Quote:
Originally Posted by George
I don't doubt no water change can work for certain tanks. But regard this particular tank, I have doubt about its long term success. Long term in my book is 5+ years. The reason I said that is because he is using a bunch of additives to help with CA, Mg and Alk. Those additives have containment for sure. They may not kill your tank in a year or two, but leave the containment accumulated and they may cause trouble.
It's been speculated that a lot of old tank syndrome (melt down of old set up tanks) are caused by build up of heavy metal (although no scientific proof).
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This is a 100% correct but there is scientific proof, although it's not very scientific but rather very simple. Additives like Magnesium sulphate and calcium chloride will gradually raise sulphate and chloride levels in the tank, this is obvious and has been discussed in published documents written by smart people. Eventually these levels will become toxic, how long depends on the tank but like other continents such as copper it can quickly ruin a tank with little warning.
Water changes therefore are required for long term success, how much and how often are the only variables. The problem is there are a few people out there who know very little and don't even understand the concept of a simple water change and how it can be used to control containment. They tend to believe they are breaking new ground because they are too lazy to do simple maintenance and because no obvious effects have been presented they spread the word of great success with zero maintenance.
While regular water changes are not necessarily required it's import to understand the risks and limitations. Those with success do so with limitations developed from experimenting with different livestock. They also don't do it because they are lazy but rather find it works best for their tank which no one can argue with.