Doing super frequent water changes.. what can go wrong?

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by Myka

Keeping a lower fish load is the easiest way to achieve lower nutrients. That's pretty simple logic, although people really don't seem to link the two for some reason.

Personally, I despise battling nutrients so I keep a small fish load. I am not using any artificial filtration at all; no carbon, GFO, filter socks, skimmer - not even a sump. The only mechanical things in my tank are the Tunze Wavebox, a MaxiJet 1200, and a heater. You will find very little algae in my tank, and my phosphate and nitrate are undetectable using both Salifert and Elos kits. Oh, and I'm one lazy SOB...I have done two 15% water changes since I set the tank up in June.

I have been using Zeo lately (my phos and nitrate were already undetectable before starting Zeo), but really only for the last 6 weeks or so for most of it. I'm not using any of the Zeo biological additives (yet), and I'm not dosing a carbon source. This isn't the first low fish load tank I've had either! I figure there is a simple way and a not so simple way. I would rather my tank is simple than have a large aesthetically pleasing fish load.

So a person shouldn't trivialize lowering the fish load like that!

While one person may be happy with less or no fish another may not, that was the only point to the previous quote. There are other options besides feeding less and removing fish.

On another note a tank setup in June with low stock won't require much to keep nutrients down but over time they will build up following the "lazy SOB" approach.

[Myka]

Originally Posted by sphelps

On another note a tank setup in June with low stock won't require much to keep nutrients down but over time they will build up following the "lazy SOB" approach.

Like I said, it's not the first low nutrient low fish load tank I've had Steve. You can make yourself a low maintenance tank...depends what you want more. The "lazy SOB" approach WILL work, you just have to plan around it - it's all about balance.

A freshly set up tank may actually have quite high nutrients...depends what approach you take.

[kien]

I think that's what this hobby boils down to.. picking your battles. Everyone has their own unique goals and with them challenges to overcome or to achieve in reaching those goals. As suggested, some people are perfectly happy with a salt water tank with a few fish and low maintenance, while some people NEED to have to have that cool fish, and that cool fish, and oh, that one too! Need to have those LPS corals too, and SPS' that are thriving as well! Somewhere in between having just an empty tank with saltwater in it and a tank full (possibly overstocked) with fish and corals, the hobbyist has had to decide where the line is drawn and which battles to fight. Do I keep all those cool fish and risk them fighting one another, eating my corals, nuking my tank, do I deal with the high nutrients, dose to keep nutrients low? stock less? more live rock, less live rock, deeper sand bed, skimmer, no skimmer, bigger tank, smaller tank, more flow less flow?

For me personally I am trying to find a balance where I can keep all my cool fish and corals, while at a cost (time and monetary) in maintenance. The battle I have chosen to fight (today at least) is how to achieve this with all the various methods of nutrient exporting. Frequent water changes just happens to be one that I was curious about.

[Myka]

Originally Posted by kien

I think that's what this hobby boils down to.. picking your battles. Everyone has their own unique goals and with them challenges to overcome or to achieve in reaching those goals. As suggested, some people are perfectly happy with a salt water tank with a few fish and low maintenance, while some people NEED to have to have that cool fish, and that cool fish, and oh, that one too! Need to have those LPS corals too, and SPS' that are thriving as well! Somewhere in between having just an empty with saltwater in it and a talk full (possibly overstocked) with fish and corals, the hobbyist has had to decide where the line is drawn and which battles to fight.

Well said.

[kien]

Update: No more super frequent water changes. I was changing out %15 every couple of days, then every 3 days, then I was back to my regular weekly water changes That just ended up being WAY too much work and wasted water for me..

Next up for me, vodka dosing

[Delphinus]

Wow, I totally didn't see that one coming.

[kien]

I gave it the 'ol college try! :P You know, I was wondering the other day, for those people who live on the coast, have you thought about using ocean water for your water changes? Just get a bucket of ocean water, heat it up to tropical temps, dump it into your tank. What could go wrong?? :-)

[sphelps]

Yeah that's why I recommended daily automated/semi-automated water changes. Makes very little sense to do water changes often if you're doing them manually, the whole point is based on automation.