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I just set up a 30 gal cube with some live rock and some dry rock and I was wondering if I was slowing the cycle by doing weakly water changes?
water changes during cycle
- Thread starter john wright
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Yeah I dont know if you actually slowing it or not but most people let the cycle finish and then do a large volume change, Then usually your good to go, have you seen any diatoms yet, brown crap everywhere that appeared out of nowhere in like a day?
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Yes just a little on the sand bed mostly
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when that starts to go away then you are close to the end bro. Just let it be till the end of the cycle and do like a 20 gallon change, Isnt total volume somwhere around 45?
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Prob closer to 50 but yes
Shouldn't need a large volume change - changing too much will upset the ionic balance that the tank has been trying to find, and possibly cause another diatom bloom.
We never suggest water changing during the initial cycle, but once it is cycled, commence 10% weekly changes (or 20% bi-weekly). 10% a week changes more net water over time.
Jenn
We never suggest water changing during the initial cycle, but once it is cycled, commence 10% weekly changes (or 20% bi-weekly). 10% a week changes more net water over time.
Jenn
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Thanks jenn that's what I thought but I was just curious because on my live rock there are a few mushrooms and some green star polyps and I didn't want them to diy
Stay in this hobby long enough and you'll wish you never put them in the tank or allowed them to grow.
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Love the info and support from you as a store! I would like to say a huge thanks as I have seen many post to help us all.
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I couldn't agree more jenn is like tank tech support and I know that she has made a huge difference in the arc.
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she started the ARC, Hmmmm I thought you could do that one big WC at the end of the cycle. I dont do big WC after that Usually 20 gallon every 3 weeks
Yep, the whole mess is my fault :lol:
Changing a smaller volume, more frequently, keeps the overall water quality more consistent. Doing a larger change, less frequently, allows the water quality to get gradually worse over time, and any huge fluctuation, even for the better, can cause stress.
The amount and frequency can vary from tank to tank. Lower bioload can do with less water changed - but monitoring parameters will tell you if you're doing enough or not.
If all levels are 0 (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) there's no logical reason to do a huge water change - a small one will replenish a few trace elements etc.
As the tank matures, you want to be sure you're changing enough to export the toxins/nutrients. Typically in the long term they show up as nitrates (and that's what's often called, "old tank syndrome"). This occurs when more waste is being imported, than exported.
Imagine, for example, your livestock produces 2 bags of trash each week. If you are changing adequate water, both "bags of trash" are taken out and discarded. The "house" stays clean.
However, if your livestock generates 2 bags of trash each week, and you only take out one... at first it may not seem like a big deal, but after 2 weeks, 4 weeks etc., suddenly you have what amounts to a "hoarded house" and it's unfit to live in.
And of course, if you don't take *any* trash out... well, you get the picture.
Water changes are only part of that process - filtration and skimming are the other portion, but they run all the time and water changes are what takes that trash out to the curb, so to speak.
That's why, when somebody lets their tank "go" for a while, we often see crazy high nitrates, even though everything "looked" fine. It's a time bomb. And "old tank syndrome" happens when people aren't paying attention. We have tanks we've maintained for 10 years and the water is as good today as it was when the tank was newly cycled - because all of the trash is taken out regularly.
When it gets ahead of you, it takes longer to fix the problem - lots of small water changes every few days, for several weeks. It doesn't go bad overnight, it doesn't get right overnight either.
Jenn
Changing a smaller volume, more frequently, keeps the overall water quality more consistent. Doing a larger change, less frequently, allows the water quality to get gradually worse over time, and any huge fluctuation, even for the better, can cause stress.
The amount and frequency can vary from tank to tank. Lower bioload can do with less water changed - but monitoring parameters will tell you if you're doing enough or not.
If all levels are 0 (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) there's no logical reason to do a huge water change - a small one will replenish a few trace elements etc.
As the tank matures, you want to be sure you're changing enough to export the toxins/nutrients. Typically in the long term they show up as nitrates (and that's what's often called, "old tank syndrome"). This occurs when more waste is being imported, than exported.
Imagine, for example, your livestock produces 2 bags of trash each week. If you are changing adequate water, both "bags of trash" are taken out and discarded. The "house" stays clean.
However, if your livestock generates 2 bags of trash each week, and you only take out one... at first it may not seem like a big deal, but after 2 weeks, 4 weeks etc., suddenly you have what amounts to a "hoarded house" and it's unfit to live in.
And of course, if you don't take *any* trash out... well, you get the picture.
Water changes are only part of that process - filtration and skimming are the other portion, but they run all the time and water changes are what takes that trash out to the curb, so to speak.
That's why, when somebody lets their tank "go" for a while, we often see crazy high nitrates, even though everything "looked" fine. It's a time bomb. And "old tank syndrome" happens when people aren't paying attention. We have tanks we've maintained for 10 years and the water is as good today as it was when the tank was newly cycled - because all of the trash is taken out regularly.
When it gets ahead of you, it takes longer to fix the problem - lots of small water changes every few days, for several weeks. It doesn't go bad overnight, it doesn't get right overnight either.
Jenn
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Yep all my levels are good and my maintance is pretty solid, I think alot of people do that one big WC after the cycle completes. I've heard that from quite a few people. Jenn does it really throw it off that bad. I figured the bigger one would bring the nitrates down to a decent level and then you would be kinda ahead of the game.
I do understand the trash analogy and its a good one. How fast can you freakin type lol.
I do understand the trash analogy and its a good one. How fast can you freakin type lol.
About 85 words per minute 
If you have high nitrate after an initial cycle, something is wrong. Either old, toxic rock or some other issue. Nitrates ideally should be as close to 0 as possible but generally, under 20 is "OK" for a reef tank. However if your nitrates are up around 20 after a cycle, like I said, something isn't right and should be addressed before proceeding - not just a water change, but figuring out the cause and nipping it in the bud right away. If that means "cooking" old rock some more (cooking - letting it run with just water movement and protein skimming) for a longer period of time, so be it.
Jenn
If you have high nitrate after an initial cycle, something is wrong. Either old, toxic rock or some other issue. Nitrates ideally should be as close to 0 as possible but generally, under 20 is "OK" for a reef tank. However if your nitrates are up around 20 after a cycle, like I said, something isn't right and should be addressed before proceeding - not just a water change, but figuring out the cause and nipping it in the bud right away. If that means "cooking" old rock some more (cooking - letting it run with just water movement and protein skimming) for a longer period of time, so be it.
Jenn
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