Nitrogen Cycle & water changes

[Delcomoose]

I am new to saltwater keeping. I started a Red Sea max 130d 13 days ago. Following the instructions for the tank I did a 10% water change at the 1 week mark, it also says to do 10% change at 2 week and then every month there after unless your bioload is heavier in which case it will be more frequent. But I have read frequently on the forum people saying not to change the water until after the nitrogen cycle.
Opinions Please.

 

[MarinaClown]

I didn't do water change until my tank was fully cycled. Cycling took 2 weeks. I had live sand and live rock. I did not add more bacteria than came with live sand and live rock. I did monitor my ammonia/nitrates/nitrite/ PH almost daily though. First was ammonia spike followed by nitrite and nitrate spikes.

 

[Chirp]

My guess is that Red Sea is recommending the water changes during the cycling period if you're doing a "fish in" cycle.

If you're doing a fishless cycle, you don't need to do a water change until your cycling is complete.

 

[mr_X]

I wouldn't change the water until the end of the cycle. If you plan to keep photosynthetic creatures and inverts, I would be doing water changes more than monthly throughout the life of the tank.

 

[Delcomoose]

Thank you, would weekly be more like it? And yes once the cycle is complete I would like to eventually have corals and inverts.

 

[mr_X]

Weekly would be an excellent way to keep the tank healthy and replace used up trace elements, if it's not too much trouble.

 

[Delcomoose]

Nah, got the time. And would much rather put in the time, then have to buy everything over again. Especially if I buy anything expensive.