Re: how frequent do i change my water

[Wayne Sallee]

Most people do a 10% to 15% water change once a month.
I myself like to do a 50% water change once every 3 to 6
months.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets



dj wrote on 4/1/2006 7:50 PM:
> hi guys,
> just wondering how frequent i should be changing my tank water, it is
> 350 L, i've got live rock, corals and 8 fish. i have been changing
> three quarters of it every fortnight but recently read that some people
> change a third of their water every 3 months. i have fresh sea water
> delivered to my house and i store it in a 1000L drum outside with a
> powerhead for movement. my water quality is good and have been
> sucessfully doing this for the past 5 years. i am just wondering if i
> have been over doing it.
>
> also, i have these strange worm-like things that build a cocoon like
> tunnel on my live rock and they go onto my stoney corals and eat the
> polyps. i usually just try and scrap them off the rock but it doesn't
> seem to stop them from appearing. there aren't that many of them but
> they are a pain in the arse. i never see the "thing" i only every see
> the tunnel. it can actually tunnel through the rock.
> hope you can help
>

[TW]

The older the tank the less I do. My tank is now 8-9years old and I do
water changes every three months or so. I usually wait until the water
colour seems a bit dull. My tank,sump,refugium setup is about 110
gallons water volume and I change about 25 gal. it really works for me
and perks everthing up. I like the "less is more" attitude to tank
maintenance. Things seem to cruise along just fine if I don't mess with
it too much. If it aint broke, and your pets seem happy don't touch it.
That is my experience and I'm sure some will disagree. My experience
is to watch each organism. When they are not looking happy it is time to
change the water. Otherwise leave it alone.
Todd

[Wayne Sallee]

TW wrote on 4/1/2006 11:48 PM:
> My experience is
> to watch each organism. When they are not looking happy it is time to
> change the water. Otherwise leave it alone.
> Todd

Yep, that's the way I look at it. Not to say, ignore other
things, but as you learn to understand the inhabitants,
you can tell *a lot* about water quality just by observing
the inhabitants.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets