alkalinity to high

gumballs haha. i think im going to stop dosing all together. i dont have a large need for calcium only coralline algae. i think water changes is the only guaranteed way for me to maintain my parameters. thanks guys.

 

do you all think 5 gallons bi-weekly would be sufficient for a 55 gallon? that is what i currently do. instant ocean salt btw

 

In a perfect balanced world (aquarium) yes, it should be dosed together as instructed. When an aquarium is out of balance chemically, more of a particular element may have to be doubled or whatever it takes to get the balance.

Water changes in no way guarantee anything. That is a myth. While some may be able to keep a balance with water changes, it is usually in larger volume tanks that tend to be more stable anyway but even then most are dosing something.

I have a 55 gal. and change out 5-7 gal. once a month. Remember, water is being added for evaporation and even though it is fresh water, it is helping to dilute somewhat.

This was from another post;
The problem (or lack of benefit) from doing small changes over a month is that those small changes become insignificant as far as a diluting effect. We really want to dilute (not to extreme) the existing tank water. Look at it this way, say you change the 4 gal. as you said, that calculates to about 18% which leaves 82% of the water unchanged. In 1 week (let alone 2) your water has has gone back to about 95% un-replenished. So, to use a term, you are spinning your wheels. Does that make sense to you? Many aquarists have a hard time understanding dilution. Let's say you go 4-5 weeks between changes (as many of us do) and then you change out a full 30% of your 26 gal. You then have changed about 8 gal. leaving only 16 gal. of un-replenished water or about 70%, so you are adding in 30% pure water with new minerals (from the salt mix) this is better than the insignificant amount of smaller more frequent changes. It may get confusing but the science is behind the fact that larger less frequent changes are the way to go.

And another;
Respectfully.........I do not believe any salt mix can adequately sustain Iodine in the amount needed for tanks requiring it. If someone does monthly water changes, depending also on how much they change out, the slight amount of Iodine in a few gallons of new water will not significantly raise the Iodine to bring it to proper saturation usable by the creatures requiring it and sustain this for a month until the next change. Smaller weekly changes will do even less. To further prove this, if water changes could raise Iodine levels to any significance, everyone should be testing for Iodine. Is everyone? No, hardly anyone is. Who mixes a batch of water and then tests their tank for Iodine and the batch to make sure they aren't overdosing?
To burst a myth believed by many, water changes have their place but in no way contribute to over all water quality as much as the biological filtration of the tank and sustaining the elements required by supplementation when needed.

Although the last was specically concerning Iodine, it applies to all elements.

 

good read! you should write a book. K++

 

Funny you should say that.......I am currently working on 2!