Should I stop doing water changes and just dose now?

[Picassoclown]

Hello Everyone,

My 215 gallon tank is now 4 months (post cycle) and to my surprise it is sucking up calcium and alkalinity like it's going out of style. My tank is not even that crowded in relation to the size of my system. I have 2 torches, 3 other euphyllia, 2 Duncans, 2 trumpet corals, 3 Goni's, and 15 different zoas. In addition, I have about 12 snails, 2 fighting conches, and 6 crabs along with a blood shrimp. Parameters are in check including magnesium, but as I mentioned, calcium and alk are being depleted faster than I can put them back in a weekly 20% water change. Ca reading was at 200 and alk was at 4.7. All my LPS look like they ate a sour candy lol. They are all sucked in. I did a 20% water change yesterday and they look way better, but still not 100%.

One thing I should mention was I was adding sodium bicarbonate on a regular basis, so I am thinking that the mix with ro/di has been diluting the calcium content, but even after adding alk daily, it's never getting over 5. I cannot start doing water changes every 3 days as that would be madness both financially as well as detrimental to a new system.

To add to the craziness, tomorrow I am getting a clam along with 3 gorgonians and some Monti caps along with a holy grail torch. I will be doing another 20% water change in the morning prior to receiving them until my Ca and Alk come in the mail on Thursday (I did a 20% water change yesterday).

Should I stop doing water changes moving forward, or maybe do them every 2 weeks, and just do dosing of alk and calcium? I am going to be using Reef Code A & B, as it gives magnesium and trace elements. All feedback would be greatly appreciated

 

[Fishology]

I would lower the amount of water you remove and start dosing, what changes are important to the survival of you setup but I would recommend doing a water change every two weeks and keep dosing till you stable

 

[Arisbel]

I think it’s time for a calcium reactor. Aquamaxx has a very inexpensive one. I can definitely help you pick out the gear to make it as affordable as possible. Wouldn’t want your animals to suffer!

 

[HB AL]

I stopped doing water changes 6+ years ago, best thing I ever did.

 

[Picassoclown]

Thank you all for the feedback. Eventually I believe I will get to a point where water changes will be a thing of the past. However, I still feel a water change at least every 2 weeks is the right move.

 

[educatedreefer]

What are your tank parameters; alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, nitrate, phosphates?
Typical alk swings usually 1-2dkh per day unless you have a heavily stocked tank.
Your calcium being 200 and alk being 4.7 is concerning, but just make sure to bring back up to your desired levels slowly as corals hate dramatic changes; even from bad to good parameters.
The habit of water changes came from the freshwater/pond hobby to remove waste/nutrients, which our corals need (they can live without nitrates but need phosphates for to survive, so they’re not 100% necessary if you have a refugium or slimmer for excess nutrient export or a strong bacteria culture to break down waste, phosphates and nitrates.
If you notice your levels being drained, try mixing Brightwell Aquatics Kalk +2 into your ATO or water top off (wait for it to become clear and settle before using it) since it resupplies your calcium, magnesium in the form of CaOH and MgOH along with strontium and provides some alkalinity through the combination of OH- and CO2 in your tank if you have livestock. Plus, not only will it give you all the necessary elements for amazing coral growth, but the OH- ions will bind to CO2- and H+ ions and increase pH!
Personally, since there’s so many additives and methods (Balling, 2 Part, water change,etc) I just calculate my alk daily usage and use Tropic Marin All For Reef (contains alk, calcium, magnesium, and 17 trace elements) and top off with Brightwell Aquatics Kalk +2 in my SPS dominated 250 gallon tank.
I don’t do water changes but it’s good to practice; just not practical with 200+ gallon tanks xD
Try to maintain your parameters around:
Alk 8-9dkh
Ca 410-460
Mg 1400-1600
Nitrate: 10-25 (depending on your corals)
P 0.03-1
(I like to keep magnesium high to slow nuisance algae, help LPS expand, and facilitate easier uptake of nutrients)
P.S. the secret sauce to great corals is daily dosing of Amino Acids and weekly trace elements once your tank is 1+ year old

No water change is necessary if you have nutrient export to lower nitrates and phosphates (one of the main purposes of WC) such as: protein skimmer, filter sock or roller fleece, bacteria culture, refugium with algae, and lots of corals!

 

[Picassoclown]

I think it’s time for a calcium reactor. Aquamaxx has a very inexpensive one. I can definitely help you pick out the gear to make it as affordable as possible. Wouldn’t want your animals to suffer!

I really appreciate that! At this time I have no room in my skimmer for a reactor, or adding once externally and plumbing it into the sump, hence why I have to go with pumps. I will be moving in the next year or 2 and when I upgrade my tank, I will absolutely be adding one!

 

[Picassoclown]

I would lower the amount of water you remove and start dosing, what changes are important to the survival of you setup but I would recommend doing a water change every two weeks and keep dosing till you stable

How much water in gallons would you say I should be removing? Right now I am changing about 35-40 gallons a week.

 

[Picassoclown]

What are your tank parameters; alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, nitrate, phosphates?
Typical alk swings usually 1-2dkh per day unless you have a heavily stocked tank.
Your calcium being 200 and alk being 4.7 is concerning, but just make sure to bring back up to your desired levels slowly as corals hate dramatic changes; even from bad to good parameters.
The habit of water changes came from the freshwater/pond hobby to remove waste/nutrients, which our corals need (they can live without nitrates but need phosphates for to survive, so they’re not 100% necessary if you have a refugium or slimmer for excess nutrient export or a strong bacteria culture to break down waste, phosphates and nitrates.
If you notice your levels being drained, try mixing Brightwell Aquatics Kalk +2 into your ATO or water top off (wait for it to become clear and settle before using it) since it resupplies your calcium, magnesium in the form of CaOH and MgOH along with strontium and provides some alkalinity through the combination of OH- and CO2 in your tank if you have livestock. Plus, not only will it give you all the necessary elements for amazing coral growth, but the OH- ions will bind to CO2- and H+ ions and increase pH!
Personally, since there’s so many additives and methods (Balling, 2 Part, water change,etc) I just calculate my alk daily usage and use Tropic Marin All For Reef (contains alk, calcium, magnesium, and 17 trace elements) and top off with Brightwell Aquatics Kalk +2 in my SPS dominated 250 gallon tank.
I don’t do water changes but it’s good to practice; just not practical with 200+ gallon tanks xD
Try to maintain your parameters around:
Alk 8-9dkh
Ca 410-460
Mg 1400-1600
Nitrate: 10-25 (depending on your corals)
P 0.03-1
(I like to keep magnesium high to slow nuisance algae, help LPS expand, and facilitate easier uptake of nutrients)
P.S. the secret sauce to great corals is daily dosing of Amino Acids and weekly trace elements once your tank is 1+ year old

Hi Reefer,

My parameters are all at 0 for ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite. Phosphates are 0.01-0.02. I used 2 different tests kits for calcium and alk readings, so I know there is not an error. I was/am equally as concerned about the calcium and I have a strong feeling it was being diluted by the ro/di mix with sodium bicarbonate. I will be dosing Reef Code A & B from Brightwell starting Thursday when my package arrives. I will shoot for an increase of 0.25ppm a day maximum until I get to around 450-480ppm.

 

[educatedreefer]

Hi Reefer,

My parameters are all at 0 for ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite. Phosphates are 0.01-0.02. I used 2 different tests kits for calcium and alk readings, so I know there is not an error. I was/am equally as concerned about the calcium and I have a strong feeling it was being diluted by the ro/di mix with sodium bicarbonate. I will be dosing Reef Code A & B from Brightwell starting Thursday when my package arrives. I will shoot for an increase of 0.25ppm a day maximum until I get to around 450-480ppm.

Try to stay away from sodium bicarbonate as it does increase alkalinity with the introduction of carbonate ions, it also introduces sodium Na+ which raises salinity levels. Try using calcium hydroxide! Getting a zero reading is good for ammonia, but keeping your nitrates at 0 won't kill your corals, but it won't allow them to grow via photosynthesis of the zooxanthellae (beneficial algae within the coral polyp tissue). Since, I'm assuming you don't have fish, try getting a fish or two or try dosing nitrates to get it up to 10-25ppm and your corals will be happy hahah Different test kits have different margin of error, but I would stick to just testing with one test kit and using multiple in the event of an emergency or you make an observation that a parameter might be off since redundant measuring is safe, but just not a financially-friendly decision. Calcium levels wouldn't be diluted, at least significantly, enough with your ro/di mixture with sodium bicarbonate. Generally, if you add alkalinity via sodium bicarbonate, the available/usable concentration of calcium levels lower but not to where it gets down to 200ppm.
My "personal" advice would be to continue dosing REEF Code A & B and try transitioning to another dosing product such as Tropic Marin All for Reef or B-Ionic Two part dosing as Reef Code A & B introduces the elements but via chloride Cl- which may increase salinity levels if you're also dosing sodium bicarbonate.
As for your calcium at 200ppm a water change, given the proper salinity levels, will increase your elements and increasing it but 0.25ppm a day might not be efficient as you'd be surprised how much corals will uptake Ca2+ ions from the water column. Try increasing it by 50ppm every other day until you've hit 420-460ppm.
A good practice is to measure the elements: alk, calcium, magnesium, nitrates in the morning and wait 24 hours to see how much is used on a daily basis so you know exactly how much to dose appropriately I test and dose in the morning as corals uptake elements/nutrients most during the day hours rather than dark hours.

 

[Fishology]

How much water in gallons would you say I should be removing? Right now I am changing about 35-40 gallons a week.

Lower to 25-20 it s still a lot of water but leaving enough good bacteria like phosphates, alkaline, and calcium. If you do one every 2 weeks or so and dose you should see Change ima month to two months. Then when I your tank is good can can probably stop dosing and just do water changes