Water Change

[alynm22]

We started the tank December around December 18th. We have a 55 gallon tank
-50 nassarius snails
-1 coral banded shrimp
-1 emerald crab
-4 damsels
-10 lbs live rock
Anyways I have a couple questions. Does anyone have any suggestions on what type of fish to get? We do not have a light to grow coral yet, but hope to down the road. Do we need a skimmer? What is the purpose of one? So we have had the tank running for about two months. We have not done a water change yet. We add RO water a couple times a week, but we have never taken any water out changed it. So how often do you add saltwater? If anyone could explain this information to me it would be great!!! Also if you have any comments or suggestions I can always use them. Ohh yeah one more question. I just bought 40 lbs. of live rock is it okay if I add all that at once?

 

[viziouskat]

Alynm22, Hello I'm not an expert but this is what I do. I do a water change every 2 weeks to keep my PH,nitrate,nitrite,and ammonia stable. The all need to be at 0ppm, except for PH, that needs to be at 8.3. I do it every 2weeks because I have Crush Coral, but I think if you have Live Sand you do not need to do a water change that often. Have you tested your water for these things? If not, you need to buy a salt water test kit. Also, when you check your water, check the Salinity because if you keep adding RO water, the salinity will drop. It needs to be at 1.021 - 1.022 only add RO water when the salinity is to high.
I do not have a protein skimmer on my tank, althought I have been told that I need to get one. I believe it's to keep the water much cleaner, since fishes produce alot of waste, depending on how many you have.
I don't know about the live rock because I have a Fish Only Tank.
If you add fishes be sure that the Damsels don't pick on the other fishes because they are mean!!
I hope this helps you, but again I'm not an expert. I do this on my tank and so far I have been succesful.

 

[wbilton]

You need more lr about a pound to a pound and a half per gallon, you do need a skimmer, and did you a water change at the end of your cycle? you should change 10 to 20 % of your water every 2 weeks.

 

[alynm22]

What is the purpose of a skimmer? Okay so when I do a water change I buy saltwater from the store and take out about five gallons and add five gallons of saltwater? Do you think adding that much rock will do anything to the fish? We already have high nitrates.

 

[viziouskat]

Do atleast a 25% water change. It is a 15 gallon water change. I did a 15g water change last night. I added 10g salt and 5 RO. I don't know about LR, I don't have any. Make sure to have a pump to clean either your live sand or crush coral because I'm pretty sure its dirty.

 

[rickstar]

aly yes, run and get your self a skimmer this gadget is going to collect so much filth from your water that you will be shocked ,it will also help clear up the water . i empty mine twice a day . my tank is the same size as yours and i got 35kg of lr. by adding the lr wich to me is a must, ithink that it will tend to spike the levels for a little while,but live rock is what will keep your tank balanced so bottom line is yes to protein skimmer &l. rock.:happyfish

 

[rickstar]

Originally posted by rickstar

aly yes, run and get your self a skimmer this gadget is going to collect so much filth from your water that you will be shocked ,it will also help clear up the water . i empty mine twice a day . my tank is the same size as yours and i got 35kg of lr. by adding the lr wich to me is a must, ithink that it will tend to spike the levels for a little while,but live rock is what will keep your tank balanced so bottom line is yes to protein skimmer &l. rock.:happyfish
(my salt level is between 1024-1026