water changes, too much....or not?

[skyshrimp]

Hello all I've been in the saltwater hobby for a few months now and have a question about my water changes. I have a 75g reef with a dsb, i do 15 gallon water changes every monday. Everything seems to be doing well as of now. Just wanna know if its too much or am I ok. The only difficulty ive jad so far is with my montipora turning from orange to dark brown a few months ago. As of last week it turned back orange and the polyps even started to extend now. And I use tap water. Any ideas folks

[robs.mark]

Probably due to phosphates or nitrates in the water (possibly phosphates from the tap water) I f were you i would at least buy an ro unit. 15 Gl a week is good.

[Toddrtrex]

Yep, your best bet would be to get an RO/DI unit.

As for your water changes, if that amount is easy for you to handle, then stick with it. IMO, do the amount that will allow you to stay on schedule. For my 75 (( and my other 2 tanks )) I do 5 gallons every week -- I just use old salt buckets, so 5 gallons is an easy amount.

[mike_cmu04]

I dont think there is really too many water changes keep doing what you are doing with a rodi and you will be good.

[Chris27]

I'm with everyone else on the RO/DI aspect.....as for the weekly 15 Gallon changes, that is a great schedule, and one I'm certain your coral will love once they get the nice clean RO/DI water. I feel frequent water changes are the No. 1 component of successful reefkeeping.

[phenom5]

I think Toddrtrex hit the nail on the head on water changes. If 15 gallons is easy to do (making it more likely to get done), that'll be fine. I change 10g weekly on my 75, because that's the amount of water in the largest section of my sump with the return off. Works out perfect, and is easy.

I also agree that an RO/DI unit should be at the top of the list of things to purchase. I'd also start using RO/DI from a LFS or a water dispenser until you get your own unit.

As far as the browning of you monti, excessive nitrates or phosphates can cause browning. Did it brown out right after you added it to your tank? SPS can brown out with the stress of moving to a new tank, only to color back up a few weeks or a few months later.

[Dustin1300]

+ 1 on the RO unit. Also, water changes are about exactly what I do. I've got a 75 gallon DT and 20-25 gallon sump. My LMIII does automatic water changes of 8 liters a day. That comes out to 56 liters a week (14.79 gallons) so I'd say you are right on track with the water changes. The amount of non-desirable things that are coming in through the tap water are probably the source of your problems:)

[skyshrimp]

Ok guys thanks for your input on my situation. I think ill just have to. Save up for a ro/Di system any reccomendations?

[Schreff]

U could also buy the water @ your local WalMart.... I did that for awhile.... Its expensive that way but I would rather see u using that than tap water. Air water & ice has some inexpensive RO units.

[Toddrtrex]

Check out any of the RC Sponsors.

I have a 75 GPD unit from Buckeye. Which every unit you get, I would suggest getting a 75 GPD one (( with the Dow Filmtec membrane )), it will have an 96-98% rejection rate, which will extend your DI resin's life. Also, I would avoid any that have a horizontal DI chamber.

[expyman]

Please avoid using tap water at all costs. It will lead to long term problems. Algae blooms ect..