WC - night or day?

[MichaelJ]

I wanted to do a water change when all the lights are out…..so I was wondering what all you out there do? And whether it makes a difference if you did a 10% compared to 20% or more?

Thanks for the responses….

 

[frank180reef]

20 percent water change is a lot imo
Try to make sure parms are matched ...

 

[MichaelJ]

20 percent water change is a lot imo
Try to make sure parms are matched ...

My question was if a water change is better to do when the tank lights are off or on. So at 2 pm for instance or 2am when fish are sleeping and nightlife is active.

 

[MichaelJ]

20 percent water change is a lot imo
Try to make sure parms are matched ...

I agree though…20% is a lot….

 

[thrillreefer]

I don’t think timing matters. And 20% is reasonable, as long as you don’t move salinity or alk more than about 0.001 and 0.5. You could do 100% if you exactly match params, no?

 

[Duds]

I’m pretty consistent with 10% weekly water changes. If I see an algae outbreak or get carried away cleaning the sand bed I might do a 20%. I match salinity alk and I like to test mg as Red Sea blue bucket is lower than I like so I bump it up to at least 1400ppm. And temp within a few degrees as some of my tanks are smaller.

Timing like stated I don’t think matters more so when can you fit it into your schedule best.

 

[Errol]

I tend to do mine at night for one reason—to protect the corals from too much light exposure. I lost a few really nice SPS pieces because they got burned when the water level dropped, even though it was only for a short time. Now, if I do a water change during the day, I turn the lights off.

 

[MichaelJ]

Yeah I just wasn’t sure because tank life is so much more different when the lights go off…I think in some cases there’s more a activity when the lights are off…

 

[JohnK]

Coralline can bleach from too much light exposure during water changes. Picture a neat line of white where the water line dropped to. All the more reason to dim the lights, and or water change at night.

Otherwise, I doubt time of day matters much.

 

[JohnK]

Yeah I just wasn’t sure because tank life is so much more different when the lights go off…I think in some cases there’s more a activity when the lights are off…

Certainly. But even if we disrupt things a bit, all that delicate life is actually quite resilient. Once a tank is teeming with life …

 

[MichaelJ]

Good to know …thanks for the replies…