In a recent meandering conversation I had with my freshwater-pond-keeping brother-in-law, the question ofwater changevolume and frequency was raised—specifically whether it’s stressful to the livestock if you perform them too frequently or change out too much water at once. My take on the question is that when it comes to water changes, the more, the merrier (within reason). With that said, I do need to qualify this position with a few important caveats.
Before I do, however, I should emphasize that this post is actually a thinly veiled attempt to get readers to join the conversation on the topic, so if you have any insights to share, please do so in the comment section below.
无论如何，回到我的警告：
参数必须匹配
With our beloved reef organisms hailing from one of the most stable environments on earth, it’s critical to avoid subjecting them to precipitous fluctuations inwater parameters. Frequent water changes won’t be a source of stress if you’re always careful to match the temperature, salinity, pH, alkalinity, etc. of your replacement water to that of your display tank.
You’ve aged the replacement water
当然,为了ensure the parameters of your replacement water are a good match, it’s important to混合at least a day ahead of time, keep it circulating with a submersible pump or bubbling airstone, and heat it to the appropriate temperature. Don’t just mix up a bucketful of salt water and dump it into your tank. It takes a little time and vigorous water circulation to completely dissolve the sea salt and get all the parameters stabilized. It’s not uncommon to get slightly different measurements that need to be tweaked the following day.
You’ve controlled for tap-water impurities
如果您使用的是含有大量水平的硝酸盐，磷酸盐或其他污染物来混合替代水的水平，则进行频繁变化以减少溶解污染物以减少溶解污染物。这里明显的补救措施是在使用RO/DI之前通过RO/DI净化源水混合盐水。
You’re not too disruptive
从水箱中抽出水或用干净的水代替水的简单动作不会在任何程度上打扰您的牲畜。但是，诸如吸尘的活动substrate, rearranging rockwork, scraping algae, or otherwise tinkering around in the tank can be stressful if done too frequently. You don’t have to tackle these chores every time you perform a water change.
What about disrupting the biofilter with too-frequent water changes? Isn’t that a potential issue?
Remember, beneficial nitrifying bacteria colonize porous rock and other hard surfaces in the tank that are exposed to oxygen-rich water. You’re not going to reduce these colonies to any appreciable extent by siphoning out and replacing water.
