Too many water changes?

[Hookem2006]

So I am running a mixed reef in a 28 gallon RedSea Reefer nano. It has a 21 gallon display and 7 gallon sump. I've been reading a lot about the chemical warfare that can go on between LPS, SPS and softies. I run chemipure blue in my filter sock 24/7, so I suppose the carbon in that can absorb some of the toxins. The coral in my tank is by no means mature yet, still a bunch of small frags. In the interest of keeping the water super clean for the SPS, I was wondering if one can perform too many water changes?

In the past I ran larger tanks and never had issues with toxins. I ran dosing pumps to keep the levels stable. On this new nano, the cabinet doesn't provide the necessary space to mount dosing pumps.

I'm wondering if changing 5 gallons 2 times a week would just be over kill, or worth it? I also run a PSK75 skimmer that I am not too happy with, but it skims ok. Just don't get super dark dry skim like I am used to with my other setups.


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[Michelle]

It depends on if you are feeding the corals. The corals need nutrients so you need to make sure you are not stripping them away.

 

[Hookem2006]

That is part of my concern. I don't want to take too much away, but I do like to feed. I feed reef energy a+b nightly along with some marine snow and LRS-frenzy. Every other day I add a bit of BRS Reef Chili. I'm probably over feeding to be honest. But I want to have very colorful coral. So I know I need to keep the water clean.

I use RedSea coral pro salt and light the tank using an AI Prime.


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[Mike R]

I had a similar issue with my water being too clean and all of my coral were just surviving, but weren't thriving. What I discovered is, my 2ply felt filter socks were completely stripping every single micro particle in the water column. The coral were hungry, even though I dosed like crazy. My OCD told me to run these particular filter socks to have the "cleanest water possible". I did and it was too clean. I switched to mesh filter socks that only trap larger particles and my tank immediately reacted in a positive way. Everything started growing and looking happy again.

 

[Oscarmk]

@Mike R wrote:

I bought felt socks but didn't like them either, they do catch too much stuff seems like, but my main gripe with them is washing... On the other hand I can hand wash my mesh sock in the sink with water only, let it dry for a day and have it ready for service again.