Can you expalain

[mhhauser]

So what are all the things you need to test in a Aquarium for, from what i understand for a saltwater tank, and this is my understanding, you test ammonia,nitrate,nitrite,and calcium.

for freshwater I think its amonia,nitrate, and nitrite. I am not sure.
Could someone post a list of what things you need to test for in a aquarium both fresh and salt.

 

[Blown 346]

For salt you should test for Ammonia, Nitrate,Nitrite, calcium,phosphate, PH.

For freshwater I tested for Ammonia, Nitrite,Nitrate, PH, Hardness.

 

[bertoni]

I test for calcium, alkalinity, and pH regularly. The calcium and alkalinity are consumed by coralline algae and corals to produce their calcium carbonate skeletons, etc. pH I measure since it's easy and lets me know how the alkalinity supplement is doing.

Once in a while I test magnesium. If I were adding new animals, etc, I might check for nitrate from time to time.

 

[TekCat]

I agree with abovementioned. Also, I'd like to add that in saltwater environment keep your temperature and salinity stable.

 

[bertoni]

Yes, good point. Salinity should be checked, too. Refractometers and conductivity meters work well for that, IMO.

 

[javajaws]

Don't bother checking nitrite...its not as poisonous to fish in saltwater as it is in freshwater. And you typically won't have any a couple days after your ammonia goes to zero after the initial cycle...save your money for a Ca or Alk test kit instead.

 

[Pandora]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6547383#post6547383 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by javajaws
Don't bother checking nitrite...its not as poisonous to fish in saltwater as it is in freshwater.

How do you figure this part?

 

[bertoni]

The chemistry forum has a bunch of threads on this topic, and an article on nitrite as well. It's not toxic in marine environments, was the bottom line.

 

[Pandora]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6547751#post6547751 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bertoni
The chemistry forum has a bunch of threads on this topic, and an article on nitrite as well. It's not toxic in marine environments, was the bottom line.

Interesting, learn something new every day. Just read it and it didn't explain the reason. But I'm going to have to start a new thread maybe to him to ask just why this is, so as not to hijack this thread which is a more basic issue.... because regardless, ppm for ppm, it's still got to be more toxic than nitrate.

EDIT: I found it.

Marine species are less susceptible to nitrite toxicity because chloride (at 19,350 ppm in seawater) outcompetes nitrite for the same uptake mechanisms.

 

[dr.darkness]

I thought it was nitrate that was not toxic to marine fish.

 

[bertoni]

Nitrate isn't toxic to fish, either, in the quantities we're likely to see, actually. 200-300 ppm seems fine for fish, shrimp, etc. Corals with zooxanthellae might have a problem, though.

There are some posts on the nitrite toxicity issue in old posts in the chemistry forum.

 

[PatMayo]

Hummm, boy did I get an education.

I only test for ammonia, nitrate, alk calk ph, salinity and temp.

Let me get this straight, bertoni, aren't nitrates bad for corals at just about any level?

I see that most folks strive to keep nitrates at zero especailly with coral tanks.

 

[bertoni]

Nitrate can be an issue for stony corals. Soft corals don't seem to care, IME. Getting the nitrate level to zero is a fine goal, though, since it often helps keep undesireable algae down.

 

[BucNtears]

Learn something new everyday.

 

[teena]

if i buy my saltwater & my ro water from the fish store, do i still need 2 test anything but the salt level?

 

[doodoobrown]

not a bad idea to test for phosphates occasionally. if you dont want to buy a test kit for it take a sample to the lfs. to many phosphates can lead to nasty nasty algae outbreaks. it can be fixed but a little maintainence will save you a lot of trouble in the long run. i know you said you get the water from the fish store but there filters have to go bad like everyone elses.

 

[bertoni]

You will likely need to test calcium and alkalinity because they are consumed quite rapidly in most reef aquariums. I'd also suggest watching pH, since the alkalinity supplements tend to affect the pH.

 

[teena]

my tank looks real clear, but if you think it would be good 2 test anyway I will go get one. is it hard 2 test? my tank is 55g. i do 5g waterchange every other week. is that to less to often?

 

[bertoni]

Calcium and alkalinity aren't too difficult to test, IMO. There's no other way to know the calcium and alkalinity levels, unfortunately. After the calcium is in good shape, you can test just alkalinity most of the time if you're using a balanced supplement like B-Ionic or limewater.

I would probably do 10g every other week for that size setup.

 

[Amphiprion]

Saltwater- specific gravity or salinity, Ammonia and nitrite (especially at startup), nitrate, phosphate, pH, alkalinity, calcium, sometimes magnesium (if calcification is high).

Freshwater-pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, KH, GH, phosphate. (last four especially if you keep a planted tank).