Nano Water Changes

[805rockboy]

Hi everyone. I was wondering if anyone could help me with a quick question. I have a Nano Cube 24g with fish and coral. It has been running for about 2 and a half months now and everything is great. My question is how often should I be doing a water change and what percentage of the water? I have read so many conflicting things and would just like to get some clear info. Any replies would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

[gr1mm]

If your tank is heavily stock a 10% water chance once a week should be enough so 2-3 gallons should do the trick.

 

[gr1mm]

Welcome to SCR by the way

 

[805rockboy]

If your tank is heavily stock a 10% water chance once a week should be enough so 2-3 gallons should do the trick.

Thanks for the quick reply. That sounds like a good plan. And thank you for the welcome as well. I'm sure I will have more questions to follow.

 

[dorkymk3]

I usually do a 3g water change every other week on my 22g AIO mixed reef tank. No additives.... just make sure pH level, salinity, and temp is about the same as the water in the tank. Nano's are sensitive to parameter swings.

 

[SchnitzelReef]

What kind of coral do you have?
Lps/soft corals prefer dirtier water, SPS prefers cleaner water. In my opinion I would do even 5g water changes every 2 weeks. This is all assuming you have a decent skimmer. Add a Tunze 9002, and maybe you could get away with 5g every 3 weeks. Every tank is different though, so you kind of have to play it by ear. watch your coral, if you see them not opening or looking bad you might need to do more frequent water changes.


Sent from my iPhone

 

[805rockboy]

What kind of coral do you have?
Lps/soft corals prefer dirtier water, SPS prefers cleaner water. In my opinion I would do even 5g water changes every 2 weeks. This is all assuming you have a decent skimmer. Add a Tunze 9002, and maybe you could get away with 5g every 3 weeks. Every tank is different though, so you kind of have to play it by ear. watch your coral, if you see them not opening or looking bad you might need to do more frequent water changes.


Sent from my iPhone

I have a little of everything. For the most part everything has been doing pretty good. I have an Oceanic BioCube skimmer in the middle chamber. I know there are better ones but i wanted to be able to close the lid still. All water parameters are good but I have had a slight elevation in phosphates in the past few days. Not sure if I am overfeeding or overstocked or what it could be. I have the stock pump in there now but tomorrow I am installing a "Quiet One 1200." Im hoping that by turning the tank over faster the phosphates will drop?

 

[El Dude]

I think the weekly water changes of 2-3 gallons is good practice. Water changes should be your primary vehicle for exporting phosphates, especially in such a small system. Also make sure you are using RO/DI water so as not to inadvertently add phosphates.

 

[SchnitzelReef]

Ya stick to weekly water changes


Sent from my iPhone

 

[rainbowclownfish]

I change 10-20 percent a week on,my 15 gallon.

 

[dusk_gtz]

Same here as C quest onyx, I have a 14 gallon biocube and I was doing 20 percent water changes every week without a skimmer and recently I started doing only 10 percent and all the fish and corals that i have look great. I have the same protein skimmer and i have been running it for the past week but it doesnt seem to be taking out any green stuff, its mostly very clear, so I am sure the skimmer isn't even working. One thing that i will guarantee will keep your levels in check is adding good flow in your tank. Like putting a power head on the bottom to circulate all that water. My nitrates were always between 40 and 60 until i added a koralia nano 240 and my nitrates are now 10 last time I checked.

 

[gr1mm]

adding some chemipure elite should bring down the phosphates if they are getting out of hand and keep up witht the weekly water changes. don't overfeed, feed only what your fish will eat.

 

[805rockboy]

Same here as C quest onyx, I have a 14 gallon biocube and I was doing 20 percent water changes every week without a skimmer and recently I started doing only 10 percent and all the fish and corals that i have look great. I have the same protein skimmer and i have been running it for the past week but it doesnt seem to be taking out any green stuff, its mostly very clear, so I am sure the skimmer isn't even working. One thing that i will guarantee will keep your levels in check is adding good flow in your tank. Like putting a power head on the bottom to circulate all that water. My nitrates were always between 40 and 60 until i added a koralia nano 240 and my nitrates are now 10 last time I checked.

My skimmer has actually been doing pretty good. It is collecting green slime. Kind of a pain to keep it dialed in but as long as I stay on top of it, it seems to be doing its job. Which is why I'm so boggled by the phosphates.. i also have a Seachem bag in one of the chambers. My nitrates are zero after hovering around 20ppm for awhile. As far as flow I have a 500 gph powerhead on each side of the back of the tank as well as a rotating head on the pump outlet from the chambers. I will be installing a larger pump in it later tonight in hopes of getting better water filtering. Thank you for the advice

 

[ReefFIZZ]

i try to do 1 gallon water changes every 3-4 days in my 14 gallon