Keep in mind the daily is only temporary. The tank hasn't seen any changes for 6 months so in a sense it's like you're dealing with a contamination except it's a lack off rather than excess. The fastest way to correct such issues is large water changes however doing too much too quickly can have negative effects hence 20% daily for a week sounds about right to me. However the other options include 10% daily for longer or larger changes like 40-50% once a week.
In all honesty performing water changes shouldn't be difficult, if 50 gallons is too much for you too handle a smaller tank would have been more piratical. You're essentially setting yourself up for failure as I would assume your goal is to fully stock that tank. 250 gallons of healthy livestock is a huge investment in both time and money, what would happen if down the road something happened? Like say your clams all spawned (assuming you'll have more than two by then). Not being able to change large amounts of water quickly will cost you your tank.
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