[Scubamike]

I'm new to the Salt water thing and have started out with a JBJ 24g Nano. The cube had been up and going for a year+ before I got it making starting a little easier. The cube contained around 25lbs of live rock and about 20 lbs of crushed coral. I've had my first loss recently with a false perc (I had not quarantined him due to him being the only resident in the tank outside of a few blue crabs, turbo snails, and a brittle star that just showed up ouot of nowhere; so he might have been ill from the start, but didn't appear so). I believe the problem was caused by a Ph drop (dropped to 7.8). My question to the forum is how often is the average testing done on a tank this size, on average how often for water changes (I've been doing it weekly with between 3 to 4g )?
I would like to change from the crushed coral to live sand, but don't want to upset the tank and it's few inhabitants too bad. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[rlcline76]

I test weekly for 20 gallons, but but what I test for is mixed depending on if I have a problem. Generally, I test Ca, KH religiously. If I am having problems, I test for NO3 and PO4 until I can get them at or below acceptable levels. Sine you have a pH problem, keep track of it, along with Ca and KH as they are intimately related. Your water changes are fine as long as you are not having any serious algae outbreaks. There are other things to test for as well, like Ammonia and so forth, but I am bad.
As far as the crushed coral. We will have to wait for someone else to chime in, because I am also contemplating a gradual switch.