Partial Water Chances

[krazykrakr2186]

So my understanding of partial water changes each month is to help replace trace elements and such that comes naturally in the water from the salt mixes. I'm just thinkin outside the box here but would you still need the pwc's once or multiple times a month if you just add the trace elements weekly? Ive got a 5 gal bucket i use that has RO that has also a small amount of trace in it that i add daily to replace the evaporated water. I still do my pwc's once a month but was just questioning what i have been told and read about.

[Europhyllia]

I use the water change mostly to suck out detritus and other unwanted stuff. It's gotten a little tougher to remember since I switched to LEDs since I no longer have my cyano clock ticking so to speak. So I have to go by calender rather than tank appearance.

[jroescher]

Rule #1
Don't add or dose anything that you're not testing for.

When you do a water change, that salt you mixed in contains the trace elements you need. Unless you're trying to correct some deficiency that you're testing for.

There's a recent thread where this was discussed. I think the general consensus is that unless you are a water expert of some kind, there's way too many variables to keep up with.

[krazykrakr2186]

yea the cleaning part of it i didnt really think about... good point.

Not an expert of any kind, just questioning what i was told, makes sense though. i'll have to look for that thread.

[Bill S]

Periodic water changes are a good way to keep your water quality up, and parameters in balance. Where the tank is 55 gallons or less (or so), it's generally the cheapest, simplest way to go. Salt is cheap, especially when you buy it in bulk. Get a RO/DI unit.