water changes

[macjud57]

Sorry I am a newbie to saltwater and am getting and reading a lot of conflicting thoughts on water changes. 55 gal. tank, crushed coral bottom, 25 lbs live rock, 4 hermits, 2 snails and 3 three damsels. Been running for 3 weeks and have addes a week of stabilty. No skimmer No what do you recommend for water changes as rocks are blooming and I,m being told chande 10%-25% water now as I am burning up the gills of my fish. Help I don,t know who to believe As some say no for at least 6 weeks and also do not need a skimmer if just gonna have fish. Thank You for your help Judy

 

[WRASSER]

:welcome: well i suggest testing your water and let that dictate how much water you need to change. you also probably need to not change your water til your tank is finished cycling, and a water test will tell you that. :wink:

 

[kevindub]

Hi Judy. You should do lots of big water changes to keep your fish healthy. I would do at least 25 percent every other week for now. It is too late now but you need to wait several weeks to months to add your first fish. The early period of your tank makes a lot of toxic stuff that kills animals. So water changes is the only way to keep the bad stuff at low levels

A skimmer is a smart thing to get even if only for fish.

 

[Anonymous]

IMHO what is important is getting the tank itself maintaining the water quality, and not "relying" on water changes.

I would stop adding food to allow aerobic bacteria build up to get ammonia and nitrItes down to 0. When the nitrItes drop down to 0 then start a very very light feeding each day.

just my .02

 

[Anonymous]

IMHO what is important is getting the tank itself maintaining the water quality, and not "relying" on water changes.

I would stop adding food to allow aerobic bacteria build up to get ammonia and nitrItes down to 0. When the nitrItes drop down to 0 then start a very very light feeding each day.

just my .02

Sorry BBob but as usual I disagree. We all know your 'stance' on water changes, however this tank is cycling with live fish which is another matter entirely. Those fish possibly won't survive the ammonia spikes so it would be better to do water changes until things stabilize. I'd test the water for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates and change the water according to the results.

For the original poster, here's a link to an article about the nitrogen cycle, which explains what is happening with the rock and the water quality in your new tank. This is important stuff to know, even if it is a bit on the technical side. There are good directions about testing the water and what to look for when you get the results. I would count on at least a 25% change per week-although I'd do 50% until things do settle down.

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/bionit ... 073199.htm

 

[Len]

IMHO what is important is getting the tank itself maintaining the water quality, and not "relying" on water changes.

I would stop adding food to allow aerobic bacteria build up to get ammonia and nitrItes down to 0. When the nitrItes drop down to 0 then start a very very light feeding each day.

just my .02

I also disagree. Do water changes. It'll dilute any ammonia and nitrites that builds up, bringing down the ppm so fish can cope. Water changes are important. They're even more important for Judy's situation.

Reducing feedings can help to prevent too much toxic byproducts from building up. But it won't allow bacteria to build up any faster, so I agree with this recommendation.

 

[Minh Nguyen]

I also think that water change is an essential part of maintain a successful tank. I can easily maintain a tank Nitrate undetectable without water change, but if I neglect water change, it will not do well. Remove toxic level of certain trace elements, and replace other trace element with water change is essential. I can added trace elements and the tank still will do poorly without water change.