Water changes, do you love them or hate them?

[i cant think]

I thought this may be an interesting topic to talk about.
Water changes, do you love them or hate them?
I personally love them as I find them to be extremely therapeutic most of the time. Especially on my SPS tank, watching it go from looking all dirty to being a nice clean tank with no algae on the glass or sand is really rewarding. I dislike them when it comes to having to replace sand (I think I’m done replacing it as it’s at a fineness and got enough varied sizes in it), getting the fish out and back in is a pain. But again it’s all worth it for the outcome! And rescaping the tank is a dream. I also find I get better PE from all my coral after a water change.

So what do you think about water changes?

And since I don’t know what photo to put here, here’s a photo of the improved PE I got after my last water change, this hammer is Atleast 6 heads if not 8 definitely passing the tennis ball size - hoping to get it to football size!

 

[AKG]

Doesn't hurt to do one per month.

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

I agree they are therapeutic. One of my favorite times of the week is water change and testing day. I will put on music or a reefing podcast and just enjoy the time with my tanks.

I will usually turn the flow off and inspect everything. Sometimes I get inspired to take pictures like this one from last week!

 

[i cant think]

I agree they are therapeutic. One of my favorite times of the week is water change and testing day. I will put on music or a reefing podcast and just enjoy the time with my tanks.

I will usually turn the flow off and inspect everything. Sometimes I get inspired to take pictures like this one from last week!

View attachment 2902504

I love the top down views! My newest tank is aiming for that top down view to be the best view.

 

[PeterEde]

Depends on how much is required
I got 30 gal and replace 5
Takes 10 minutes plus mixing time.

 

[DarkReefer]

I'm envious of some of you. I don't mind a water change when things are going well, gives me time to absorb the goodness of the tank.

More often though I've hated them with a passion. (they're alot better than they used to be from when I first started though and had to deal with water containers glugging away and splish splashing everywhere). Used to be an hour + ordeal for me, but that's come down now that I've streamlined the way I do things.

I appreciate things after though if corals respond well and look happier and so on.

 

[ScubaShane]

This topic comes up way too much. I don't water change unless there is an emergency. I dose and I do not want to remove anything from my water column and make it inconsistent. Also, I keep a higher PH and don't want a shift. I've been doing it like this since 2012 and its what works for my tank. You do you.

 

[killer2001]

I love my automatic water changes, yes.

 

[TopClamSkoo]

I agree they are therapeutic. One of my favorite times of the week is water change and testing day. I will put on music or a reefing podcast and just enjoy the time with my tanks.

I will usually turn the flow off and inspect everything. Sometimes I get inspired to take pictures like this one from last week!

View attachment 2902504

Wow... That is beautiful! Zoa's don't get harassed by euphyllia? Maybe my sense of depth is off and they're underneath them. Either way... This is an awesome garden!

 

[TopClamSkoo]

Sheesh .
I dread doing it... But when I do it...it is therapeutic I admit. Kinda weird lol!!!! Great reward at the end.. tank looks great!
Love listening to reef therapy by the late Jake Adams! Too bad. God bless his soul

 

[Miami Reef]

I enjoy changing water.

 

[olonmv]

Don’t like them. Depending on size of tank they can be expensive And someone made a good point once on another thread….salt is way more expensive than dosing the trace and major elements that water changes replenish. There are a ton of different ways to mitigate water changes while keeping livestock happy.

 

[LordofCinder]

I love it, its like meditation for me, it takes my mind off of the nonsense of life.

My fish and corals like it too, so its win win. But my tanks are all smaller than 32 gallons, I know I couldn't do this with a large tank.

 

[Floyd-]

Small tanks would be nice and easy. My changes are 30 gallons and I try to do them every other week.

 

[Waters]

I love doing them......I do weekly AWCs but doing an additional manual change each week allows me to suck up detritus, clean the pumps, etc.

 

[Slicktop]

I dont enjoy them but my corals seem to like them. I also do other maintenance while doing my water change.. Kinda like cutting the grass, once its done I can sit back an enjoy how much better it looks. Turn on the tunes and get to it .. I have a 116 gal total system and only change about 8 gals a week. I tried going 2 weeks and corals did not seem to like it..

 

[doubleshot00]

HATE! I have dinos right now and am enjoying not doing them.

But have to change water in my QT tank 2x a week 10 gallons every time "up stairs". Water changes SUCK!

 

[Dburr1014]

Definitely see a change after one is done but they got monotonous after a few years. Heavy buckets, time consuming, ro/di running over and flooding, ect.
I always found ways to shorten it and make them better. I got it down to swapping 12 gallons of water in 5 minutes.
Now I have the auto water change and love it. Just mix water every couple weeks and done.

 

[bpbonds]

I change water one time per year, I am not a fan of water changes unless I see a problem.

 

[beesnreefs]

I’m firmly in the “it’s therapeutic” camp. Thanks for starting this thread, @i cant think! I honestly wondered if I was the only one who looked forward to weekly maintenance.

Honestly, I’m not sure what the cost-to-benefit ratio is for my tank. It’s a 225g and I only change 15g a week but I realllly look forward to my Saturday morning tank maintenance.

I’ll either play the MTV Classic channel or put on a Premier League match and just get lost in it all. It’s become like meditation for me so I take my time. It’s not unusual for me to spend 90 minutes cleaning the tank, testing the water, changing water, and poking around. I find I personally feel so much better after I’m done.