Ok, have I been doing this wrong?

krazydy

Reefing newb
Hi all. Ok so today i went to my lfs and i began to speak to the lfs's @home maintenance guy and i told him how i just set up my tank 2 weeks ago and how I'm letting it cycle and he asked my how many water changes I've done and my answer was...ahhhh none, aren't you suppose to leave the water be and let it cycle with the Live rocks and all.... he said "what??? no no no the best thing to do it complete water changes 3 times in the next week or so and your ready to drop in fish and coral. He said since i only had a
12G nano cube there was no need to let it cycle a few weeks with regular maintenance and adding cycle just do what he said and I'll be OK and that i dont need to upgrade the 106gph stock pump, you dont need that much circulation for coral, just fish need alot of circulation." What????? OK ladies and gents I'm I wrong in taking the old adding Live sand, Cured live rocks and adding in a damsel and letting the tank cycle? Looking forward to what the gurus have to say.:bowdown:
 
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You are doing fine. You don't do a water change during cycle, that defeats the purpose. You do a water change at the end of the cycle when ammonia and nitrates have leveled off and your nitrites have hit zero. Sounds like you have done your homework and this guy wants to sell you somethiing without waiting for you to do it correctly.
 
This guy left me thinking twice about ever going back to that place. I mean he even told me that the mini jet 404 i bought was a waste since if I'm building a nano reef with fish i did not need any more circulation that my original 12G nano cube has. I even mentioned about maybe upgrading the stock pump to a Rio 800 or 600 soon and he told me that i dont need to upgrade the 106gph stock pump, he also said that "to much circulation is not good for coral, just fish need alot of circulation." What???
 
They both need it... fish busy swimming are healthier. Corals also need a good flow to bring food and wash away waste.

A good general rule of thumb is about 20-30 times turn over an hour. If you have SPS tanks you might want 60+... it is important to have lots of water movement not high water velocity... Hope that makes sense.

Like sailfin said you sound like your on the right track.

BV
 
I would take what most fish stores say with a grain of salt. I did my first water change after nitrites hit 0. I did my second once nitrates hit their peak. Honestly, I would say I do 1 per month. I also do more than the 10-20% also.

I have a bit over 1200 gph in my 55, and I plan on adding at least another 500.

As long as your not getting a sandstorm, I dont think you can have to much flow.
 
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