1st water change

Right i think the time as come for my first water change, thing is my salinity is around 1.028,?so could i do a water change without adding salt,to get it down do 2 thing at once, and it needs to be done now my filter cannister is just not flowing after over 2 months, all params good only nitrate 10ppm, anything i need to do or know about before i attempt the change, i plan on rinseing out the sponges with water from the tank of course & replaceing the top micro-filtration pads???

 

Exactly, take out a few gals and instead of replacing it with SW, replace it with FW. Luna

 

ok, what would be a good amount to take out for my 1st water change?

 

10-15% of total water vol.

 

Do u have inverts or corals? I wouldnt drop yer salinity a few points at a time. Maybe a half a point or 1.027...then work it down with taking a gallon or two out every day and adding just ro til its where u want it. I keep mine at 1.025, 1.028 seems to be up there.

 

hermit crabs, turbo snails, sea urchin, shrimp, mushroom coral

 

Yeah take it slow, u dont wanna shock anyone. Half a point a day til its where u want it.

 

btw my first change was 25% cause of high nitrates..that was just me tho, i got it under control with two changes and will now follow the 10% per week routine. Also match yer water temps...

 

I have dumped 5g(fw) at one time with no ill effects, and straight at the corals. I think that we tend to under rate their hardiness. My SG was at 1.027 to 1.024. But thats just me. Luna

 

I agree they are hardy but id rather not take any unnessasary risks. The whole reason to bring the salinity down is for the well being of the livestock...why kill em doing it. Everything i read suggests that shrimp are sensitive to salinity swings....thats why hypo salinty treatment is something thats not done in a reef tank.