Dosing or Water Changes

[SirAloha]

Hello Everybody,

I am new to the Saltwater world and I thoroughly enjoy reading all of the forums and hearing the input and advice. One thing I have been trying to do research in now that I have started getting corals up and running is maintaining nutrients. Do you guys recommend consistent water changes in the beginning since the corals do not consume much or just do micro dosing to maintain levels? Thank you all in advance for your knowledge sharing.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Welcome to your new home for saltwater reef aquarium resources and fun! Welcome to the family! :D

 

[Crabs McJones]

Welcome to R2R! It's going to depend heavily on how much your corals are consuming. If it's softies and LPS then consistent water changes would suffice. If youre going into SPS then dosing likely would be needed. Best bet, measure your consumption, and decide from there

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Hello Everybody,

I am new to the Saltwater world and I thoroughly enjoy reading all of the forums and hearing the input and advice. One thing I have been trying to do research in now that I have started getting corals up and running is maintaining nutrients. Do you guys recommend consistent water changes in the beginning since the corals do not consume much or just do micro dosing to maintain levels? Thank you all in advance for your knowledge sharing.

Welcome to Reef2Reef! It depends on your system's demands. Some people here do no water changes and only dose, and vice versa. You could do a mixture of both!

 

[Dragen Fiend]

Welcome to reef2reef!

As other's have stated. It really depends what you have in the tank. Live-rock covered in coralline vs dry rock can make a difference. Only softy tank? Water changes will do. Little LPS? Might need a larger water change. LPS and SPS? Dosing is going to be required.

Example:

5G tank with anemones, live rock with coralline all over it. I have 2 LPS and 2 softies. I can get away with doing 1 solo cup change a day.

25G tank- LPS dominate mainly. I could do water changes as its current stage. But that's 2G a day which is too much hassle. So I just dose AFR instead.

 

[fishface NJ]

Welcome to R2R

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello Everybody,

I am new to the Saltwater world and I thoroughly enjoy reading all of the forums and hearing the input and advice. One thing I have been trying to do research in now that I have started getting corals up and running is maintaining nutrients. Do you guys recommend consistent water changes in the beginning since the corals do not consume much or just do micro dosing to maintain levels? Thank you all in advance for your knowledge sharing.

Change water as needed and use reliable test kits

 

[kevgib67]

Welcome, glad you are here!

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[CoralB]

welcome !! :cool:

 

[Brisk]

Welcome!

 

[backbayreef]

Welcome! Start a build thread and we can follow & help.

Initially, I would just do a WC but later on when corals grow out, a combo of WC+dosing might be required.

 

[shakacuz]

welcome aboard the r2r board. hello from PA!

 

[zheka757]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[FrugalReeferJon]

Hard to say because there are plenty of successful reefers on either side of the coin.

 

[Uncle99]

Water changes until they can’t keep up, then dosing.

 

[I never finish anythi]

Welcome to R2R.

 

[BryanM]

Hello Everybody,

I am new to the Saltwater world and I thoroughly enjoy reading all of the forums and hearing the input and advice. One thing I have been trying to do research in now that I have started getting corals up and running is maintaining nutrients. Do you guys recommend consistent water changes in the beginning since the corals do not consume much or just do micro dosing to maintain levels? Thank you all in advance for your knowledge sharing.

Welcome to Reef2reef!

Its pretty hard to go wrong with water changes, especially in the beginning. I did not follow that advice however, and decided I would dose All for Reef, which I seem to have had success with.

Definitely two schools of thought on this topic.

 

[Jimbhoy13]

Welcome to R2R and the salty world. Lots of good advice given.

 

[ShakeyGizzard]

Welcome to Reef2Reef