What else?

[Omar_PR]

Is there anything else I can add to my tank to keep the water parameters, livestock and rock healthy, like carbon pads, buffers or any kind of product??

I have a 75 gal FOWLR with about 70 lb of rock and 40 pounds of live sand with overflow and a sump with a filter sock, reef octupus protein skimmer, live rock and chaeto.
5 gal water changes done every week.

Also should my skimmer be turned on 24/7?

[Michael]

Definately keep the skimmer on 24/7 Omar, and as your aquarium is a fish only, water changes on a regular basis is certainely the best way to keep everything in check and ticking over nicely.

[aleonn]

I plan to run a Phosban reactor for bio-pellets to reduce nitrates and phosphates. And will use another reactor to run carbon. Depending on your bioload and current water parameters you may or may not need all of that.

[Rockys_Pride]

as a recommendation, 25% wc to be done weekly is what I read. You might try a bigger wc, that will also help keep your water pristine

[greech]

Depending on bioload, how much you feed, etc, a 5% WC may not be enough over the long haul. You may need to change things up now and then and do a larger WC to maintain good water quality. Maybe try a 20-30% WC once a month. Water tests will help you gauge this.

It's great that you want to to everything you can for the health of your tank but if what you are doing is working, my advice would be to leave things be.

[sn4265]

Isn't a 5% weekly WC the same as a 20% monthly WC? Is there an advantage other than convenience to doing a larger WC less frequently as opposed to smaller WCs on a weekly basis? I have a 120gal system and I intend to do 10gal every other week, I could up that to 15gal, but that's the general plan. Would I be better off doing maybe a 25 or 30 gal change once a month? This would definitely be easier on the maintenance side for me.

[Alysiak00]

i've found that the more frequent the water change the crisper the water. i do mine weekly whereas i used to do them monthly

[Omar_PR]

yeah i do 20 gal WC but instead of doing it monthly i do it weekly so its 5 gal every week

the guy at the pet store told me to add in every WC a product called bacter booster he says that it would help me keep a lower nitrate level also to add some carbon pads to help reduce other stuff and keep the water clean? is that true?

im looking for a test kit but only found either the API or Sea Chem brand which of these are good???

[greech]

Originally Posted by sn4265

Isn't a 5% weekly WC the same as a 20% monthly WC? Is there an advantage other than convenience to doing a larger WC less frequently as opposed to smaller WCs on a weekly basis? I have a 120gal system and I intend to do 10gal every other week, I could up that to 15gal, but that's the general plan. Would I be better off doing maybe a 25 or 30 gal change once a month? This would definitely be easier on the maintenance side for me.

Sorry I didn't write that very well. I meant keep doing your 10% water changes if that's working but SOME weeks you may find it beneficial to do a larger water change to give your tank a boost and/or keep nutrients in check.

[Omar_PR]

ok good idea! +1

[aleonn]

Originally Posted by Omar_PR

yeah i do 20 gal WC but instead of doing it monthly i do it weekly so its 5 gal every week

the guy at the pet store told me to add in every WC a product called bacter booster he says that it would help me keep a lower nitrate level also to add some carbon pads to help reduce other stuff and keep the water clean? is that true?

im looking for a test kit but only found either the API or Sea Chem brand which of these are good???

I use Salifert for all my tests, as its results are reproducible, and the brand is reputable. The tests are more expensive though, but are easy and give good numerical results.