First Water Change...

[eplantejr]

Some quick facts.

I have a Solana XL 60 with about 70# of rock, 35# of which is LR. Sand bed is about 2", roughly 60# of sand. (2) MP-10s, SWC 160, AI Sol Blues. (3) Fire Gobies and (1) Chromis. I also have a large CUC.

I did my first water change last night. The tank has been up and running for 26 days. I check the parms before I did the water change:

Ph 8.4 (API)
NH 0 ppm (API)
Nitrites 0 ppm (API)
Nitrates 0 ppm (API)
Phosphates 0 PPM (Salifert)
CA 430 (Salifert)
KH/Alk 8.1 / 285 (Salifert)
Salanity 1.025

Questions:

[eplantejr]

My questions;

1. After the WC, my SWC 160 was dumping a lot of micro-bubbles into the tank, it was still doing it this morning? Should I turn off the skimmer for a while after a water change?
2. Should I start doing weekly WC? If so, is 5g/week enough?
3. I have filter socks, and have been swapping them out every three days, how do you clean them? I have been rinsing them in fresh water (not RO).
4. Anything else I should do? Can I start adding some coral? I was thinking about some torch to start.

Thanks this board has been a huge help.

[stingythingy45]

Has this tank been cycled........26 days?

[BeanMachine]

1. After the WC, my SWC 160 was dumping a lot of micro-bubbles into the tank, it was still doing it this morning? Should I turn off the skimmer for a while after a water change?That can happen, but maybe the skimmer is still breaking in? How long have you been running it? I would just leave it alone as it should work itself out.

2. Should I start doing weekly WC? If so, is 5g/week enough?5 gallons a week should be OK, just be consistent with it. If too much of a hassle, be consistent with water changes twice a month... thats what I do. I do 10% of my total water volume to give you an idea.

3. I have filter socks, and have been swapping them out every three days, how do you clean them? I have been rinsing them in fresh water (not RO).When I used filter socks, I would put them in the washer with a tiny bit of bleach. Let them air dry in the sun for a day to completely dry.

I would avoid using tap water to clean them. You dont want tap water in your tank. Avoid using tap water unless absolutely necessary... as we all have I'm sure but full of nastys you dont want in your aquarium. ie. chlorine, chloramine, ammonia, nitrates, lots of gunk and other minerals.

If you are going to use filter socks, replace them regularly. I would have like 5 on hand, so I would replace them when they got dirty and would wash say 4 at a time and dry them by the time the 5th sock needed changing. Don't want until they are completely brown.

4. Anything else I should do? Can I start adding some coral? I was thinking about some torch to start.
Did you notice a cycle? I see you are reporting Zero on Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate, but did they ever register a value?

Torch are relatively easy to keep, but I would suggest maybe starting with a soft coral like a leather or some polyps.

[BeanMachine]

Has this tank been cycled........26 days?

I got long in the finger and you beat me to it!

Its probable, but I too was wondering if you noticed a cycle?

[eplantejr]

Has this tank been cycled........26 days?

Yes, I believe so, although I think it was slight. I went through a Dino outbreak a week and a half ago, it is all cleared up now. I also had an outbreak of hair algae that has been taken care of by the CUC.

I have been slow to add bio load. Tank actually looks great now, except for the micro bubbles.

[stingythingy45]

Yes, I believe so, although I think it was slight. I went through a Dino outbreak a week and a half ago, it is all cleared up now. I also had an outbreak of hair algae that has been taken care of by the CUC.

I have been slow to add bio load. Tank actually looks great now, except for the micro bubbles.


The only real way to tell if a tank cycles is to test for ammonia>nitrite and then nitrate,then a water change.
Some do opt for what is called a "soft cycle".But if you add a fish and the bioload is more than the biological filter(bacteria) can keep up with you'll have an ammonia spike.
How much live rock do you have?
And is this true"live" rock or was it purchased dry?
Do you have an ammonia test kit?(very cheap,like $8 API)

[eplantejr]

The only real way to tell if a tank cycles is to test for ammonia>nitrite and then nitrate,then a water change.
Some do opt for what is called a "soft cycle".But if you add a fish and the bioload is more than the biological filter(bacteria) can keep up with you'll have an ammonia spike.
How much live rock do you have?
And is this true"live" rock or was it purchased dry?
Do you have an ammonia test kit?(very cheap,like $8 API)

I have 35 lbs of well cured live rock for a LFS, the rock in nicely encrusted wiht coraline algae. I also have 60 lbs of argonite live sand.

I think I may have missed the ammonia spike (I never saw a high reading of ammonia), I did have a slightly high reading of Nitrates during the Dino outbreak, which led me to believe that the tank has cycled.