water change question

NeonNoodle · 05/31/2010, 01:53 AM

So my tank has been running for about 3 months now and all my water readings have been very stable during this time. So about 3 weeks ago my friend gave me some soft coral frags, just some xenia and star polyps. For the last week my xenia which was doing fine has started to shrink and bleach. All the other softies and fish have been fine.

After doing some research ive come to the conclusion its the tap water i used to set my tank up. So i got a RO unit and its up and running. So my question is how aggressive should i be in doing water changes with my new RO water?

Basicly i want to get as much of my old water out as fast as i can. Im just not sure if i should do 10% every week or do some big 30% changes.

billdogg · 05/31/2010, 06:01 AM

i have done as much as a 90% bchange in emergencies, but 50% is a more realistic amount. Because it is still a new tank, I would pretty much do as much as you can, every few days.

FWIW, however - I have never used anything other than tap water, and my tanks are doing quite well. (20+ years and counting) Are you running carbon? I would be more worried about alleopathy (chemical warfare between different organisms) than I would about the tap water. Also - what are your actual parameters? numbers please, as well as lighting, size of tank, other equipment, etc

lisafoster · 05/31/2010, 06:24 AM

I too use my tap water nevr had a problem. You could do a 50 gallon water cahnge see what happens. What is your salinity, nitrates, ph , etc. You can always fo to lfs tehy will run some tests on your water.

dmorazan · 05/31/2010, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeonNoodle

So my tank has been running for about 3 months now and all my water readings have been very stable during this time. So about 3 weeks ago my friend gave me some soft coral frags, just some xenia and star polyps. For the last week my xenia which was doing fine has started to shrink and bleach. All the other softies and fish have been fine.

After doing some research ive come to the conclusion its the tap water i used to set my tank up. So i got a RO unit and its up and running. So my question is how aggressive should i be in doing water changes with my new RO water?

Basicly i want to get as much of my old water out as fast as i can. Im just not sure if i should do 10% every week or do some big 30% changes.

how big is your tank? test everything to see where the problem is and do a 30% water change after testing. tell us about your readigs and make sure you have a good testing kit, temperature, type of lighting, etc

jchase1970 · 05/31/2010, 10:26 AM

xenia is a very odd coral, alot of people grow it like a weed and then you have people that add it to their tank and it dies. A really clean tank almost seems a negative for xenia. My xenia does best in the top half of the tank and in strong flow the arms are back and forth about as far as they can go. I had to move mine around before I found a place he was really happy with and if I change anything in the tank, like water flo by moving a powerhead to a new direction, he gets upset and retracts for days. A picky coral indeed.

On the water change, Since you have fish and coral in the tank don't do more then 25-30% and try to match your tank water as much as possible or you will stress the tank mates from the change. It's just like acclimation, if you add to much new water and it is to different then what they are in then you can have problems.

I really don't think it is your water with the xenia and I really think you should just do a normal weekly water change.

75gsalt · 05/31/2010, 10:39 AM

I have found that when my softies look bad I just do a 20% water change then give them a day or two and they are back to normal

05/31/2010, 01:53 AM	#1
NeonNoodle Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 15	water change question So my tank has been running for about 3 months now and all my water readings have been very stable during this time. So about 3 weeks ago my friend gave me some soft coral frags, just some xenia and star polyps. For the last week my xenia which was doing fine has started to shrink and bleach. All the other softies and fish have been fine. After doing some research ive come to the conclusion its the tap water i used to set my tank up. So i got a RO unit and its up and running. So my question is how aggressive should i be in doing water changes with my new RO water? Basicly i want to get as much of my old water out as fast as i can. Im just not sure if i should do 10% every week or do some big 30% changes.

05/31/2010, 06:01 AM	#2
billdogg Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Grove City, Ohio Posts: 10,806	i have done as much as a 90% bchange in emergencies, but 50% is a more realistic amount. Because it is still a new tank, I would pretty much do as much as you can, every few days. FWIW, however - I have never used anything other than tap water, and my tanks are doing quite well. (20+ years and counting) Are you running carbon? I would be more worried about alleopathy (chemical warfare between different organisms) than I would about the tap water. Also - what are your actual parameters? numbers please, as well as lighting, size of tank, other equipment, etc __________________ I'll try to be nice if you try to be smarter! I can't help that I grow older, but you can't make me grow up! Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef with 40b sump, RO 150 skimmer, AI Sol Blue x 2, and a 60g Frag Tank with 100g rubbermaid sump. 2 x Kessil A360w lights, BM curve 5 skimmer

05/31/2010, 10:26 AM	#5
jchase1970 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Newburgh, Indiana Posts: 409	xenia is a very odd coral, alot of people grow it like a weed and then you have people that add it to their tank and it dies. A really clean tank almost seems a negative for xenia. My xenia does best in the top half of the tank and in strong flow the arms are back and forth about as far as they can go. I had to move mine around before I found a place he was really happy with and if I change anything in the tank, like water flo by moving a powerhead to a new direction, he gets upset and retracts for days. A picky coral indeed. On the water change, Since you have fish and coral in the tank don't do more then 25-30% and try to match your tank water as much as possible or you will stress the tank mates from the change. It's just like acclimation, if you add to much new water and it is to different then what they are in then you can have problems. I really don't think it is your water with the xenia and I really think you should just do a normal weekly water change. __________________ Tri-State Reef Club Serving the Indiana,Kentucky,Illinois Tri state area.

05/31/2010, 10:39 AM	#6
75gsalt Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Southeast Kansas Posts: 286	I have found that when my softies look bad I just do a 20% water change then give them a day or two and they are back to normal __________________ 75 ga. reef 20 gal. sump corals GSP assorted Polyps Zoos PomPom Xenia Waving Hand Xenia Blue Mushroom Toadstool Leather Current Tank Info: 75g. reef 125 lbs. live rock 90lbs. live sand 1 Clown small Regal Tang 20 Nass. Snails Turbos hermit

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05/31/2010, 06:24 AM	#3
lisafoster so much to learn Join Date: May 2010 Location: massachusetts Posts: 621	I too use my tap water nevr had a problem. You could do a 50 gallon water cahnge see what happens. What is your salinity, nitrates, ph , etc. You can always fo to lfs tehy will run some tests on your water.