Skip weekly PWC if Nitrates are low?

[ethankap]

My nitrates in my tank are hovering between 0.5 and 0.75. I'm not carbon dosing, but started MicroBacter7 which helped a small algae break out. Typically I did 10% (45 gallon tank) PWC's weekly.

The guys at my LFS said to skip it this week since nitrates were so low and everything else (Alk, calc and the like) were in line. Corals are all open and eating when fed, fish seem good, hermits and inverts are all good.

I was also advised to not rinse the foam block (this is an E170 Max from Red Sea) in the tap water and instead leave it or rinse it in the PWC water.

Params:

0 amonia
0 nitrite
0.5 nitrate
0 measurable phosphate (hanna)
495 calc
8.2 alkalinity
8.2 PH
1.025 salinity

Tank picture attached. This is two days ago. The algae or whatever it was (diatoms, Dino, cyano) on the sand has cleared up.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I would. Yes.

 

[mort]

Water changes are only needed to dilute stuff or add stuff. If your water is testing fine then they aren't needed.