Water changes: Do i still need to change the water if paremeters are 0?

Hi guys. So I have always had some issues with nitrates in my 20gallon, with them reading from 10ppm -even 40ppm at times. Even after large water changes nitrates still read 5ppm at their lowest. I had a 5.5 gallon sump/fuge w/lr and chaeto and protein skimmer. I was using the 4-watt LED magnet light designed for the biocube to light my algae.

So recently I upgraded my 5.5 gallon sump/fuge to a 10 gallon sump/fuge. And 2 weeks ago I changed the 4-watt LED biocube fuge light to a small clamp light w/reflector from Lowe's and a 10-watt 5100k fluorescent bulb. So basically I was blown away and shocked when I tested my water after a week and nitrates read 0! Could it have been the new light and bulb?

So because of this I haven't changed the water for 2 weeks now. I tested the water again today and parameters read 0 0 0. I've just been maintaining salinity and PH. But is it recommended that I still do water changes to replenish trace elements? Has anyone gone a long period of time without doing water changes because your water params are always good? Do I need to dose anything to the water if I'm not doing water changes as frequently? Right now I'm just using iodide, strontium and molybdenum. Thanks! Sorry for all the details =]

 

lol! don;t be sorry about too many details when asking questions! But not enough! Whats your bioload? what else is growing in there; corals etc? How's the chaeto looking/growing?

You added a decent amount of water to your system, maybe that was just enough to get it balanced right!

But IMO I;d still do bu weekly water changes! Especially if you have corals!

 

LOL. In my tank I have 2x clowns, 1x watchman goby, 1x pistol shrimp, 1x cleaner shrimp, 2x peppermint shrimp and CUC. Corals, I have 1 ricordea mushroom, zoas and green star polyps so nothing intense. The chaeto in the 5.5 gallon was actually dying off, so it seemed. The strands started to wilt and turn brown. Maybe that LED light was just not enough to promote growth?

 

chaeto is a weird mistress that likes different things! normally a 6700 ight is recommened but hey, whatever works! Also run your sump lights opposite your DT lights to maintain PH! It should also be tumbled here and there(although i don't its just what they say to do)!

But sounds like ya got it running good! Prob still a good idea to do a water change here and there!

 

Thanks for the info! Appreciate it. 6700k was what I always heard too until I read the article on Melev's reef site. It was a debate about 2700k vs 5100k as the best spectrum for chaeto growth. I have a HOB filter in the fuge but the algae doesnt tumble. I just flip it every now and than. I leave the fuge lights on 24/7 because the ball of chaeto that I bought came with some caulerpa. Is a reverse light cycle better for the PH? I noticed that my PH does fluctuate quote a lot throughout the week. The ph will go from 8.4 to 8 in like 4 days so I've been using a lot of the seachem reef buffer to keep the PH up.

 

I've heard that its best to do opposite lighting, but each tank is its own beast! ya gotta figure out what works for yours! There are guidelines but they are golden rules!IMO! My opinion, ya got your tank runnin good, keep doing whatever your doing and don't mess with it!lol! Good luck!

 

Opposite light hours will keep your pH stable at night.

 

Thanks again!

I've heard this before too but do you know the science behind this or why that is? Does having the light on 24/7 negatively affect the ph as opposed to reverse cycle? I leave it on 24/7 to prevent the caulerpa from going asexual.

 

Oh it's caulerpa? Then yeah you should probably keep it on. I thought it was chaeto.

 

I've heard this before too but do you know the science behind this or why that is? Does having the light on 24/7 negatively affect the ph as opposed to reverse cycle? I leave it on 24/7 to prevent the caulerpa from going asexual.[/QUOTE]

What causes caulerpa to go asexual? And what does this mean? How is it effected?