No water changes??

[stan450z]

I just saw this video and saw he doesn't do any water changes. How is this possible? I would save so much money on water changes if this was achievable.

 

[Sniperhank]

By dosing tons of chemicals. Not a theory I would buy into, to easy to crash your tank and still not able to replace things you can't test for.

 

[SeanMonster]

And in the long run I would guess you would spend more than if you just did water changes.


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[Gregcoyote]

It depends on water volume. At 500 gallons I would use a case of salt every month. As my fish room is downstairs, I had to carry the salt a pretty long way and I eventually got lazy. For the past 24 years I have done just occasional water exchanges (5% every other week, sometimes just once a month). Basic dosing kept things in pretty good shape. Now I use Triton to test my water and have found I needed several other adjustments as things have drifted over the years. I used their dosing regimen and all is going great. It's much more complicated than regular large water exchanges, but with the proper testing a reef can flourish with minimal or no water exchanges.


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[melosu58]

The main issue here is not just dosing but the dilution of DOC`s. PWC`s help greatly in two ways. The addition of depleted trace elements as discussed in earlier posts and more importantly getting rid of dissolved organic compounds that store up in the tank. These eventually store up till enough is enough and the tank crashes. This takes a long time to happen esp. in a big tank but it does happen. PWC`s are the most important thing you can do.IMO

 

[Gregcoyote]

If you depend on water exchanges to reduce or eliminate DOCs then your filtration isn't up to snuff IMO, but the vast majority roll that way I know. Using a ATS, my organic load stays very low without exchanges. Using Triton I get a exact view of 31 different essential elements. I monitor and replace those and all runs just fine. For most average hobbyists with smaller systems and no degree in chemistry , water exchange is all you need, but for larger systems, replenishment also works. No crashes after 24 years, so I guess it works. But to make it work, you need a certified lab doing a broad range of calibrated tests, not home type testing. That is earlier where I almost went wrong in the whole thing, you have to test for a lot of different key elements.

I have a very heavily loaded system full of Stoney corals. I found out that:

Calcium was being depleted very, very rapidly along with Mg. Alkalinity was also being under dosed.

Lithium gets high without water exchanges.
Potassium gets depleted.
Iodine and Strontium as well as a few others gets used up fast.
A tiny, tiny bit of copper accumulates (Cuprasorb fixed that).

The Potassium was the big surprise. That's the result of running a ATS I think.


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[melosu58]

I would say yes with your system if you are checking all those and have that type filtration then you might get away with it but for us that have just LR and a skimmer then PWC`s are a way of life for us. I have seen some crashes by those that don't. Sounds like a pretty impressive tank Greg.

 

[Gregcoyote]

Thanks. I agree with you.


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