Do reactors equal less water changes?

[tang daddy]

Originally Posted by Vancity

Just thinking of automating the setup a little more.
I do a 10-20% water change every 7-10 days. Currently no problems with algae but as time goes in the hobby the ole powerhead/heater in a bucket in the bathroom overnight routine is feeling a little monotonous.

Do people generally use reactors to allow less frequent water changes?
Or for other reasons?

Second option is to keep the same setup now and look into an auto water change system...

Here are some suggestions to help you with ridding the bucket with powerhead in washroom syndrome.....

I have 2 tanks behind my display, one for ato one for waterchange. I too was stuck lugging buckets for awhile and found myself post phoning WC's. It's quite simple to rig up and always have some spare ready to go if needed.

Some may say they lack room around display and hate the look of tanks behind their display. Tell you the truth for me it's hardly noticeable and hassle free. So if you're mixing up 4-5 gallons every week and a half get a 10g which really takes up a 12x16 foot print. I myself go for the largest tank I possibly can fit behind there so that I have roughly 5-6 changes on the go. Another thing is if you have a tank for ato already rigged up you could stack them to save even more space. Another helpfull tip is I run an airstone for circulation and oxygenation in both ato and wc tanks. When I mix a new batch of salt I will run the k4 and then unplug it once it's mixed. I also got some black perforated sign board to cover the tanks so that airborne contaminants like dust and hair keep out. This can be purchased at industrial plastics or any other plastic shop $8 for a 4x8' sheet.

And to answer your question reactors are used for a bunch of reasons, like removing P & N. Will this allow you to skip a water change or 2...sure but in reality waterchanges are to replace and displace dirty water. I have taken advantage of feeding more frequently with the addition of a gfo reactor. Algae shows up from time to time but that's when I get lazy and dump food in unrinsed.