trx32
New Member
tanks been up sence feb 5 and i still havnt done a water change jw when i should, i check my levels every week and they are still good so when when should i do it then after i know i need to start doing it every week
first water change
- Thread starter trx32
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Chrisv.
2500 Club Member
I’m in the camp that there is a whole lot we don’t test that either accumulates or is depleted. My levels tend to look pretty great (by my standards) but when I do a Wc my tank looks much better for the next week or two.
Spare time
10K Club member
It all depends on what you are replacing. For fish only (after the tank has cycled and the first fish has gone in), nitrate and phosphate are the primary concerns. A common range would be 5-20ppm phosphate and 0.03-0.1ppm phosphate (do not use api phosphate test)
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Spare time
10K Club member
You need a reliable phosphate test, an alkalinity test kit, and a calcium test kit. Magnesium can wait until the tank get a lot of coral or you are going long periods without significant water changes.
You need to have your water within these ranges
Alk: 7-13KH (preferably 8-10 as a way to have a safe range just incase you accidentally move out of it)
Calcium: 380-500ppm
Magnesium 1280-1400ppm is typical
Phosphate 0.03-0.1ppm
Nitrate 5ish-20ppm ish
Ammonia and nitrite 0ppm (this shouldn't be a concern if you already cycled the tank and have fish).
Salinity 1.024-1.027sg
Temp 78F
pH 7.8-8.3 (digital accurate tests are the best, particularly if they have an error range of +/-0.01). You typically want to be as close to 8.3 as possible.
