37 without a skimmer

I setup a 37 about 2 months ago. It has about 55lbs of LR, 40lbs of LS, running a Fluval 305. It does not have a skimmer on it. My brother in-law just gave me some shrooms for it today. I have been doing a 10 gallon water change with Catalina water every week. I was wondering if this was too much or not enough? Since it does not have a skimmer.

 

Water changes are done to export nutrients created by your bioload. Since you basically don't have any, you're just wasting water. Once you start adding fish and other critters that require frequent feeding, then you will need to start watching your nitrates and changing water as necessary.

A skimmer can help reduce the frequency of water changes once you have a sizable bioload in your system.

 

I forgot to mention I have 2 damsels, 6 line wrasse, diamond goby, cleaner shrimp, 2 emerald crabs and 2 nas snails. I just added the shrooms today.

 

It's probably okay. mushroom corals don't exactly need pristine water. If you get into more sensitive corals, you may need to step it up some. Algae is also a good indicator. If your getting much, you may not have enough nutrient export.