water change after cycle finished

[troy1976]

how soon after the cycle do you do first water change

[Wild Turkey]

how soon after the cycle do you do first water change

Most do it immediately, however its entirely up to you, waterchanges wont undue the work you did cycling your tank, no matter how large or frequent.

If you have a good amount of built up nitrates though, now would be a great time.

[troy1976]

all the tests i did were good ammonia was 0
ph was about 8.3
nitrites were 0
nitrates were between 0 - 5

so i would be ok to wait for a bit untill those nitrates came up a bit or should i do one now

[Wild Turkey]

all the tests i did were good ammonia was 0
ph was about 8.3
nitrites were 0
nitrates were between 0 - 5

so i would be ok to wait for a bit untill those nitrates came up a bit or should i do one now

Water changing cant hurt, theres no reason to be wary of doing one... but yes, according to your nitrates you dont need to do a water change.

[rageybug]

I would not change the water until it is needed. No need to waste your time and money.

[Wild Turkey]

I would not change the water until it is needed. No need to waste your time and money.

5 minutes and 25 cents worth of water? :hmm3grin2orange:

Water changes are never bad.(large water changes can be another story in some tanks) There are other impurities and stuff besides nitrate that get into the tank that only water changes will remove, including solid waste. Depending on how this tank was cycled,(how long fish have been in it) a water change may be beneficial in keeping ich and other common new tank problems away.

[troy1976]

i cycled my tank for about 3 weeks with 25 lbs of LR, 8 lbs or so of base rock,and 10 lbs of live sand and 30 lbs dry sand just put in 2 emerald crabs and 2 horseshoe crabs yesterday. so no buildup of waste or anything

[rageybug]

5 minutes and 25 cents worth of water? :hmm3grin2orange:

Water changes are never bad.(large water changes can be another story in some tanks) There are other impurities and stuff besides nitrate that get into the tank that only water changes will remove, including solid waste. Depending on how this tank was cycled,(how long fish have been in it) a water change may be beneficial in keeping ich and other common new tank problems away.



I guess you get marine salt for free in your part of the world....

[Wild Turkey]

I guess you get marine salt for free in your part of the world....

that would be why its not 5 cents :D (im just kidding, its probably not that cheap for most, and my water is kind of expensive, but i dont feel money should be a factor in deciding whether or not to do waterchanges, saltwater or fresh.)

Water changes are your friend

[coachfraley]

Most SW folks do a water change (or several) after the cycle just to knock the nitrates down to zero.

I would guess that you used LR that was pretty well cured, because you really didn't generate a lot of nitrates. I would just do a "normal" water change, and see if that is enough.

Just wondering...what are you planning on feeding the HS crabs? I have never seen those as part of a clean-up crew. The only ones I have seen are the HUGE ones that show up on the beach!

[troy1976]

the horseshoe crabs have been sifting through the sand eating any algea that is on the sand and i am off to get some shrimp to feed them maybe once every 3-4 days i will give them some shrimp