Water Changes Advise

[Roly]

I have a 110 gal tank. Its been running for a few weeks. I put in 5 damsels because I was told these are the best fish to help your tank mature (Have some live rock too). I have 3 questions for anyone who can help.

1.) Was putting the damsels in a good idea? (Could it have been other fish, does it matter, should I have waited?)
2.) When doing water changes, does the new water go into the sump or into the tank itself. Water, of course, will be appropriate temp. and will contain the water conditioner. Does it matter? Is this a dumb question?
3.)When should my first water change be? (Have a wet/dry, POS SeaClone Skimmer, and a UV sterilizer which I havent turned on yet.)

P.S Dont worry I just ordered the Octopus Skimmer

Thanks for, what Im sure will be, good advise.

 

[Sherman]

1. I'll say it wasn't a good idea. What happens when you want them out? You don't need to add fish to start a cycle. I'd recommend pulling those fish while you still can (because pulling all your rock shouldn't matter yet). Damsels are notorious tank terrors.

2. Water conditioner? Tell us more about this. It's probably better to add the water to your sump, just so it has time to diffuse through the return pump first. In the end, it's probably not that important.

3. I have labelled myself a water change nazi. I was changing 15% every week from week 1. Some say wait 6 weeks. I had a very small cycle, and I'm certain this is partially because I was using water changes as nutrient export during the cycle. As a side note, for a reef tank, you're not going to want a wet/dry. If you have bioballs, pull them now. If the tank's already cycled, take out a handful (literally) every week, or with each water change. You don't want to pull them all at once on an established tank, the shift in nutrient export will likely promote another cycle.

 

[Jeff]

Sorry Roly I seem to be following you around tonight.

Is this a reef or fish only.

My opinion is that cycling a tank with any live fish is a bad idea because it is completely unnecessary and will most likely cause harm a living creature. Hopefully your live rock was already cured in which case it will already be acting as a filter.

The best way to start a tank IMO is with fully cured live rock or live sand or both. Second best and cheaper is start with uncured rock and/or sand and let that do the cycle for you. It can take anywhere from two weeks to two months before you can't detect anymore ammonia or nitrite, then you can start slowly adding live animals. Remember that it takes time build a stable ecosystem.

As far as water changes I don't think that it really matters. Adding it to the sump may give it a little more mix and match your water chemistry before it hits the invertebrates but I at least don't really worry about it. For me its just easy to add it in the sump.

Lots of different advice on whether to change water during a cycle or not. For me I didn't do water changes when I used uncured rock for cycling. My ammonia was off the charts and I don't think It would have made much difference. I did run a skimmer though. In the first 24hrs after adding my rock I filled a 5g buck 3/4 of skimate. Boy was I glad I ordered my skimmer with collection cup drain!

Sorry If I ramble on, I am sure you'll get many more opinions
Good luck, now the real fun begins.

Jeff

 

[reefnetworth]

now you need test kits:
Alkilinity (ALK) 2.5-4.0 mq/L or 7-14 dKH
Nitrite (NO2) 0.0 ppm
Nitrate (NO3) 0.0 ppm
Ammonia (NH3, NH4) 0.0 ppm
pH 7.8-8.3
Calcium (Ca) 375-450ppm
Magnesium (Mg) 1200-1350 ppm
you should test for: NO2, NO3, pH, and NH3/NH4 now. you should have a cycle of some kind begining at this time. usually starts in 3 day to 2 weeks. if the rock was cured, it will have lower readings.. if it was uncured the NH3/NH4 and NO2 will be starting to rise daily. when they level off/dont rise, for more than 3 days, do a water change of 30%. make sure you parameters are almost zero after the H20 change. test another 2-3 days before addition of any live creature to assure cycle is complete. then you may add slowly, the desired fish. in a 100g i would start with no more than 2-3 fish max. at one time. allow the bacteria to catch up (3-5 weeks) then add 1-2 more fish max. nothing good happens fast in a reef or fish with LR, tank. hope this helped & REEF-ON!

 

[Roly]

Good stuff guys! Thanks for the advise. By the way, the live rock was already cured and the tank was running without fish for about a almost a month. The water conditioner is the fish stresscoat (didnt have fish at the time) and it claims to remove chlorine and neutralizes chloramines.

 

[ronj]

tell us more about how you are mixing water...i am guessing that you don't have RO water...are you using tap water???? i know very few people that are able to pull that off with success!!!! it depends on the water in your area, but it can lead to disater and algae that you will wish you had never seen!!!!! just wondering...which octopus did you go with???? i have the Octo NW200........by the way, you definately have the funniest avatar on the forum Peter is an idiot

 

[Sherman]

Agreed, you really need to consider RO/DI, as tap water is a formula for disaster.

 

[Roly]

Unfortunately I did use tap water. I bought a test kit and everything is within range at the moment. I also took a sample of my water to the store where I bought my some of my equipment (the guy seems somewhat knowledgeable) and he said that everything seemed to be fine. What's the best way to go about getting good water without having to crack open the piggy bank?
By the way I ended up getting the Octopus 110 NW. I wanted the 150 I just wouldnt have fit in my sump. The foot print was 9x10 and my sump is 12x12 not including my pump. I didnt want to squeeze everything in there which would cause noice with all the vibrations. Thanks agian guys.
...Peter is awsome!

 

[ronj]

did he test for phosphates or metals????? i bet he didn't...he most likely onlytested for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates....it might not show up right off, but hair algae could be in the near future!!!! here is a link to a good RO/DI unit...i just got one a month or two ago..it saves me bundles of money and trips to the grocery store to buy water!!!!
http://cgi.ebay.com/WaterGeneral-RO...hZ002QQcategoryZ46310QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

 

[Roly]

Thanks Ron. I actually think I'm going to invest in one. Are they eay to use? When do you add the salt? Im thinking that Ill do a little research on them and look to buy one before my next water change.

 

[ronj]

yeah, that one is a good deal!!! it is very easy to use...you just put the small outlet hose from the unit into your bucket or whatever and fill it up....installation is the only part that takes time...it is pretty easy to set up , but my cabinet under my sink is small and was very hard to work inside....to use, you need to put all of the water you need in your mixing container first...then add the salt!!! make sure all of the water is in first before you add salt...don't put the salt in and then the water..it will cause your calcium to precipitate!! remember, there are several ways to set up your unit...some people have them right beside their tanks...it makes it easy to do topoffs and water changes

 

[Roly]

Thanks Ron. Im going to really look into it. That seems like a good deal. It says he has 95 of them available! At least I know he isnt goiung to run out of them. Thanks for the advise. Ill let you know how it works out

 

[ronj]

you're welcome..... they really are a huge help...water from the grocery store was starting to add up fast...i have 4 tanks running and a 125g in the works..