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Beginner's question regarding water changing


fgeer85

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Hi, all. I am extremely new to this world. By new, I mean we got our first 20 gallon tank 2 days ago. I am wondering what kind of water changes I am supposed to do in the weeks up to adding corals/fish. Some places I've read says to do a 25% water change weekly and others say to do a 50% change weekly. I would love to hear your advice on this. Thanks!

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Well I would assume that your tank is currently cycling, if so then I wouldn't do any water changes until your tank has completely cycled. Once your tank is completely cycled you should do frequent water changes which will be based on the amount of livestock you have in your tank, how much you feed, and what equipment you have. A good general guideline would be to change out 20% of the water every one to two weeks, again a very general guideline.

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Your tank is still cycling so you should wait. The waiting is horrible time and if you can't wait, you can put bio-spira, and drop some shrimp in the tank. If you want to be cruel, you can put damsel in which I don't recommend you to. After cycling, you should do 50% water change. Buy water test kit and make sure ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are zero before you buy the fish. Then buy hardy fish like clownfish.

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Twantyniner

Hi, all. I am extremely new to this world. By new, I mean we got our first 20 gallon tank 2 days ago. I am wondering what kind of water changes I am supposed to do in the weeks up to adding corals/fish. Some places I've read says to do a 25% water change weekly and others say to do a 50% change weekly. I would love to hear your advice on this. Thanks!

What I did after my cycle was zero touching of the water except to top off till the cycle is done. Then after I spiked the ammonia up to make sure it was quickly being processed into nitrate I did a 50% water change. You are going to have a lot of nitrate more than likely after the cycle. After that I agree with nanomaniac. 20% every two weeks is a good start guideline. All depends on your tank. Personally I like using the home depot buckets to make water. They easily hold 4 gallons, easy to find, safe, can be capped and cheap.

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I did the same. I waited till after the cycle was complete and did a good size water change and then tested for another week to ensure there was no mini cycle.

 

I do 10% a week

 

I Think it really depends on the needs of the tank ex high bioload, algae outbreaks etc.

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With my new tank that's only got 2 water changes on it after cycle, I'm noticing thus far that'll I'll pretty much zero out nitrates with a 40% or better water change. Depending on what you are planning on having, if you want to have some small level of nitrates, smaller and more frequent may be better. Once the cycle is complete you should be able to test for nitrates before and after WC to determine the needs of your tank, which will change with the bioload. Use your test kit and make educated decisions based on your tanks needs.

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  1. Let tank cycle
  2. Check Nitrate
  3. Do big water change depending on nitrate level.
  4. Afterward, start a weekly routine of 15% - 20% water change.
  5. If nitrate is high at any time, increase frequency or volume of water change.

 

Do you have a build thread? We would love to see progress on your tank. You are probably wondering what's considered high for nitrate. You will get different opinions depending on who you ask. Personally, i like to keep nitrate under 10ppm.

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  • 4 weeks later...
ReeferBrian

I am 8 months into my ten gallon and am loving it! Since my tank is so small I do a 20% water change every week and so far,so good.

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