How often do you do water changes?

[KMiller]

I change about 20% (+ or - depending on the look of everything) each week on Sunday ( just got done actually) on my 46 bow

[pledosophy]

I am a reformed water change addict. At one point I was doing a 50% change twice a week (got free research grade ocean water).

 

I then went to 50% once a week.

 

Next was 50% every two weeks.

 

After I got the tanks balanced I never noticed a difference after cutting back the changes so I slowed. Then I learned of carbon dosing . . .

 

My planted tank had 3 water changes in 2 years, all of them were associated with flat worm dips.

 

Before I moved in April it had been 6 months for my 65g reef.

 

Now that I have a 125g reef plumbed into a 65g planted tank, I don't know if I will be doing water changes or not. So far so good, it's been about 6 weeks without any. My corals are doing better then ever, but the alage is not so good right now.

 

JME

[Gill]

I went over a year on my 55 with zero nitrates zero water changes. Then I put a canister filter on it and I had no choice but to change water. So far (about a month) no water change on the 125.

[Barelycuda]

I change about 50g a week (20% in a 260g sytem) in the growout system and 50g every other week (25% in a 200g system) in the clownhouse. Now granted I have a huge bioload and am just trying to keep the nitrates down.

[undrtkr_00]

I do a 30% water change about once a month. I don't need to do it for nitrates or phosphates, but I figure it replenishes the trace elements, and also reduces any other bad stuff that may be accumulating. I have some leathers that I know emit at least some toxins.