTW anyone that is in the north seattle area, custom pure on 175th and 15th sells these awesome water filtration units that use 2 carbon cartridges, and a large mix bed D/I unit. You can hook it right up to your sink or hose and as fast as you can pump water through it, you get water with a tds of 0! No more wasting time and water with those RO/DI units. They're pretty reasonable $$. Just thought I'd share.
 
Without the Ro, any unit will make that much water, problem is keeping it down to "0"TDS & 99.99% pure which you could still have impurities with "0" TDS.
 
I agree with Scooter's theory.

Larger water changes will be more stressful for the inhabitants, but it will show results faster than doing a little amount over a longer period of time.

If the problem is in your DSB, then you could do water changes for the next 5 months and it wouldn't matter.
 
Well I did an 85 gallon water change, changed my carbon, re dialed in my protein skimmer and blew off the liverock. I'm going to do another 55 gallon change tues, thurs, 85 gallon on Sat and see where we're at from there. Then I plan on doing regular 30-50 gallon changes once a week for maintenance...oh yeah and keep my fingers crossed :)
 
Few things about doing big changes. One, it has been said that RTN could occur on some sps corals. I never had that issue but it was blamed at times. Personally I think lots of factors plays on that, making rapid changes like ca, mg all along with temp & salinity all at one could have impact.
So to avoid that I recommend aerating your salt mix over night, using a calibrated refract or floater hydrometer to get precise measurements. Temp. should be the same, along with your other levels as to lesson any chance of shock. Also If your making up large batches in multiple containers, this makes it even harder to all be the same, so if possible mix in one large container or mix into one as your replacing water.
Tanks this size makes doing bigger changes harder so a little more care should be taken. I'd space out your big changes some, do it over a couple weeks, each time trying to purge the rocks etc. from as much accumulated detritus possible, it will take a while to see results.
As far as that unit, it is designed more so for your area, they do recommend UV etc If you have other concerns or live elsewhere. Also remember anything can change without your notice. At least get your water tested at a lab every so often to make sure that at your home it is just as good. Claiming it is almost as good as distilled could be misleading.
 
You can change a 100% weekly and have no problems if its done right. As far as a carbon and di only filter goes depending on your incomming tds the cost may become crazy expensive keeping up with the di resin.

Don
 
This is the system that I'm talking about if you want some more info. I'm no water expert so decide for yourself. They were very helpful at the store and I explained to them the importance of removing impurities and this is what the recommended.
http://www.custompure.com/doc/mb.htm

Just watch your TDS - you're going to blow through that DI resin reeeaaaallll quick. It ain't gonna be cheap with that big of a tank. I use a DI system (no RO), but only have a 46g.

Just a hunch, but looking at how much water you've run through it already, I'd guess the DI resin is shot by now. If you don't have a TDS meter, I'd get one and use it!
 
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i change 100% back to back often...

but the bryopsis still lives..

ive given up... My goal these days is to keep nemo and brownbob alive until the next system is ready for use
 
As far as the d/i resin is concerned...the system that i have has a mixture of cation and anions is solution. The unit is pretty large and has the capabilities of doing ~1200 gallons or more (depending on initial water quality) before it's exhausted. That is the beauty of these units. As for the water changes, I'm mixing 55g at a time in a large drum :) Everything seems happy so far.
 
So you have TDS meter, and have checked the output?

Unless those cannisters in the picture are 55g drums, I'm 99.9% sure you're not going to get anywhere close to 1200 gallons putting carbon filtered tap water through there.

[Edit: Maybe the literature on your unit says 1200 gallon capacity, but that may be referring to when the resin is completely exhausted.
You will most likely start reading something greater than 0.0 ppm on your TDS around 100-150g, if you're lucky.]
 
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Just checked the water after filling my last 55 gallon drum tonight (200g so far) 0.000
The canisters are ~1.5 times the size of a 5lb CO2 canister. Like I said I'm no water expert but I'm sure the people at custom pure would be happy to answer questions and clarify how they work exactly.
 
Okey doke. Glad it's working for ya.

I don't need clarification... I use a DI system myself, so I'm pretty darn familiar with it and was just trying to give you a heads up.
 
Okey doke. Glad it's working for ya.

I don't need clarification... I use a DI system myself, so I'm pretty darn familiar with it and was just trying to give you a heads up.
Kurt, what does your TDS read coming out of your tap? I ran a carbon/DI filter for near a year on my Garage system with a very small DI cartrige and it never really seemed to wear out.The TDS on my tap reads from 28-35 depending on the time of year. How long does your DI resin last?
 
The biggest problem with these types of di system in our area is the water shed issues. At the end of summer every year our water sheds put out some seriously nasty water. If this happens it can wipe out the di with just a few gallons of water, so can be expensive. This year I used 4 di refills in just one week, only 5 gallons of water each when the water shed turned yellow.

Don
 
Kurt, what does your TDS read coming out of your tap? I ran a carbon/DI filter for near a year on my Garage system with a very small DI cartrige and it never really seemed to wear out.The TDS on my tap reads from 28-35 depending on the time of year. How long does your DI resin last?

TDS is 80-90 out of the tap - I run dual standard cannisters with a mixed bed DI after a Kold Steril unit with a carbon block.

I move the "finishing" cannister to the "roughing" stage and put in new resin at the "finishing" stage once every two months. Not sure how many gallons it is since I used it for top offs, rinsing stuff, etc... but think it's only around 100g.

I know I could squeak out more because I'm relying on the color change indicator of the resin. I've been meaning to put an inline TDS meter between the "roughing" and "finishing" cannisters so I don't have to rely on the color change, but it just hasn't happened yet.
 

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