55 gallon

Originally Posted by willieturnip

Depends what water you take out of the tank, how much flow you have in the tank and where the flow is directed if you ask me. Most of the dissolved proteins (70-80% if memory serves) in the tank build a film on the surface with slower flow up top, so if you manually "skim" the surface with water changes you can effectively remove a huge amount of waste when compared to regular water changes.

Take that with a pinch of salt though and I would almost always recommend a protein skimmer. I'm just saying that tanks can thrive skimmer-less.

Originally Posted by wake49

I just want to clear up that Water Changes and Protein Skimmers do not do the same thing. In fact, I use the two for very different reasons altogether.

I use my Protein Skimmer to remove dissolved organic compounds from the water column. This cannot truly be acheived at the same level by water changes. The skimmer is working 24 hours a day and hopefully having all the water in the tank run through it. Even a large Water Change of 30% would only remove 30% of the pollutants (Which I don't reccommend; large water changes can shock the inhabitants of the tank, at the very least stress them out). The only thing that I would substitute for a Protein Skimmer on a small tank would be a bag of activated carbon (I use both on my 150).

I use Water Changes to replace trace minerals and keep my water at desirable Cal and Alk levels. I have found that changing 10% of the water a week (along with dosing) helps keep my Calcium between 400-450 ppm, and my Alkalinity between 8-12 dKH. I don't even consider the water changes as a way to remove pollutants, as my Nitrates are almost never detectable, and 'Trites and Ammonia are always zero (as a result of Live Rock and Live Sand Bed).

Originally Posted by Pasfur

I love these conversations. One thing I am finding is that Wake and I approach this hobby almost identical. There is not much difference at all in how we care for our tanks, except that Wake changes water more than I do. I tend to lean on supplements and testing.

Originally Posted by wake49

Water changes alone don't keep my alkalinity and calcium in check. I have noticed since I started regular water changes again that my test results are more stable, and I dose once a week instead of two or three times. This could all be in my head, because after my 46 bow was established, I gave up on weekly water changes and did small monthly changes. I still feel this is a better way to keep trace elements in check without testing...