Top 10 Reasons Why Water Changes Won’t Keep Nutrients Down

[@bdbyace28]

Its amazing how we panic when we see a problem, overthink the solution and end up making it worse. Reefing is a journey of consistency

[@dobermanguy9437]

Never had a problem with high nutrients always on the low low side actually have to add phosphate nitrate every now and then

[@garrett_9092]

Never?? I high doubt that. No one started off reefing and did a perfect job with 0 issues. Everyone has dealt with high nutrients 100%

[@vinnnocc]

100% with you.

[@dobermanguy9437]

@@garrett_9092 first of all I never said my tank was perfect and had zero issues everyone in the hobby has an issue from time to time all I'm telling you is my phosphate and nitrate remains low there are times I have to add a little phosphate because it's undetectable on the test kit I'm running 100 gallon tank with a 30 gallon sump I have a blue hippo Tang who I have had for 15 years a yellow tang that's been in there for about 9 years two clownfish 1 coral beauty that's not a big bioload at all in my opinion if I had 20 fish in there yes I'm sure my nutrients would be much higher nutrients depend on a lot of things how often you feed your fish how often you do water changes are you running a protein skimmer how often you clean your filter floss are you running carbon a lot of things affect nutrients in a aquarium I change about 25% of my water every two weeks sometimes every three it depends and my nutrients nitrate phosphate are always low I have montipora in my tank some soft corals like pulsing Xenia and all my corals are doing fine been in the hobby since 1986

[@vinnnocc]

@@dobermanguy9437 once again 100% with you i have very little bio load with all my tanks i add N03 and P04 i still run a skimmer and refuge.

[@dobermanguy9437]

@@vinnnocc I agree with you also but I was telling that guy ruthless 909 about my nutrients anyway have a good day thank you

[@spicyreef]

The maths only work if you do the 10% all at once, meaning drain 10% of the water out and then add the 10% new water in. It does not work if you are doing a drip in drip out... My gut tells me though, the focus should be on not overfeeding or overstocking fish. My favorite part of reefing is riding the wave. It's all about the balance... 🙂

[@siggyincr7447]

If you graph it out, you can see the difference between monthly and more frequent water changes all the way up to a constant exchange is the the dips that concentration takes get smaller the more often you do it, but the max levels remain the same. So if you want consistent parameters splitting up your water changes into smaller but more frequent ones that amount to the same overall amount will leave you with the same max readings, it's just the drop at any given water change will be less.

[@alsfishbarn1589]

I would love to see more info on why I should do a water change if my nutrient levels are low and the major chemical elements of the tank are in check.

[@raisethereef]

Randy Holmes-Farley talks about organics building up in the water and we have no way to test for that. As far as controlling nutrients or replenishing elements goes, water changes are terrible for that.

[@alsfishbarn1589]

@@raisethereef do you know where I can find Randy Holmes-Farley talking about that?

[@BRStv]

Basically insurance against a seemingly limitless list of unknowns and inevitable mistakes.

[@nmarq005]

@@BRStv do y’all sell the hose reel on the wall for water changes or is it a diy setup?

[@williamgoodman2037]

Hey guys good advice on a water changing like you said important thing is to stay on the constant schedule that's what I do and have a very good success with my reef tank over the years

[@ManiacalMangoes]

Great video. I’ve been overthinking my water changes on my new QT tank. I used seeded media from my cycled, but fishless tank and the Ammonia badge has never went above yellow, but I kept getting nervous it was actually higher or that the nitrates were creeping up. In a 10 gallon tank QT tank with 8 gallons of water and 1 small royal Gramma with some over feeding (but I siphon out almost all leftovers shortly after), I had been doing 30-50% water changes every 5-7 days. Now I realize I was probably keeping the water overly clean given she’s been in there a month and the tank is likely incredibly cycled now. Makes me less nervous since her behavior has been fine and got much better the further I got from a water change, I think because the water changes stress her out and then she barely eats for a day or two after. Less water changes !

[@fishpony1211]

Great video. As always very informative!

[@SoraiaLMotta]

thanks

[@MrThereeferspecialis]

I have a fluval 13 1/2 gallon reef tank I set it up six month ago with a pair of clown fish took nine days to cycle I am using it as it came with the equipment that was provided by fluval I have a beautiful tank I don’t test for anything I do not know what any of my parameters are other than my salinity cause I mix my water I do it 30% water change per week I feed my fish heavy and I also feed the corals twice a week I never went through The ugly stage as of today there’s no algae or anything in my tank everything is growing and doing well I’ve been keeping fishtanks since the 60s started keeping Salt water tanks in the late 60s and reef tanks in the early 80s the reason I have just a small tank right now is because I sold my house seven years ago I retire bought a condo to downsize gave away all my fish tanks lots of them and I always done weekly water changes of 30% or more we did not have any gadgets when we started in the Hobby so we rely only on water changes to keep our tanks and good health I love your videos I always learn something new when I watch your videos thanks for all the good information

[@EazyP_Z]

The graph used says PO4 on the Y-axis, but you guys were talking about Nitrates. Hope that helps!

[@lowellbentley]

You should have gotten the fluval mini sea protein skimmer. It is amazing.

[@chasingnature]

Please do a review on the 95watt led Smatfarm Aquastar G5

[@sappysiggy2351]

this is probably my largest challenge,

[@DavidTaghehchian]

Does the same theory apply in reverse regarding Trace Element addition to the tank? Of course dependent on the depletion rate from coral growth. I suppose this is where the trident method of minimal water changes comes in?

[@BRStv]

That's correct. If you're not dosing trace elements, they'll slowly deplete until they reach a plateau at a fraction of the level they were at originally.

[@exxpl]

I have sump full off bio media and heavy fish load. NO3 ~ 2, PO4 - 0. Soo invest in bio media.

[@3jimp]

I’m running a 50 gallon tank with a hang on 75 and 250 protein skimmer no sump water change every Friday night and chemo pure blue 4 years and all the fish still alive - OCD

[@artistic_spaz3724]

I have a little fluval 13.5 and I do 2 gallon water change every single week and yet I am still having problems with levels getting wonky and some kind of nuisance algae (dino maybe??) This hobby is so complicated and yet I can't stop trying to learn and get better!

[@sjc5991]

Hang on back nano skimmer. It’s a necessity

[@artistic_spaz3724]

@@sjc5991 I have the fluval nano skimmer going!! That's why this is so frustrating

[@BRStv]

The first step would be to ID if you have dinos or not. If you do, water changes may actually be hurting. Dinos thrive in low nutrient environments where nitrate and phosphates are undetectable. Test your water to see if that's the case in your tank too as this can be be a clue. Of course, viewing a sample under a microscope would be ideal for identification purposes. If you find that you're not dealing with dinos, then consider larger water changes. Remember, 2 gallons in a 13. 5 gallon tank is just a 15% change. That means that 85% of whatever you're trying to remove is still in the tank when you're done.

[@neilmorton3888]

Hi, I have a Red Sea Max Nano reef setup - as mentioned above the skimmer in this set up is fairly poor, do you have any suggestions please for a replacement that would fit in the same space - it would have to be an internal and not a HOB type - any suggestions would be much appreciated as there is not a lot of room to play with and would rather not waste cash on something that 'might' fit as not all manufactureres dimensions are accurate - had a similar problem with swapping for a DC return pump that should have fit but didn't and had to buy a further one.

[@tomg5405]

What you think about the non water change method?

[@BRStv]

We tried that with the Triton method on the BRS160 for a while. Ultimately, zero water changes ever for years on end is probably unrealistic for most aquariums. Less frequent water changes are definitely possible with the right filtration and replenishment of major, minor, and trace elements.

[@danolson-bang4464]

I have a 20 gallon, 4 fish, a good amount of corals. I don't do much with filtration. I have been doing 20% weekly water changes--I have a good bit of algae (hair) on rocks and more tiny brittle stars and white sponge than I can tell you. Should I cut back on water changes, get a fuge, etc? Corals and fish look great, and the corals are growing almost too fast. Only LPS and softies.

[@lowellbentley]

I do not work for them, but I feel like you need some cleaner fish stock. Bumble bee shrimp eats them. The lawnmower guppy is amazing for the grass, so is a pincushion urchin.

[@davidmurphy4672]

Here is how I got rid of nutrients in my 20 gallon novo tank. I run a skimmer, I have a refugium but it is primarily hair algae in it. I have a baby flame angel fish cleaning all the algae in my tank. They pick everything clean in the tank. I also dose 1.5ml of nopox. My flame angel is not recommended for this tank and I will upgrade size. It has not eaten an entire coral it will pick them once in a while but not swallow it whole maybe I am lucky but I have a crap ton of coral so no problem with picking.

[@davidmurphy4672]

If you use no=pox be careful I dosed a large amount of it to lower my nitrates a lot. Will get a ton of slime if you overdose the stuff. My tank is so efficient with all of this stuff I go without water changes for a month. Also dose all the elements though. Also recommend dosing nopox during the day.

[@BRStv]

If hair algae is an issue, it probably isn't the right time to cut back on filtration, so keep the water changes going. Use the water changes as an opportunity to manually remove as much of the hair algae as you can. You can also add additional filtration like a refugium if you're noticing elevated nitrate and phosphate levels, but it sounds like what you need more is a herbivore to help you out. Not a whole lot of options in a 20 gallon, but check out pincushion or blue tuxedo urchins.

[@danolson-bang4464]

Thanks, everyone! All helpful. I’ll check out all of this. I have a pincushion urchin that helps a lot, but there is still plenty of it left over.

[@htc148]

what is the coral at 11:52 ?

[@raisethereef]

Sun Coral that is closed. They are non photosyntheitc and require daily feedings

[@Sargecon1]

Can i Store Salt water without a pump? Or do i have to add flow in it?

[@BRStv]

The short answer is that it depends on which brand you're using. Some will precipitate out without flow while others will store just fine without flow. Check out this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZacp52Gg9t-i80

[@Mike__B]

Your graphs are a little misleading, the change in nitrates isn't a smooth transition, it's actually a jagged saw tooth. 1ppm worth of nitrates added in the first month shows a gradual increase to 1ppm, then the 50% water change drops it down to 0.5ppm, then over the next month it goes up to 1.5ppm, before another 50% water change drops it back to 0.75, then to 1.75, before it drops down to 0.875, etc... but the fluctuation is going to be between the post-WC value and the amount added per month. So on average you'd have about 1.5ppm of nitrates over the entire month after a long time with a high of 2 and a low of 1.

[@carlosazparrent4212]

Usually i change a 15% of water of my 21 gallons one in a week, its correct? Regards.

[@BRStv]

That's a great way to go 🙂

[@truereefkeeping6022]

I have been trying to get the versa for auto water changes since the kamoer pro t sucks but your website glitched two times in a row when they were in stock so I’m left with waiting yet again

[@rolisreefranch]

In a ulns water changes may actually raise your NO3 and PO4

[@tomg5405]

Than you should change salt

[@LordBonesaw]

My reef only has a canister filter no sump or skimmer and my nutrients are pretty low and haven’t done a water change in over a year

[@AG-tm4gr]

I have the same set up and conditions. If you do a water change it may help your snails to spawn. I notice my trochus spawning after a water change

[@TylerDickeyMusic]

I've been having tons of trouble getting my Nitrates down. They're at around 40ppm and I'm not sure how to go about lowering them. I've tried doing a 10% water change every day for a week but do results. I even abstained from feeding that week to try and see if feeding was causing my nutrients to rise. If I want to do a 50% water change to help get my nutrients under control how would I go about doing that without risking the lives of my livestock?

[@leessaltwatertank6215]

Try using poly filters to takes some nitrates out

[@BRStv]

50% water changes are less risky than you probably think. As long as you match all of the major parameters to your display (like calcium, alkalinity, salinity, temperature, and pH), the chances for issues are actually pretty darn low.

[@mrkleinreef]

I’m having the opposite. I can’t keep my nutrients up. I feed corals 3x a week, fish 2-3x per day, tuned the skimmer down, and dose aminos. If I skip a wc though the corals look pisssssssed. Sigh

[@SeancGilchrist]

3 times a week? Starving your fish mate. Try 3 times a day lol

[@spasticgarage7397]

Definitely need to feed your fish more

[@mrkleinreef]

@@SeancGilchrist feeding corals. Fish get fed 2x a day

[@boostedbadboyzx12r31]

If you're not going broke doing this hobby/lifestyle, you're not doing it right. You need a second mortgage, then you're on the right track lol 😆 😉

[@mrkleinreef]

@@boostedbadboyzx12r31 ?

[@jeremyjjet4909]

What are the chances that you can purify your old water and put it in a tank that never gets fed. Can you filter it back to fresh water that you can put back into your tank.

[@BRStv]

Technically you could, but by the time you set up a desalination system and filter the water (which will result in some waste water), you're probably better off just starting fresh.

[@jeremyjjet4909]

@@BRStv thank you

[@edwardthayer9386]

👑

[@Moontanman]

I am not trying to derail your video but I suddenly had a die off in my 75 freshwater, discus and elephantnose fish among others. I use distilled water as evaporation top up. Is this a possible problem? Catfish were affected first, If you know of any problem with steam distilled water please let me know.

[@stevenmeans3404]

You should not use distilled water in your aquariums. Either treated water for fresh or rodi for salt. Never distilled.

[@siggyincr7447]

For replacing water lost to evaporation, distilled should be fine. Unless the distilled water had some sort of contaminant that was accumulating over time, it shouldn't be the problem.

[@dusk1947]

You are perfectly fine to use RO/DI and/or Distilled water to replace Evaporation in either a freshwater or a marine system. In fact, it's preferred. Distilled water is produced by steam. RO/DI is produced by a series of specialized filters. The result is the same, pure or near-pure water with few or no dissolved constituents such as ions or other compounds. As evaporation removes water only through phase change, replacing only water is the ideal solution. This is also assuming you kept up with evaporation. For example, if you let say 10-15 gallons evaporate over weeks, and then suddenly topped it off. Yes, you can create issues. But you will do that with any water source, distilled and RO/DI included. However, that advice ends with evaporation. You should not use pure distilled nor RO/DI alone for water change, as a general rule. You can/should use them as a base solution, then remineralize it back to the ideal solution for your habitat. In a shrimp tanks this would be something like a GH/KH+ solution. In a saltwater system, this would be one of the many salt mixes available. For Discus, you should be matching the values it was caught or breed in; specifically soft or hard water. Using Distilled or RO/DI alone (without being remineralized) for full water changes, can lead to chemistry issues; with a higher likely hood of problems over repeated changes. Now, that's speaking in generality. It was very likely something else... What were your other parameters? What was the hardness, the pH, the Nitrate ppm, the temperature?

[@Moontanman]

@@dusk1947 This is for the other two replies as well, for Steven Means... why? For everyone else I am meticulous about water quality, I used to be a reefer and i took those habits to the freshwater side, BTW I've been keeping fish and 60 years, starting out with little catfish I caught in a local stream and kept them in the old square glass gallon milk jugs at first. Any way I wanted to make sure steam distilled water might contain something, I add it by the gallon every couple days. For water changes I have a certain amount of salts I add to distilled water per gallon , the same amount I started off with when i set the tank up. It's been so long since I had a problem I am really puzzled. The only anomaly I can think of is the exterminators came to my apartment just before this started but i made sure they stayed clear of my fish room.

[@dusk1947]

@@Moontanman I'm going to struggle to say what did cause a problem. That is a very, very long list of possibilities. It could have been off gassing from the exterminator treatment, you could have had one die from old age, and create a ammonia spike and cascade. You could have stray voltage. Perhaps part of the biofilter failed. The list is endless. I won't say "this caused it". But in distillation, water is boiled to produces a vapor, leaving impurities behind in the original container. The vapor then snakes through a condenser, where it cools and collects as fresh water. Very few water contaminants have a boiling point similar to water, so they don't come along through distillation. It is possible you had a contaminated source, as in the company was selling a degraded product. Or, you grabbed one that had something reintroduced for consumers, for marketing. But that would be unique to the brand you purchased. Not "distilled water" in general. If you're concerned about that, you have to reach out to the specific manufacturer or test one of there bottles. And then stay clear of that brand. But, speaking to the general chemistry involved for replacing pure H2O with pure H2O. Saying you used distilled water is in effect, the same as saying you used RO/DI. There is no distinct difference in purity, other than the filtration method. And in general, distilled is more often going to be more-pure than RO/DI, because the filtration blocks in RO/DI degrade with use.

[@feelgooddany]

I change 10% every 6days

[@RobBoryckiGolf]

Funny this is happening to me right now

[@78matt]

People filter away everything, then they add it back as chemicals. I have a sps tank and no sump.

[@BRStv]

Unfortunately, it's hard to remove very specific contaminants without also removing less harmful ones that we may not care about in our aquariums. For that reason, it's often easier to strip everything out via an RODI system, then use a salt mix to add back in only what we want in our saltwater.

[@handlehaggler]

Lol. Aint tropic marin the one that cooked everyones tank?

[@jamesbhola-singh4772]

It should me noted that 3 10% water changes a month is not equal to 1 30% water change per month. The maths just works that way. 1 30% change will do a lot more than 3 10% changes.

[@BRStv]

Great point! In this video we compared (4x) 10% water changes to (1x) 40%. Doing the math, the 10% changes work out to be roughly 34% in a month. :)

[@DYLANTRIES]

I'm kinda confused here. BRS always talking about low nitrates and phosphates but almost everyone I know frequently see 60ppm nitrates and such even those who are serious about the hobby doesn't keep them down to under 10 or something?

[@BRStv]

Sounds like it's time for a poll to find out! 😁

[@Rellikman]

I haven’t changed my water in two years thanks to my Sulphur nitrate reactor. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 ✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️🙇🏻

[@raisethereef]

Water changes continue to be the most misunderstood and over used tool in the hobby. One bad batch of salt and your water changes will kill your tank. Ask all the TM Pro users that are having issues how those water changes are working out

[@BRStv]

There is a debate to be had but in decades of reefing talking to countless reefers it is clear to me that those that do water changes have higher percentage success than those who don’t. Specifically those in the first few years of reefing. Water changes are the ultimate tool for limiting all kinds of mistakes and unexpected issues. However those who have robust tanks full of mature colonies and experience under the belt seem to be able to have more wiggle room with decisions like these. Even then it works until it doesn’t .

[@mosleyaquatics6487]

I’m super curious how this math came about. By rule this goes against everything you hear

[@PepeCoinMania]

This contradicts all laws of physics and chemistry. Dilution is not optional it’s just works of the water is clean of not obviously can’t work😂

[@johnnyd614]

Just stop adding so many damn fish. It’s not the ocean. Problem solved!

[@lordlem]

I've been having tons of trouble getting my Nitrates down. They're at around 40ppm and I'm not sure how to go about lowering them. I've tried doing a 10% water change every day for a week but do results. I even abstained from feeding that week to try and see if feeding was causing my nutrients to rise. If I want to do a 50% water change to help get my nutrients under control how would I go about doing that without risking the lives of my livestock?

[@BRStv]

When you're doing a larger water change, just make sure that you match the display tank's water parameters as closely as you can. Like, temperature, salinity, pH, alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium levels.