typical water changes.....?

[dclegern]

ideas on typical water changes to keep down the diatom growth!!!
........ 10% a week? 20%??
Stir up the sand/gravel bed as you do the water change?
Diatom build up on glass and bed is a tad annoying.

[Europhyllia]

how long have you had your set up (without changes to liverock, etc.)
Diatoms seem to come and go regardless of water changes.
I replace 7 to 10 gallons a week on a system that probably holds about 130 gallons in water volume (125g tank with lots of rock and a 50g sump)

adding percentages:
5-8% weekly based on water volume (not tank volume) which amounts to 20-35% monthly

[corydrysdale]

I tend to do a water change of 20 gallons a week, just cause i really like knowing that my levels are kept up right. Like Euromom says, they come and go on their own, but i ended up buying a 2 little fishies phosban reactor from Dr FosterSmith for 35.00 and run phosban in it. Helps with the diatom bloom.

I also use RO/DI water

[corruption]

+2 to previous comments -- the only thing I can add, is don't stir the sandbed -- you want something more like a gravel vacuum/siphon.. stirring up the sandbed just puts the detritus back into the water column, a vacuum will allow you to actually remove it direct from the sandbed, without disturbing the whole bed. Also, don't do more than about half of the sandbed at a time -- allows the established fauna to maintain dominance. Removing a lot of the detritus from your sand will go a long ways in getting rid of diatoms on the glass -- but do realize that this is just one of those things we have to deal with in the hobby.. Chances of you having nothing to clean off the glass, ever, are pretty much null :)

-Justin

[The Butcher]

+2 to previous comments -- the only thing I can add, is don't stir the sandbed -- you want something more like a gravel vacuum/siphon.. stirring up the sandbed just puts the detritus back into the water column, a vacuum will allow you to actually remove it direct from the sandbed, without disturbing the whole bed. Also, don't do more than about half of the sandbed at a time -- allows the established fauna to maintain dominance. Removing a lot of the detritus from your sand will go a long ways in getting rid of diatoms on the glass -- but do realize that this is just one of those things we have to deal with in the hobby.. Chances of you having nothing to clean off the glass, ever, are pretty much null :)


-Justin

I agree completely! :bigsmile:

[OrionN]

I try to change 20-30 % of the water monthly all at one time.

[hobogato]

i do 5 gallons twice a week. that amounts to 40 gallons a month or about 25% per month.

[corruption]

When I have time, I tend to follow the same regimen as Ace, personally... but I haven't had the spare time during the week for about a month, so I've been doing 10-15 gal weekly... Gets me roughly the same amount, somewhere between 40 and 50 gals removed per month, with my total running volume being approx. 95 gals :)

-Justin

[Mike]

Our normal schedule is usually every two weeks, but due to some unwanted algae growth we have been doing weekly water changes (once a week) for the past few weeks. Usually about:

40g on the 210 (20%),
10g on the 20g hex (50%), and
10-20g on the 75g (about 20%).

The 20g hex only has the small hang on back skimmer/filter, so we make sure to change more of the water to keep it in good shape.

[Europhyllia]

More differences in amounts of water changed than I expected. Interesting. And the reassuring thing about it: it all seems to work.

[corruption]

Yep, there dozens of methods to get it done -- they all will get you to the end result. The least I would personally recommend is once a month, but as OrionN shows -- if you're diligent once per month can work just great :)

...Then there's those oddballs who get by never changing water... too many variables in this hobby to attribute to one place, I guess :)

-Justin

[fishypets]

I change out 10% a week on my 200. The reason though is not to "remove" nutrients but to "replinish" trace elements. A good stong skimmer along with some method of PO4 reduction, or dosing with carbon and live bacteria will keep your tank clean and your corals looking happy.

my .02

[RayAllen]

Today I did a 2g water change on my BC 29g tank. Added Chemi Pure Elite and dosed Iodide for all the shrooms in the tank.

[kkiel02]

I have been having good results with 10 gallons weekly. 180 gallon display with a 56 gallon sump only half full though. So I would say 200 gallons total area but with rock and all my sand Im guessing around 160 gallons or so of actual water.

A quick growing macro will do wonders for nutrient removal but just be careful if its in your display as it can overgrow a tank fairly quick.