jmestayer1
Member
If I have a fish only tank, no coral, do I still need to do water changes? I have a 20 gal. tank with 10lbs of live rock and crushed coral.
water changes
- Thread starter jmestayer1
- Start date
michaeltx
Moderator
yes its very beneficial to do water changes even in a FO tank. You have CC substrate so you will have a nitrate problem eventually if you dont do water changes and clean the CC out.
Nitrates are harmless but only in LOW amounts once the start building they can become toxic to even fish. Some fish need pristine water to live also.
Mike
Nitrates are harmless but only in LOW amounts once the start building they can become toxic to even fish. Some fish need pristine water to live also.
Mike
jmestayer1
Member
what is the best way to do this? How do I clean the cc and change the water? How much water and how often?
michaeltx
Moderator
to clean the CC you can use a aquarium vacum like the python. as far as how much to change out it depends on the tank and what you have in it. but normally a 10-20 percent monthy IMO for a FO system unless the the nitrates are really high then you may need to change out more.
to change water you want to mix the salt and airate for atleast 24 hours and have it heated to the same temp as the tank and the same salinty. Take out how much water you are going to change and then add the new saltwater in slowly so you dont disrupt to much of the bed and debris that might be in the tank,.
Mike
to change water you want to mix the salt and airate for atleast 24 hours and have it heated to the same temp as the tank and the same salinty. Take out how much water you are going to change and then add the new saltwater in slowly so you dont disrupt to much of the bed and debris that might be in the tank,.
Mike