No water changes?

[Apulo]

My goal since setting up my two tanks is to do virtually zero water changes.

I have live plants in both and dose liquid ferts three times a week and root tabs once a week.

If Ii show an acceptable (20-40ppm) nitrate and everything else is good, do I need to do water changes?

[lefty o]

if water conditions are good, and everything in the tank looks happy and healthy, no you dont have to do water changes. i let the tank dictate when and if it needs a water change. i dont subscribe to the every week water change ( good thing for beginners who havent got a handle on things yet, so there is a place for it). you really have to have a perfectly balanced tank to never do water changes, but a well balanced tank can go for very long times without. 

[Apulo]

I am testing every other day currently just to make sure nothing is going wrong and so far, things have been doing great.

I'll probably reduce my testing to once or twice a week once I have confidence things are going to stay great lol.

[modified lung]

Having a conductivity or TDS meter makes eliminating or reducing your water changes a lot easier. They let you monitor the buildup of non-specific ions that usually aren't tested for just by shoving a probe in your tank.