PDA

View Full Version : JBJ 28 water change amounts?? 5 gal or 2.5 gal


ddavefish
06/11/2011, 07:59 AM
I am planning on changing 5 gallons per week but because of the amount of live rock and sand I would think there is probably 20 gallons in the Tank.

I do not want to start a cycle and am thinking of changing 2.5 gallons each week

I am new to this tank and saltwater


Thanks:fish2:

bnumair
06/11/2011, 08:03 AM
i would say 2.5 gal is enough for a 28gal tank per week. 5 gal per week mean ur changing entire tank in a month which is a lot.

lordofthereef
06/11/2011, 08:16 AM
I don't see a problem with 5g. As long as your change water is clean you won't see any sort of cycle as a result of your water changes. Depending on what you are keeping, I suppose you may run the risk of having a system that is TOO devoid of nutrients (in terms of keeping corals). If you have fish though, that will be unlikely.

If you are thinking of doing 2.5g/week, it might be easier to just do 5g every two weeks. 5g just are just so easy to fill with waste water and then refill exactly what you took out with premixed clean water.

ddavefish
06/11/2011, 08:33 AM
I am using new 2.5 gallon Pool chlorine Jugs for water storage I have 2 full jugs of LFS SWater .Since they sell it rather cheap I have not started premixing yet.

I need to know if the water stored in the jugs is good for a couple of weeks? Should I aerate it prior to adding it?

The last week when I added 5 gallons I went through a Algae faze ( green Hairy)

Thant is why I am thinking that 2.5 every week might be better???

Thanks For taking the time to reply.

MarcoPolo
06/11/2011, 08:36 AM
A good rule of thumb is about 25-30%water change a month, also to ensure you replenish elements such as strontium, iodine, etc which are not easy to measure and you should not supplement without knowing how much to add. How you go about the change of water is a personal preference, you can split that 25-40% per month in weekly changes of 5-10% or even daily 25%/30. My preference is weekly changes, ie smaller volumes which don't upset the overall balance of system :fun4:

lordofthereef
06/11/2011, 09:51 AM
If you already have 2.5g jugs at hand, I would just do 2.5g a week. It's a nice ~10% number. Still, 5g a week wouldn't hurt anything either, unless your tank is downright sterile to begin with, which it shouldn't be.

As far as keeping the jugs for many lengths of time I think that would depend on where they get there water. If there are organics in the water, I have heard Randy recommend it not be placed in anaerobic conditions. FWIW, some salts (MIXES) do have organics in them, and most LFS just sell pre-mixed saltwater. Ocean water also would have organics, of course.

thegrun
06/11/2011, 11:20 AM
I change out 3.5 gallons a week in my JBJ 28, but I also have a 10 gallon sump. My JBJ is a SPS dominated tank, its been running for 3 years without issues.

kruserm
06/11/2011, 12:59 PM
I have a 29 biocube and I do 5 gallon water changes weekly. I have not had any problems with this percentage...I would say I have close to 20 gallons as well after rock displacement.

ddavefish
06/11/2011, 02:44 PM
Thanks

I will try 2.5 week and check my numbers.

DDaveefish

ddavefish
06/11/2011, 03:45 PM
The LFS guy said I could eliminate one variable by Mixing my own Saltwater. I could use the name of a pump/powerhead that is good for this purpose since I am getting to old to lift a 5 gallon container