I do water changes but it just isn't feasible to do as often as I need to. At a minimum I would need to change 200 gallons a month. I have a water changing station set up in my garage but our hot summers here usually bring the water temperature up into the mid 80's. There's also a cost factor, that's at least 60 dollars a month if I go with the cheapest reef crystals.

Hmm I had no idea they did not need light to survive. I have "cooked" rocks in the past and had them all wither away in a matter of weeks.

Thank you for the input!