Mobile Bay Reef Keepers

As a new aquarium keeper, I am not quite certain about water changes. The frequency and the percentage of water you need to remove is a mystery to me. Is there a general rule of thumb and does it make a difference in what you’re keeping?

You may get lots of different answers for this one. I generally try to do a 10% water change weekly at least for the first couple of years, then I don't worry if I skip a week. My reasoning is with water changes you replace the trace elements, etc. without having to worry about additives except for buffer and calcium. It also helps when you're new at this to keep water parameters a little more in balance.

You will hear everything from 1% daily to never. I suggest to find what works for you. Personaly I would love to do weekly but I am lazy so I do really big water changes every few months or whenever something doesn't look right. It also depends on what type of filtration you are running. If you are not using a good protien skimmer you will want to do more than you would if a good one. If you are not using a skimmer at all then you will want to do more than that. If you try to do a good sized water change at least once a month then you should be fine. Or if you want to do smaller ones more frequently then that would be even better.

With my last tank, I tried to do a 10% each week. My rule was to change at least 25% a month. However 4 10%ers was easier than 1 25%er. If I had a 50-75 gal tank, I would do 5 gallons weekly just for the ease of using a handy 5 gallon bucket. As stated above, you do get alot of trace elements from the new salt mixture so by doing regular water changes, you should not have to add any other trace elements.

Whichever way you decide, Good Luck.
Jeremy

Like never.

I think it depends also on what kind of filtration you have. If you have a refuge with plants....something you can export nitrates and whatnot...you can go alot longer. Also the smaller the skimmer...the more water changes.