Water Changes

[gazmaull]

Hello Everyone,

 

[Jolieve]

Well, this may or may not be true... but here's my thought:

You do water changes to remove organics from the tank. In the process of doing those water changes, you also reduce some of the bacterial population. If you cease doing water changes entirely, and the bacterial population grows to the point that its outpacing the organics that are being consumed..
... a huge portion of the bacteria will start to die... and you'll end up with a crashed system.

Water changes add to the stability of the system.

But, I could be way off base... it's just my thought.

J.

 

[fishfanatic2]

If you had ozone, if u had lots and lots of premium rock, if u have a great protein skimmer, if u use a kalk reactor, u wouldnt need to do water changes very often.

If is a very useful word. Get my drift? :wink:

Plus, solid waste doesnt break down immediately, and it can lead to unsightly buildups. Not only from a biological standpoint, but water changes help asthetically too.

You could argue that Nature doesnt do water changes. I say to you, the oceans are trillions of gallons mixed around every day. Our tanks usually max out at 300 gallons and are powered by little pumps. :wink:

In oreder to keep balance and order in our pico oceans, we must do water changes to flush out old water and in with new, just like the oceans mix and tumble every day.

A wise saying I have heard somewhere in the infinite reaches of space-"Sometimes there is more to water than just water", and "There is more to reef than meet eye."

BTW, questioning the very basis of the aquarium hobby is a very good way to start a riot. 8)

 

[Mikef1]

By doing water changes you are adding trace elements back into your tank that are in your salt. You also do pull excess nutrients out of the tank, however in a well established reef tank with proper equipment excess nutrients shouldnt be a huge issue. Doing water changes also maintains your buffering capacity. Just my 2 cents

 

[MDboyz]

I agreed with Mikef.
If you do water change regulary, you don't need to dose trace elements. The new water change will add it into your tank.

 

[Anonymous]

out with the old in with the new

 

[shr00m]

theorhetically yes it should be possible, but realisticly things build up that cant be broken down in the aquarium like heavy metals and other solids.

 

[shr00m]

thought id add, some people do do tanks without changes. if you want to do it good luck, but expect a lot of loss before gettting the hang of it. water changes are a good idea.

 

[romunov]

"Sometimes there is more to water than just water,." and "There is more to a reef than meets the eye."

Nuff said.

If nature was so simple that everything evolved around NH3/NO2/NO3 and few trace elements, we would be climbing a rock and sucking on some algae...

 

[jandree22]

For me it's primarily just the attempt to make my system as 'open' as possible, thus letting nature take more of its own course rather than throw on 10 pieces of equipment and dose 15 different chemicals. Keeping your system closed by not water changing is bound do leave some organics behind and some trace elements depleted from the system. It's just to much risk, trouble, and expense to maintain a reef any other way.

 

[fishfanatic2]

Exactly, since our tanks dont have the capacity to dilute or break down stuff like the oceans do.

 

[Jolieve]

See? I told you I was probably way off base LOL!

J.