Water Change
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jag3534
Well-known member
How big is your tank? What do you have in it? Do you run a skimmer/ refugium? Do you have live rock? How much do you feed?
These all play a role in your water change schedule. The idea is to change enough water to keep you water parameters in check. Lowering your nitrates, and balancing your pH, cal, mag, alk, etc, and providing the trace minerals the tank needs.
As a general idea 10-20% every 2-4weeks is a good amount, I think.
These all play a role in your water change schedule. The idea is to change enough water to keep you water parameters in check. Lowering your nitrates, and balancing your pH, cal, mag, alk, etc, and providing the trace minerals the tank needs.
As a general idea 10-20% every 2-4weeks is a good amount, I think.
Krish
RF STAFF
I use to do 10-15% every week. Worked well for my setup, but every setup is different. Some can go longer without any issues some go a bit less. Maybe try once a week (10-15 or even 20%) and see how that works. From there, you can determine what adjustments (if any) you need to make to your schedule. If you have a shallow sandbed, vaccuming it while doing your water change is a good idea to get out all of the nasty stuff. If a deep sand bed, you can do the same, but only the top layer so as to not disturb the lower levels too much.
Just a few personal thoughts. Good luck with it all
Just a few personal thoughts. Good luck with it all
My tank is 100 gal. with skimmer and refugium. I have a couple zoa, acan, pulsing pom pom, xenia, mushroom and rbta. Also i have four fish in it also. Around 70lbs of live rock. Fish i feed once a day, everything else i feed twice a week. Is that too often?
Krish
RF STAFF
Not sure on the "everything else", but I fed my fish only once a day and they seemed happy.
I have a 100gal tank and roughly the same livestock with about 80-100lbs of rock. I was doing 25-30gal a week for the first 4 months and have now reduced the water changes to 10-12gal a week. I've only been into the hobby for 6 months, and it seems that the tank is just now starting to regulate it's self. I feed my fish daily and put in a little particulate food every day as well.
conduit7
Well-known member
In my 28 gal I change 5 gal a week, as I don't run a skimmer. You will soon be able to judge what works for you. Good luck on your tank.
It appears from the list of what you have that you dont have any sps and with softies and softies and lps they are a little more forgiving. The one thing that I learned when I was starting i wanted to spread out the water changes and would go longer and do less thinking that I didnt want to do the work and that the water was in balance. It wasnt. The best advice I got from an experienced reefer was "religiously do your water changes". I tended not to want to do my water changes because i was doing the "haul pails methods", messy and slow. After the advice i went a pump and hose and big tub. I have my new water premixed and aerated. I change 10 percent every weekend. I have two tanks and a ato and with the pump, hose and rubbermaid i can water change and clean the rocks in the two tanks and ato in about 15 minutes with no spilled water. It is almost fun to change the water. Like a Nascar pit crew i try to see how fast i can get it done. I change weekly because i found my parameter would start to change after a week and i didnt like daily dosing because i would forget occasionally. So the water changes are my "daily dosing" and "tank cleaning" all in one. You may be able to go to weeks between changes. I would probably do a minimum of 10 percent. Good luck
NC2WA
Well-known member
I would do 10-15 gallons every two weeks, but this sticky is good to read:
How to Make a Safe Water Change for Fish
How to Make a Safe Water Change for Fish
conduit7
Well-known member
You would do better with more frequent smaller changes on your tank, smaller tanks are not as forgiving as large ones.
ReefJeff
Well-known member
I have a 50 gallon reef and I have been doing 5 gallons a week. All seems fine and water parameters seem to be very stable.
I do once a week because it is very difficult to clean the sand bottom with the rock all around so I feel with the protein skimmer and aquaclear 70 working, it does not hurt to give it that more frequent change.
I do once a week because it is very difficult to clean the sand bottom with the rock all around so I feel with the protein skimmer and aquaclear 70 working, it does not hurt to give it that more frequent change.
No. It's kind of the other way around. You do water changes, in order to keep your water quality high. If you allow your water parameters to dictate when you do water changes, you'd have to, first, notice a drop in quality, and then do a water change, to correct this drop. Doing "regular" water changes, will keep your water quality from dropping. (It's kind of like your vehicle. You should do regular tune-ups, BEFORE your car's engine starts showing problems. You don't wait until your oil is too sludged up to circulate, you do regular oil changes, to keep the engine in the best of shape.)
Also, as "water parameters," also refer to trace elements, the above also holds true. Rather than waiting for elements, such as Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium, to drop, regular water changes will replenish these trace elements, keeping them more stable.
Typically, people will do between 10%-25% every week, or every 2 weeks. Typically, this is sufficient. However, with smaller tanks, it's usually suggested to lean towards the shorter periods, between water changes, as water quality can suffer much quicker, in a smaller tank. On the opposite end of the spectrum, very large tanks will typically stay more stable, with large water changes, maybe less frequently.
I would strongly suggest that if you haven't read it yet, read the Sticky that NC2WA provided, in post #9.
DonW
R.I.P.
Yes your tank lets you know when you need water changes. Look at your paramaters. If you dont have the demand to dose but still want good coraline then you can use water changes to keep ca mg and alk in check. If your nitrates are climbing then do some water changes. The system dictates the water changes. Once you learn a little about the chemistry you use the water changes to keep the chemistry on track. It does take some time to figure it all out. Keep a record book and track everything. You will learn to do the water change in advance of a decline.
Don
I guess my thoughts have always been to avoid the decline, with "pre-emptive" water changes.
DonW
R.I.P.
I guess I didnt word that well. It takes time to learn what the tank really needs. Once you get a good record you can be proactive while not wasting resources on unnecessary waterchanges.
Don
Makes total sense, and you actually worded it very well...lol.
Krish
RF STAFF
Don, didn't you at one point change a total of 100% per week on your tank??
