water change question

I did my first water change last week and it is time to do another. My tank is not 10 weeks old and all readings from the LFS have been perfect. My nitrates were a tiny bit elevated during the last visit so it was recommended that I do my first water change and begin doing so regularly now. A few questions in regards to this and other things.
1) Do I need to heat the water that I am placing into the tank?
2) Before taking water out, should I stir up the bottom sand in order to get rid of more waste?
3) I have a zoanthid up fairly high in the tank, will it be okay if it goes beneath the water line?


Thank you for the advice. Reading these forums are helping me to become a bit more knowledgeable although I still obviously know next to nothing.

 

hi,i mix my water in a large pail,i use ro water.i add salt until i get a spcific gravity of 1.024,i then put a heater in it that is set the same temp as my display tank.i then let it warm up,as a powerhead circulates it for a day.then double check the specific gravity,if its ok,im good to go.
dont stir up the sand.

 

personally , yes i would heat the water to same temp as your tank. no possible temp shock to anything

i wouldnt "stir" up your sand. with your tank being young , theres not much reason to. also as your tank ages, dont stir up the sand. lots of nasties can be released into the water column.

you should be okay if the zoa is out of the water for a short period. try and limit its exposure tho. might be better to find a new spot , so this isnt a constant issue.

 

Water changes serve 2 purposes.
1. To reduce nasties (nitrates, phosphates, etc). This will never ever solve the problem though. If you have to WC to export wastes, you have some other problem that needs addressed. In a "well balanced" system, WC for purpose of nutrient export is not needed.
2. To import elements - Ca and Mg are the big ones. If you dose these, then WC for this purpose is not needed.

Doing WC weekly (or whatever) for the simple sake of doing the WC is just a bunch of extra work. Doesn't hurt but...

Since your tank is 10 weeks old, in my mind, you've only barely cycled and that is still going on and that explains a small nitrate elevation. I wouldn't WC for that. It took my tank several months before nitrates went away when I first set it up. 10 weeks isn't very long.

If you have lots of nutrients bc you're not balanced (over feed, have "messy" fish, too small CuC, etc.) and you are intentionally out of balance (i.e. you want messy fish but not the size tank needed to "balance" that) then do weekly or whatever to keep it under control. I keep not so messy fish for this reason. I'm in it for the coral, so I don't mind the limitation on fish selection.

Having said that, you want your WC water to match the water you are taking out in terms of heat, ph, etc. You want the Mg, Ca, etc of the WCW to match your targets for the DT.

1) Do I need to heat the water that I am placing into the tank?
Yes AND you want to let the new water mix for at least 24 hours b4 using. Also, the SG you read on the WCW will change slightly depending on temp. It's important to match temp.

2) Before taking water out, should I stir up the bottom sand in order to get rid of more waste?
Some folks do this. I am very much against it. Lots of nasty is in that sand. But your tank is a baby, it wouldn't hurt, but it's not helping you either to stir it. I do, however, siphon my substrate when I do a WC. Later, don't do it at all.

3) I have a zoanthid up fairly high in the tank, will it be okay if it goes beneath [i believe he meant above] the water line?
No problem at all. There are very few corals that can't do this and in fact many species do this regularly with the tide. Bubble coral and sponges are the only thing that comes to my mind that you want to keep submerged during WC.


Thank you for the advice. Reading these forums are helping me to become a bit more knowledgeable although I still obviously know next to nothing.
Me either friend ;D

 

^1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXtwvopfcww&feature=youtube_gdata_player