i posted this on rc but i thought i would appreciate input from all the local reefers
I have been trying something new with my tank. Unfortunately it has not been going smoothly but I think it is interesting and want to try it out further:
I have used gfo in a reactor and carbon in a media bag for years. The carbon to help keep the water "clear" and remove some organics. The gfo to control phosphates. My parameters have always been reasonable.
I got intrigued by a thread where a fellow reefer started doing daily water changes. So after finally setting up a water station, I thought I could change out 5 gallons a day in my 180 gallon display. So if diligent, I would change out about 100% of water a month (3% daily). Sounded clever. But my water got too "clear" perhaps. Not positive, but I believe with the gfo and carbon, as well as my skimmer, the daily water changes over a couple of months just got it super clean. My sps, got some burnt tips and some frags showed thinning of the skin and just not as happy as they should be and some frags not surviving. Oh, forgot to add my alk runs around 8.5 via a calcium reactor.
So I just took the gfo and carbon out the other day. Been increasing feedings a lot to my fish. Stopped water changes for this week. And I will restart water changes next week again at about 5 gallons a day. The only reason I say about 5 gallons a day, is that sometimes I miss a day or two in the course of the month but otherwise pretty darn consistent.
What I am hoping to do is get all elements at an ideal range even trace elements through the constant water changes. Part of the allure of reef keeping is dialing everything in to maximize color and growth. I have never enjoyed changing out gfo, it is really messy and time consuming. Carbon is some like mystery thing to me, I never really understood what polishing water truly means. I like checking the tank out daily and with my nifty water station it only takes a few minutes to change out 5 gallons so it seems like win/win. Time will tell how it all plays out