Low nutrients - do i have to do waterchange?

[klavmaister]

Do I need to change the water when the values seem ok? probably 6 weeks ago last time. stays pretty stable.

when to change water? Dont whant to crash the tank ,)

Nitrate 6.4ppm up 0.2 in 3 weeks
Phosphate 0.01ppm
salt 1,025
doses AFR 14ml per day/24 doses
Alk = 8.9

Uae refractometer and hanna checker

 

[Spare time]

You don't need to do so. I would raise the phosphate if you can.

 

[Ben's Pico Reefing]

Water change should be used either to replenish trace elements or lower nutrients. How ever, you can't crash a tank with a water change. I do 100 percent weekly. I also do not dose nor do I use any mechanical filtration other than a sock and that's just to protect the pump. If everything is happy leave it. You can test like your doing to see where things are out. Shoot for keeping numbers between certain points rather than exact.

 

[maxberter]

Water change should be used either to replenish trace elements or lower nutrients. How ever, you can't crash a tank with a water change. I do 100 percent weekly. I also do not dose nor do I use any mechanical filtration other than a sock and that's just to protect the pump. If everything is happy leave it. You can test like your doing to see where things are out. Shoot for keeping numbers between certain points rather than exact.

Curious how big is your tank?

 

[Uncle99]

Phosphate to low at 0.01ppm
Changing water worsens that,
You may need to bump that

 

[Ben's Pico Reefing]

Curious how big is your tank?

My current is 7.1 but with everything in it maybe 6 gallons this is why 100 percent works for me. Some tanks are to large where people can not do this or be to much.

 

[klavmaister]

Curious how big is your tank?

250l red sea reefer g2 7 smal fish and one smal tang. Reefmate 500 fleaceroller, deltec 600i skimmer, about 20 pond rock. Polylab genesis rock.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

IMO, the primary benefits of water changes are unrelated to nutrients.

 

[Idech]

IMO, the primary benefits of water changes are unrelated to nutrients.

What are the primary benefits ?

 

[Ben's Pico Reefing]

IMO, the primary benefits of water changes are unrelated to nutrients.

Not sure I agree. Maybe in certain aspects or if your just draining and adding water in the column. But even then, I consider ammonia and nitrate nutrients as well as any food or floating gunk waste, etc. By changing the water, you are lowering the nutrients available. If the nutrients are leaching from something or just sitting at the bottom then it's just a temporary fix and I can agree especially if only done in small percentage as levels will go back up and be negligible at small changes.

But, If you vacuum or syphon to clean the sand or bottom (actually attempting to remove things, you are removing nutrients even more effectively before it even breaks down.

Maybe I'm not understanding or missing something. Or I'm looking at nutrients differently as well. I have been known to not understand what a person meant a time or two lol.

 

[Pod_01]

Reefmate 500 fleaceroller

I would bypass that or not use it for few weeks to see if PO4 goes up.

I have same tank gen1, 7 fish and I feed them 4 times a day with pellets.
I just use skimmer and bit of GAC. No fuge, fleece roller , socks etc…

I do 10% water change every two to three weeks. Just to export accumulated unknown things not for nutrients nor for trace elements. Also the fresh mix will dilute the unknown or maybe it does nothing.

Nutrients:

Corals:

Yup I would do water change.

Good luck,

 

[Nano_Man]

If you dose and replenish everything that’s getting consumed then no water change. But you could do water change to replenish everything
Your in a position that you could do either one

 

[radfly]

If you were forced to take a bath in a tub every day, using the same water, you might appreciate someone changing out at least 10% once a week. There are bad things we cannot measure that build up in a tank… removing at least a little of it weekly will keep the bad things from taking over, or slow their progress.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

What are the primary benefits ?

Water Changes in Reef Aquaria by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

Conclusion
Water changes are a good way to help control certain processes that serve to drive reef aquarium water away from its starting purity. Some things build up in certain situations (organics, certain metals, sodium, chloride, nitrate, phosphate, sulfate, etc.), and some things become depleted (calcium, magnesium, alkalinity, strontium, silica, etc.). Water changes can serve to help correct these imbalances, and in some cases may be the best way to deal with them. Water changes of 15-30% per month (whether carried out once a month, daily or continuously) have been shown in the graphs above to be useful in moderating the drift of these different seawater components from starting levels. For most reef aquaria, I recommend such changes as good aquarium husbandry. In general, the more the better, if carried out appropriately, and if the new salt water is of appropriate quality.

Calcium and alkalinity, being rapidly depleted in most reef aquaria, are not well controlled, or even significantly impacted by such small water changes. In order to maintain them with no other supplements, changes on the order of 30-50% PER DAY would be required. Nevertheless, that option may still be a good choice for very small aquaria, especially if the changes are slow and automatic.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If you dose and replenish everything that’s getting consumed then no water change. But you could do water change to replenish everything
Your in a position that you could do either one

Dosing can replace what is lost. What about accumulating materials?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Not sure I agree. Maybe in certain aspects or if your just draining and adding water in the column. But even then, I consider ammonia and nitrate nutrients as well as any food or floating gunk waste, etc. By changing the water, you are lowering the nutrients available. If the nutrients are leaching from something or just sitting at the bottom then it's just a temporary fix and I can agree especially if only done in small percentage as levels will go back up and be negligible at small changes.

But, If you vacuum or syphon to clean the sand or bottom (actually attempting to remove things, you are removing nutrients even more effectively before it even breaks down.

Maybe I'm not understanding or missing something. Or I'm looking at nutrients differently as well. I have been known to not understand what a person meant a time or two lol.

I am a fan of water changes, and I'm certainly not saying that water changes cannot impact nutrients, but I think nutrient control is more readily accomplished in other ways. But other aspects of water changes can only be accomplished by water change. Lowering nutrients is often not a goal anyway. many folks dose nutrients such as ammonia, nitrate, or phosphate.

 

[Dom]

Do I need to change the water when the values seem ok? probably 6 weeks ago last time. stays pretty stable.

whe to change water? Dont whant to crash the tank ,)

Nitrate 6.4ppm up 0.2 in 3 weeks
Phosphate 0.01ppm
salt 1,025
doses AFR 14ml per day/24 doses
Alk = 8.9

Uae refractometer and hanna checker

Water changes serve two purposes:

1. The export of excess nutrient from the tank.

2. Replenish the elements consumed by the tank.

Faithful, weekly 20% water changes will help to keep all parameters at acceptable levels.

 

[Ben's Pico Reefing]

I am a fan of water changes, and I'm certainly not saying that water changes cannot impact nutrients, but I think nutrient control is more readily accomplished in other ways. But other aspects of water changes can only be accomplished by water change. Lowering nutrients is often not a goal anyway. many folks dose nutrients such as ammonia, nitrate, or phosphate.

Ok thank you. And yes I agree, most people don't look at water changes as nutrient control. I do due to my setup and so think differently than those that as you stated don't. Love your examples and analogies as well in linked thread which made me look slightly different about how just because something works or kills something, doesn't mean it is or isn't the cause due to differences in setup, husbandry, etc. I have same thought but not quite that deep in thought of it.

 

[Dom]

If everything is happy leave it.

I used to subscribe to this philosophy.

Sometimes, it can be weeks before poor parameters are reflected in the look of the tank.

If you act only when things look un-"happy", it may be that you are well into the problem, and not just seeing the beginning if it.

 

[Dom]

What are the primary benefits ?

Replenishment of elements consumed by the tank.