very weird!!!!!lots of everything growth with less water changes

[PHIL GUY]

im not saying to do this or nothing but......ive been slacking on my water changes over the past 3 months and im getn coriline growth like crazy!!!!!!!not only that but ,my corals have been growing bigger also...i could never get my mushrooms to grow ,...guess what,lol..there also multiplying like crazy...ive been in the hobby over 3 years now and ive always did my water changes every 1 -2 weeks like clock work with checking my water perimeters and my growth on everything was very slow

has anyone ever experienced this before?...im kinda scared to even check my water levels,.....there was even a thread on here be4 about someone not doing a water change for over 8 months and there tank looked beautiful!!!!!..i think it was a 180g reef over loaded with live stock too.hmmmmmmm....im hesitant to do a water change,lol..im scared ill mess with the good chemistry going on in my tank

[Fly Guy]

Mushrooms and zoanthids to name a few love dirty water and can thrive in it

[betamed]

everytime I leave town I come back and the tank looks better than when I left. There is a line between maintaining a tank and tampering with it too much.

[PHIL GUY]

bump

[whatevva]

I have to admit that I agree with this. I've now reduced my WC's to once a month.

[Geoff]

it totally depends on the corals. like Fly was saying some prefer dirty water and the less water changes the more they like. the problem is that if you do this enough the phosphate levels keep rising instead of maintaining a constant level. this can eventually leave to a tank crash.

there is a fine line.

G~

[Loverotties]

It depends on whats in your tank.Some like dirty water and some need polished water.

[wyliecoyote]

filter feeders are going to like it a little rough, i mean dirty. if you don't feed a lot you can do less frequent water changes. i have run tanks on the berlin method and gone years with only top off and done ok. i prefer weekly 15 percent water changes. i only check my parameters whn i see potential problems (bad algae, polyps not extending on corls, or slow growth on clams). i will be the first to say that i don't set the best example, but i do get good results. anyway, your livestock will tell you how your tank is doing to a degree. some basic rules are: use ro water, skim, don't overfeed, don't overstock, change your bulbs on a regular basis, do small regular water changes. beyond that i run carbon. i check calcium and alk if my sps or clams don't show growth. i check phosphates and nitrates if my lps and zoas/star polyps start closing.

[Mike01z]

Im starting to think that most people use phosphate reactors to be honest.

[Geoff]

Originally Posted by Mike01z

Im starting to think that most people use phosphate reactors to be honest.

to be honest i think people would rather spend money than do maintenance, not realizing that they are just creating a phosphate time bomb. a phosphate reactor only delays the inevitable.

G~

[PHIL GUY]

i only have soft corals. im not into corals like acro..i like softys cause they look more alive while they open,close and shrink...i only test my water also if i see some bad algae or my corals look bad...also.. ive never seen my bubble tip coral look soooo big be4 in dirty water....some people feed there fish every 3 days or so..... i feel bad cause i think id be very hungry if i didnt eat for 3 days,lol and some fish would start nip'n at your corals if not fed on a daily basis..... i use a 3 day method i do all the time.. i feed once a day.... i feed flakes the first 2 days and the 3rd day i feed either my sis or silver sides(sometimes ill mush up the silver sides till they look like mashed potatos,lol..its between milky to heavy when i do this so even the lilist mouths get fed......all my fish eat the same kinds of food..and for d.t's.. i usualy use once a week, sometimes twice........all my fish look realy healthy...no fin rot,skinny bellys and no sores or cuts..... i do get some cyno once in awhile but its in very small spots and easy to rid..most of my fish ive had over 2 years


..i always use r/o.. i bought my ro/di unit about a year ago. it was such a waste of money going to the lfs every time i had to do top offs or water changes...im actualy going to do a 25% water change after i finish this thread..im going to stick with doing a 25% water change every month for now on....i.m.o.o i feel the more you mess with your piece of the ocean inside of your home it dosent do as well......somethings work for others, but it might not for you




ps.. i usto use tropic moran cause i heard it was better then instant ocean.. but i switched back to instand ocean a few months ago and i have great growth now... go figure

[Geoff]

for softie tanks doing less frequent water changes can be helpfull. also running your skimmer drier will also keep the water a bit dirtier. you can also feed a bit more. with softie tanks you will almost definately have to replace a sand bed faster than if it were a SPS tank. just because of the fact that they like dirtier water.

this all goes back to the topic of the week i did a few weeks ago. you set the tank up for the environment you are trying to emulate. softies grow in a lagoonal environment. therefor the tank setup will be different than a tank setup for SPS.

G~