Water Changes after cycling complete

Hello all. I have been lurking since I started my reef tank. The value this site brings to the hobby is indispensable. Thanks to all the great people willing to pitch in with advice. It has allowed me to avoid some serious mistakes.

At any rate, on to my question. I have a 55 gal tank with a 350 penguin bio wheel filter (I have a Remora C being shipped and arriving this coming Thursday. That is part of the question) with 50lbs live rock, 1" live sand and two Koralia 2 powerheads. My nitrites/ammonia have maintained steady 0's for 2 weeks out of the 4 & 1/2 weeks the tank has been up. My tank cycled and my nitrates have hovered around 8 to 10 but have been creeping up the last few days approaching closer to 15 to 20. How soon should I do a water change? I know some suggest no changes with the correct suppliments and filtration. My concern is I know my filtration is not up to snuff for now. Should I do a water change or wait the 6 days until I get my skimmer and hope to see a nitrate reduction after? I finally have my calcium at 420, ph at 8.2 (and holding) and salinity at 1.024 and hate to upset the balance by rushing to do a change to quickly when it isn't required. I also have a 'fuge kit on it's way to setup a refugium in a 10 gal tank.

Thanks for your help fellow reefers.

 

Welcome to 3Reef

I would personally do a water change right now to drop the Nitrates down. I don't see a need to wait for the new filtration.

 

Welcome to the dark side! You'll see more value in 3Reef each time you utilize the brains around these parts.

I agree. I see no reason why a protein skimmer will cause any appreciable drop in nitrates. Also when you add newly mixed SW, you shouldn't see decent paramaters knocked off kilter.

 

As Reefsparky said, so I would do the water change.

 

Thanks guys.

Saltwater is mixing and heating as I type.


How long do you powerhead mix? Since this is my first water change, aside from checking salinity, do you test/dose for ph, calcium etc.?

 

I mix until the water is clear and not foggy... Welcome to 3reef! You won't regret the AquaC Remora! It's a GREAT skimmer for a 55! don't add anything to the water other than the salt. It should have everything you need in it. It's when it gets put into the tank and things use it, is when you need to suppliment.

 

Thanks for the welcome and thanks for the info. This place is awsome. I'm sure I would have screwed everything up completely without this website. fantastic resource!!

 

I let my saltwater mix sit and "mature" for two or three days if I can. If it is not an emergency, I would let the mixture sit overnight. Then heat it up and do the water change.

And I test my water weekly if there are no problems apparent.

 

Thanks so much. It isn't an emergency. My nitrates as starting to creep ansd I want to stay on top of it. I have been heating the water since I started mixing. Do I have it out order? How does saltwater "mature"? This is a concept I have heard mentioned but not explained as to the benefits.

Again, thanks guys. This is an awsome hobby. One that is tailor made for anal retentive people such as myself.

 

Freshly mixed saltwater is harsh on your tank inhabitants. It is caustic and can cause discomfort to their gills as not all of the "ingredients" immediately dissolve and reach their proper balance, therefore it is recommended to wait about 24 hours before you use it. Also, it needs this time for the Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide levels to stabilize (especially the Oxygen; it needs time to make sure there is enough dissolved Oxygen in the water). That's letting it "mature".

You don't know just how true you are.