Should I drain my tank?

[Nabob89]

I'm getting ready to convert my 55-gallon FO tank into a reef, but I now recall that when I first set the tank up, I used tap water to fill it.....and up until about 6 months ago, I always used tap water for water changes/top offs (I now use Catalina Real Ocean Water from Petco to do waterchanges)....I will be buying and RO/DI unit for the reef, but before I begin adding LR, should I completly drain my tank, then refill it with freshly mixed RO/DI water? (mixed with Instant Ocean)...can I eliminate the low-quality water in the tank by doing a 50% water change? Is there any way to ensure that my tank water will be able to house corals without harming them? Thanks
Matt

 

[bjonesjr1]

I would just drain you tank totaly, maybe even when its drained just kinda clean the inside real well, then add your RO/DI water, You be glad you did then to try and mix half and half

 

[Nabob89]

How should I do this though......Well I can siphon out all the water, but I have sand in the tank already.....So if I were to drain the tank, should I siphon to just above the sand line....or could the sand be harmful to my corals also? When you filled your tanks initially, did you fill them with plain RO/DI water, then dump in a whole lot of salt mix, and let the powerheads mix it around over the course of about a week? thanks for any help
Matt

 

[Blown 346]

I would only drain half of the tank, and add new RO/DI water as the other half. No need to drain the whole tank and make a huge deal out of it.
You will be fine by doing that.

 

[Dastank]

Have you tested your water to see whats in it and at what levels? I know most tap water isn't good, but you might want to decide how bad your water is before you decide how much to change. Just an idea!

 

[mikenpam]

If you have been changing water out for 6 months that is RO from Petco your water should be fine. I would test it and if parameters are fine there shouldn't be a need for a major change out. If you ever treated your tank with copper you may have problems converting it to a reef tank.

One question would be how you intend to cure your LR? Even if you purchase cured LR there could be a mini cycle after it is placed into your tank. You could do maybe a 25% water change out after your tank has stabilized. Obviously you will also have to closely monitor your tank parameters if you are going to leave your fish in the tank while you add LR.