My pet store man told me that he never do partial water change ?

My pet store man told me that he never do partial water change ?
and do add some market liquid additives rich with minerals that is used in the tank .... ?????? is that a good idea and i see his fishes are perfect ....

 

Water changes aren't just to add used up minerals and chemicals but also to remove chemicals that aren't good for the system that adds up over having fish, coral waste, and feeding the tank every day. In my opinion partial water changes are a must! You can get away with not having to do any for a while with a really good sump, refugium and skimmer set up but eventually it will catch up with the system and you will start to see problems.

 

I tried not doing water changes for a few months and my coral started turning brown and not growing as fast. So now i change about 25-30gals a week out of my 75gal and everything has started growing more. I know there is a few people on here that only do a water change like once a month, but most of the very successful tanks do water changes weekly.

 

Until ya get a decent amount of SW experience, some reactors, a ton of rock work, a great skimmer, a dosing pump, and awesome test kits or a reef controller, I'd avoid that advice and stick to water changes. They help fix our mistakes and keep param's in check!

 

+1 My husband and I didn't do water changes but we compensated for that by using a lot of equipment (refugium, calcium reactor, kalkwasser reactor, nitrate coil, powerful skimmer, etc.) and providing the tank with good quality supplements.

 

I watched an episode of Mr. Saltwater tank and he experimented with the so-called "water purifiers" and he determined that they actually add to the TDS of the water and make the water quality worse! I would stick to frequent partial water changes, there really is no substitute without going to a great deal of effort/expense on your part!

 

I'm not sure where a water purifier was mentioned? In my experience, a water purifier is usually a DI resin that is used to filter your tap water. If you don't replace the resin often, then it can do what Mr. Saltwater Tank claims it does.

 

I don't do water changes frequently or regularly... I listen to the tank.

I have a decent sump/refugium, skimmer, bio pellets, live rock, sand, and add chemicals as needed....

test, test, test. When things start to drift towards disaster water changes are certainly part of the realignment, but so it knowing what's going on in the tank - WHY do I have excess nitrogen? (usually, what died?) Why are my corals not opening (light? temp? chemical?)

It's a balance between cost, effort, and time. It's much easier to add some chems and check a couple probes and drip some tests than it is to wheel out my water barrel, fill it, mix salt, wait, drain some water from the tank, then replace it...

But at the same time, I think people who JUST rely on water changes for balance aren't really doing anything wrong per se, they just have a system that works for them, and maybe they have a smaller tank, or a better protocol in place for water changes.

in the end, do what works best for the tank, but don't avoid water changes just out of laziness - have a plan, do the homework, crunch your numbers, and keep your tank happy.

 

+1 listen to your tank. Every tank is extremely different. Watch the tank, and you'll soon find what works, and what doesn't.

 

I agree with SwimsWithFish
great advice