View Full Version : max h2o change?
what's the safest % of water change can i do w/o disrupting/ destroying my aq. environment?
I'd not do more than 25% really. Not in an established tank. I'm on a weekly 10% change. Is there a reason you're asking...did something get into your water system that you're worried about?
just tryin' to get 'trates lower. can't seem to get below 20. i've done as much as a 20% change, but didn't think i should go much more. also, i forgot to ask...how soon between changes? say a couple of 10 to 15% changes?
thanks!
oh yeah, my basket star is in my avatar....so far, so good!
Although water changes are a great way to lower them what else have you tired?
tamableanimal
10-24-2007, 8:09 PM
I would suggest as Grins does 10 % water changes to lower your levels. But that is just a bandaid on the problem. You need to figure out where the excess nutrients are coming from.(i.e. over feeding, loss of animals in tank, to low of a clean up crew) Just some of the most common causes but not a total list. How old is your tank, if less than a year then just do water changes and reduce feeding slightly. If tank is matured than look into the other possibities for high nutrients in the tank. I hope that this helps.
Rich
salty420
10-24-2007, 10:32 PM
i've done almost 50% - same reason as you - to try to lower trates. everything was fine, no problems at all after the WC.
clown-lover
10-24-2007, 11:01 PM
As well as it is hard to get a tank below 20 if you are not doing anything for nutrient export. my nitrates have finally fallen to 0 with the chaeto and mangrove trees in my sump. I haven't had a reading over 2.5 in months.
i have two clumps of cheato, don't feed much, tank is approx. 7 mos. old. probably not enough clean up crew; 2 red leg hermits, one blue leg, 4 large turbos, 1 coral banded shrimp, 1 conk. since the 'trates get up to @ 20 b/4 changes, then lower to @ 10 or so, i just thought if i could get them real low to begin with, maybe they'd only go to 10 or so between changes. how soon between changes is safe?
thanks for all the help & responses!
Well, as far as time between changes you could do it daily if you wanted to. I've also done a larger than 50% water change with out any problem you just have to make sure that your paramas are the same. The trates have to be comming from somewhere are you running a cannister with media, have crushed coral etc.?
Subliminal
10-26-2007, 8:22 AM
Many MANY articles on reefkeeping and such talk about doing drastic water changes on occasion. I think I've heard of 75% before in cases of emergency.
As long as the water you're putting in is the same water your tank is used to, matched in ph temp etc...you'll be fine.
I wouldn't do it every week, if for no other reason than cost of salt and time of running your ro/di, but I don't think you're going to hurt your biology, as most of that is in the sand, on the rock, etc...
Here's a good read for ya:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/rhf/index.php#4
On the chaeto, are you removing some of it at times?
i am running a hob, no media, w/ carbon. couple inches of sand, 35-40lbs live rock, and a skimmer. i know i need more rock, (55 gal), and have been otherwise moving slowly. i'd just like to get the base line down and keep it down!
thanks again for all the great responses!
I thought you had chaeto in your system somewhere?
clown-lover
10-27-2007, 12:52 AM
i have two clumps of cheato, don't feed much, tank is approx. 7 mos. old. probably not enough clean up crew; 2 red leg hermits, one blue leg, 4 large turbos, 1 coral banded shrimp, 1 conk. since the 'trates get up to @ 20 b/4 changes, then lower to @ 10 or so, i just thought if i could get them real low to begin with, maybe they'd only go to 10 or so between changes. how soon between changes is safe?
thanks for all the help & responses!
I have a 75 and keep a chunk of cheato that is larger than basketball. I trim it about once every week to week and a half back to the larger than basketball size. But I also have a large sump to utilize. (40+ gallons in size) with the refugium being about 1/3 of that space. Then I have 6 mangrove plants in the sump that are also growing.. Not real fast but they have started to take off more than they had.. I also run a skimmer..
krj-1168
10-27-2007, 7:09 PM
Personally I found that high nitrates it better to do a couple of water changes in the 25-30% range(about a day or 2 a part) than to do one large one of nearly 75%. For one thing it will allow your tank's inhabitants to adapt easier to the change in water.
For an established tank - with stable nitrate levels - I've found that a weekly water change of 10% is just fine.
Delete
10-28-2007, 11:05 AM
Wow, I'm lucky I get my water from my city aquarium. I've done safe water changes of nearly 50% with no harm done to my inverts and fish. Anemone loved it.
whoa, sorry! i just realized there was another whole page of responses! grins, i just have two clumps of cheato in the tank, and no, i have not trimmed them, should i? it doesn't seem to grow much, but i do need to ask, what is the purple-ish growth on them?
Do you have a photo? It could be algae growing on the algae. Believe it or not it happens.
In order for macro algaes to do their job with removing excess nutrients they do need to be prune back (just pulling a clump out of chaeto works) in order for you to remove the nitrates they've absorbed. Otherwise it is still in your system. What kind of light do you have on it now because it should be noticably growing.
right now i only have 2 ocean suns (24" each) in my stock hood. planning on adding more light w/ a custom hood. cheato isn't really showing much new growth, even if i place it high up near lights. also, yellow tang has been pruning it a bit. i assume new growth would be thin, green sprouts?
ah you have it in your display?
yeah, i originally got it for a fuge, but i ran into some problems, so i figured i'd just put it in the tank. not good? my biggest concern is that the more time goes on, the worse the situation gets. i thought that after everything was established, it'd get better. what other clean-up should i be doing...?
thanks so much for all your time!
I had mine in my display but just between the time I got it from a local reefer and my fuge was ready. I had to wedge it between the rocks and glass to keep it from getting all over the tank so it didn't really grow so much. Once it was in the fuge and tumbling a bit it has taken off.
As for getting the nitrates down if your source water is nitrate free I'd concentrate on water changes and not overfeeding for now.
i really don't feed much, and have cut down even more in the last few weeks. i plan on really attacking the water changes, maybe 10% every other day or so for a while...which is where i was going w/ my orig. question. just don't know why the 'trates are more of an issue now, i thought that they'd become less, if anything, as things became more established.
thanks again!
If they are becoming more of an issue I'd be curious what in the system might be trapping them. Bioballs, crushed coral beds, rockwork that doesn't get good flow, etc. can all be places to consider.
well, no crushed coral, no bio balls, and gonna add another powerhead. don't know where else to look! i should leave the sand alone...correct? or should i be vacuuming it?
no cc. no bio balls...gonna add another power head. i should leave the sand alone...correct? or should i be vacuuming it ?
If it is a deep sand bed leave it alone. If it is a shallow one opinion is split on whether you should vacuum it. Personally I vacuum small sections of it each week during water changes.
it's only about 2", and i've seen both recommendations on vacuuming or not, but your the first to differentiate between deep or shallow! thanks again!