Water changes and new LR

[EBR]

[ reposted from CoralForum.com ]

Hi --

I've got a 55gal tank with a couple of damsels that's been cycled for 8 months or so. I've just placed my order with Liverocks.com (thanks again Zack for 70# worth. I have an empty 30 gal tank that I'm going to put the extisting fish in temporarily, while curing/cycling the new LR in the main display tank.

Regarding water changes, how often, and how much? From what I've read/heard, 50% every day (or every other day) seems to commonplace, but that still seems quite pretty brutal to me, and so I'd like a sanity check.

Also, should I take this opportunity while the main tank is broken down to really scrub through the substrate (crushed coral/shell)? Once I put the LR on top, I don't see ever cleaning underneath it ever again.

Thanks.
Matt

 

[tmcpeek]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=6

Here is an article from this site. I used it and it worked great for me.

 

[reefrunner69]

I recommend as much water changes every other day as your wallet can afford, Ideally, I would go with 50% every other day, but on larger systems that can add up. One thing to keep in mind, LR.com LR tends not to have much die off or much of a cycle, another option you might do is measure the ammonia and nitrite an when either rise above .1 ppm, do a 25 or 50% waterchange

 

[EBR]

Very kewl -- thanks for the assist, Kevin.
Matt

 

[WarOrks15]

well i just finished cycling my liverock.com rock in one week. i did 2 water changes for about the fist 2-4 days to make sure the ammonia did not get too high and then did 1 water change every days for the next 3 days to keep the no2 and no3 down. it was a 10 gal tank and i would change about 5 gal in every water change. i also did jot have a skimmer on the tank so at first i had to try to get all the doc off the top of the water.

 

[srgetz]

why not put the lr in a smaller container so your water changes are smaller and your fish don't get as stressed? when the readings in the container are 0, put the lr in...