Water changes... Tried and true

Reefkeeping, Coral, Fish and Invertebrates.

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dondante
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Water changes... Tried and true

Post by dondante »

So I've been keeping SW/reef tanks for about 30 years. My first sw tank was a fish only (only thing available at the time.)
I was 12. Later corals and inverts became available from the usual suspects B&B and I forget the other store near where harbor freight is located. I met Rich and really got involved in corals.

Publications, .Net and RC were full of article and posts about water changes.

I did water changes but I was lazy and had my ups and downs. Never took them as serious.

3 months ago I purchased an AWC unit. I run an apex but purchased Autoaqua because I wanted the ability to do larger changes on demand or automatically. I may use my DOS to run small amounts daily and use this for larger water changes.

After some modifications: researching plugs they use and a switch that I could use to operate a larger pump from my mixing station which is behind the wall of the tank in a utility room. It needed the ability to pump from about 20" away. The small stock pump was too small and wouldn't pump the distance or amount I needed. That's whole different story. But I was successful making it work.

Verdict: my corals have started growing like crazy and coloring up unlike ever before. Every other day I'm changing around 3 gallons of water. Frags are finally sprouting and I'm just flat out seeing growth, color and PE like never before.

I feed heavy.
3 times a day on an auto feeder(I have a few Anthias) plus frozen once a day when I think about it.

Thought I would share as I never took Water changes serious. The AWC takes so much work out of the process. It's just a push of a button. Or I can set it to automat. I sort of like being around when it operates. I just push a button.

Trace elements and parameters are just so much more stable. Highly recommend. Look into one. It's been the best investment I've ever made. If you have long runs from your saltwater container I can help solve that problem through my trial and error. Plus I have the plugs you will need to extend the cables.

I'm not proof reading this. Lol. It's late. I come back later. 😎


150gal
3 kessil x360s
2 T5s
Avast Calcium reactor(controlled by Apex)
Kalk every few days
Small doses of aminos.
IO RC $37 for 160 bucket. (was using two little fishies.)
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snoopdog
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Re: Water changes... Tried and true

Post by snoopdog »

I may be able to do something with the next tank regarding AWC but I do not have the actual room to do it unless I do it manually. That reminds me that this is water change weekend, yay! Sense my sarcasm on that one. Are you positive that your growth is not from something else though? Could it be increased coral feedings causing the growth?
"When they was no meat we ate fowl, when there was no fowl we ate crawdad. And when there was no crawdad to be found, we ate sand."--Cellmate
"You ate what?"--H.I.
"We ate sand."--Cellmate
"You ate sand?"--H.I.
"That's right."--Cellmate
Oceans Corals
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Re: Water changes... Tried and true

Post by Oceans Corals »

Water changes=success......most of the time. The AWC/ATO combo is a great way to go about doing it. Have installed a few for customers and they all like it. Some use the timer and some use the manual only but either way, they all swear they will never have a set up without one again. Great to hear that starting a water change routine has helped your system start to thrive. Any pictures of the corals?
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snoopdog
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Re: Water changes... Tried and true

Post by snoopdog »

What is so crazy is what works for some does not work for others. Some people never do water changes, they go years and have gorgeous tanks. I have seen people run Nitrates over 100 and have thriving tanks, other people will have complete crashes or enough nuisance algae take over to make them break their tanks down.
"When they was no meat we ate fowl, when there was no fowl we ate crawdad. And when there was no crawdad to be found, we ate sand."--Cellmate
"You ate what?"--H.I.
"We ate sand."--Cellmate
"You ate sand?"--H.I.
"That's right."--Cellmate
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