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michaelp

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I need to do a big water change (25-50%) to my nitrates down to 0 in the new tank. Currently there is nothing in it except LR. But even when I do a ~30g change on the 120g tank (with another 30g sump), some of the rockwork pokes its head out of the water. I wondered if there were any corals up there, would that be harmful to them to be out of the water for 10 minutes?
 
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DEEPWATER

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Hey mike
what i would is have the water ready by the tank just so you limit the time the corals are out of water ,just to be on the safe side
i do a 20 gal WC everymonth and some of my corals are outof water but only for a few mins ,never had a prob
10 mins iwould say is a bit to long for some corals ,where zoanthids should make the 10min no water
 

cali_reef

Fish and Coral Killer
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Some zoos, softies, and SPS are exposed to sun and air for hours during low tide, they lived in the same spot for years.

I never have problems with 10-15 minuet water changes with some of my SPS fully exposed in the air.
 

tomzpc

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Location
Pawling, NY
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I typically do 30 gallon water changes on my 90. I don't have a very large sump so quite a bit of my rockwork and some of my corals invariably end up out of water for anywhere between 5-15 minutes. Never had a problem because of it.
 

Quang

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Some of my softies (frogspawn, candies, and xenia) as well as more SPS types (gorgonia, birdnest, digita) gets exposed to air for 5-10 mins when I do my weekly water change...no problems thus far.


I recommend you have a strong pump and a big hose. Syphon out as much water into a few buckets and have the new saltwater ready. Once you're done your desired syphoning, attach the hose to the pump (considering all the openings and fittings match) and pump the water up to your tank, along the side or back wall, so not to boombard the coral/sand.

I've seen Ronen do this WC and didn't take him more than 2 or 3 mins with a 1" or 1"5 tube.
 
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reefman

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Forest Hills
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This is just my experience that i like to share n in no way saying its the only right way, so...
I find that unless you're doing water change to try and correct some parameter in the water, it is better with more frequent changes than big volumes. from my experience, i find anywhere from 10 to 15% causes the inhabitants the least amount of stress. anything over i sometimes see lps, polyps dont open as fully until a few days later. there is no set rules for anything, so i would say monitoring how your corals react before and after a wc is done will determine the actual amount is best. how did u derive at 20% wc/week? have u try 15% or 10%? what if everything was fine or even better with wc 10%/week or 15%/2week, etc.

I like to experiment with diff ways of doing things to see if there's other ways that will improve or get the same results. Most often doing extra wc doesn't do any harm. I've also meet some that questions how effectve reg wc really are, but thats another big can of worms there.
 
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cali_reef

Fish and Coral Killer
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I don't think large water changes is bad if your replacement water perimeter is correct, not having the replacement water matching the tank water in PH and temp will stress the corals. The larger water changes and\or frequent water changes will help keep the nutrient level down in a reef tank with larger amount of fish, this is proven at some large public aquariums such as Long Beach and Waikiki with a run-thru system.

I do 30 gallons(20%) at each water change because I am limited in water storage facility, it is not a magical number but I think anything less will not ensure a significant amount of nutrient removal.
 

tomzpc

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Pawling, NY
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cali_reef said:
I don't think large water changes is bad if your replacement water perimeter is correct, not having the replacement water matching the tank water in PH and temp will stress the corals. The larger water changes and\or frequent water changes will help keep the nutrient level down in a reef tank with larger amount of fish, this is proven at some large public aquariums such as Long Beach and Waikiki with a run-thru system.

I do 30 gallons(20%) at each water change because I am limited in water storage facility, it is not a magical number but I think anything less will not ensure a significant amount of nutrient removal.

I agree. Large water changes are much more effective IMO even when done less frequently. I "try to do" 25-30% (or more) a pop once a month.
 

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