Water related question

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

DPB94

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Mar 20, 2012
Messages
47
Location
Bracknell, Berkshire, England
Hi All,

I'm debating getting a small sump tank for my nano tank but I want to ask a question first, if I get a sump tank with weed in in that absorbs Nitrate will there be any need to do water changes? I mean if the denitrifying bacteria in the live rock changes ammonia and nitrite to nitrate and the weed then absorbs the nitrate then there wouldn't be any need to do water changes any more would there? Obviously i'd have to keep my tank topped up etc. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated...

Daniel Bell
 
+1 bavass

Water changes not only remove stuff but it adds elements that are contained in the salt mix, like 80 of them so theres no way to test and dose for each element.

While macro algae can help with nitrates it is not a replacement for water changes and will not consume ALL the trates.
 
What you have to remember is that in the wild, everything on the reef gets 2 water changes a day.... So I think a weekly part change is the least we can do.
 
I agree with both previous posts. Pwc's are the way to go! Even if your refugium works perfectly at removing your Nitrates, the depletion of all the other elements is hard-impossible to track, costly, exacting, and tedious. I speak from experience. I went from weekly changes on a 135, for years, to 2 changes in a year on a 180 w/ 30 g sock/ skimmer sump and 30 g refuge , with supplementation. Though trates weren't a problem, the lack of proper supplementation was, although I tried. Since then, I have done weekly changes with a good reef salt and things are back to normal. Honestly too, it's just much easier to do the changes, than constantly be battling levels!
A refuge should simply be supplemental filtration, more of a food factory w/filter benefits, than a necessary part of the filter. Still a great thing to have!
 
I do a 70 gal water change on my 450 every other week to replace the minerals lost and to add trace elements. The overall health of the system benefits.
 
Thanks all, I will keep up the water changes but I do need to bring down the Nitrate so I think a sump tank would do the trick but will keep up with the water changes :)
 
Back
Top Bottom