How much water do you change?

[Juce23]

Just reading up on water changes and was just wondering how often people do water changes,and how much they change. I have a 28 gallon nanocube and have done 4 gallon weekly water changes as soon as my tank was finished cycling. Since I didnt measure my exact water volume when i filled it,im using 25gallons as an estimate,so i approximate my water changes at about 16% per week or 64% per month. Just wondering what other people do.

[awpong]

I usually do somewhere between 10-20% water change every week, so what you're doing is perfect.

[altolamprologus]

Same here. I have a 29 gallon and I do 4 to 4 and a half gallon water changes weekly.

[ulver982]

I've got a Biocube 14, probably like 10-12 gallons of water after rocks and sand. I change 40-50% every week.

[nanotrevor]

nc6 and i do 1 gallon every 5-7 days

[krackerjacksna]

i have a 33 gallon, i change 5 gallons every sunday, and 5 gallons every other wednsday

[Thrassian Atoll]

I change 4.5 gallons per week in my 29g biocube

[theheaddon910]

45g and 20% weekly

[ry05coupe]

I change 5g a week on my 40 breeder.

[brandon429]

I change 100% any time I feed the tank in my pico, so once or twice a week. glad to see this new technique of weekly work being done, its the right thing to do to move away from 90's reef tank care methods that were not good for the smaller tanks. there is no amount or frequency of water changes that could be harmful, the more, the better up to and including full changes which I do and will always do until a magic machine is invented

[jojoe972]

Do 20% weekly

[Thrassian Atoll]

I change 100% any time I feed the tank in my pico, so once or twice a week. glad to see this new technique of weekly work being done, its the right thing to do to move away from 90's reef tank care methods that were not good for the smaller tanks. there is no amount or frequency of water changes that could be harmful, the more, the better up to and including full changes which I do and will always do until a magic machine is invented

 

 

I understand doing that in a pico, but what about a bigger tank? If lets say your water quality is fine and #'s are fine, what would changing that much water benefit? I would think it would just make for more work and more money.

 

edit: I did not see until I just read one of your other post, that you like having natural filtration. I understand needing to do that big of a water change then

[Juce23]

I understand doing that in a pico, but what about a bigger tank? If lets say your water quality is fine and #'s are fine, what would changing that much water benefit? I would think it would just make for more work and more money.

I do mine with the understanding that in my tank,with no skimmer and no fuge(although i do have soe nice flame algae that has sprouted up in two spots),that it is the most effective wayto get rid of nitrates,and replenish trace elements that diminish over time. I am new at this so someone correct me if im wrong. I almost feel like i should bump mu water changes up to 5 or 6 gallons weekly,but imnot sure

[garrettparson]

One my biocube I do none and its 3 years old. On my picos 100% weekly.

[Thrassian Atoll]

I do mine with the understanding that in my tank,with no skimmer and no fuge(although i do have soe nice flame algae that has sprouted up in two spots),that it is the most effective wayto get rid of nitrates,and replenish trace elements that diminish over time. I am new at this so someone correct me if im wrong. I almost feel like i should bump mu water changes up to 5 or 6 gallons weekly,but imnot sure

 

I understand why you change out 15-20%. Most all of us do that a week. That was directed towards brandon and %100 water changes. But you are right, water changes are needed for reduction of nitrates and to replenish elements

[Juce23]

I understand why you change out 15-20%. Most all of us do that a week. That was directed towards brandon and %100 water changes. But you are right, water changes are needed for reduction of nitrates and to replenish elements

I realized that after i posted. Ive been up for like 20 hours and my brain needs a water change.

[brandon429]

the article 'nitrate in the reef aquarium' by randy holmes farleys says partial water changes aren't too helpful with nitrates...but big frequent ones are. Yes that's hard for larger tanks to copy which is why I only keep palmtops lol

 

at least change some weekly, thats safe and its preventative, not just reactive when the tank starts to show signs of waste accumulation. pre emptive water changes are also helpful

 

additionally my model is helpful because it shows you can do as much change as you want, not stopping at some arbitrary percentage for fear of destabilizing the tank. dont forget about preventative actions, even when the tank is in good standing. at least something weekly should suffice!

[boscoT]

I have 2 biocube 14s now. I just did my first water change last week and did 5 gallons in each, but that took the water down way low. So I assume that I really have about 10g per tank after you factor in the rocks and aragonite.

 

So, I have decided on 2.5g. per week in each tank. Assuming that my current water volume is around 10gal. that would be a 25% water change every week.

 

That should be ok right??

 

I have purchased distilled water and I am having good success with it so far.

[evanski]

I change 100% any time I feed the tank in my pico, so once or twice a week. glad to see this new technique of weekly work being done, its the right thing to do to move away from 90's reef tank care methods that were not good for the smaller tanks. there is no amount or frequency of water changes that could be harmful, the more, the better up to and including full changes which I do and will always do until a magic machine is invented

+1 (Hey brandon! Howsit going? I need to update my 1G thread!)

 

A quick 100% change is great for these...not expensive of difficult, and you can feed like made and have a long photoperiod without worrying about nitrates, phosphates, DOCs, etc.

 

The REALLY small picos are subject to wild swings and crashes if you are not careful. Brandon has basically pioneered these kinds of tanks and has a LONG track record....listen to the man and what he says. He has bailed me out at least two times on water chem in the last 8 months.

[gtmaus]

I have a 29g biocube and change 3g weekly

[PIMPALA]

I change 5 gallons weekly in my biocube14... thats about 50% or more of the water in there. I think it only took 8.5 gallons to begin with.

 

I change 5 gallons once a month in my 20L mantis tank, which is also close to 50% ... i think it holds 12G

 

 

I change 30 gallons every 2 or 3 weeks in my main system. i should be doing that weekly, but its a huge pain in my ass, and everything is doing ok. lol