Define pristine water conditions please

[aquadonkey]

Okay - of course I have an idea of what this means, but it never hurts to pool some opinions on important subjects!
So - what do you test for to determine water quality, how often, and what results are you looking for?
Please be specific - I have no idea what "pretty often", or "relatively high" mean!

Thanks!

 

[aquadonkey]

I'll start:
I test Ca and KH a couple times a week because I still don't have a regular dosing schedule. Nitrates, once a week or even every other week - always the same, so I'll probably go more in the direction of only every other week. I'm waiting on a phos kit - when I have that, I'll add it to my routine. I know mag is important as well, but as long as my calcium and KH numbers are okay, I think I'll just have the lfs test for that....

Here are my numbers:
temp 79.5
PH 8.1
KH 7.2
SG 1.025
Ca 430
Nitrates 0
I know the KH is a bit low - trying to raise it gradually.

Your turn!

 

[dreaminmel]

With the difference in coral species I'm testing Ca & Alk a couple times a week. Mg every couple weeks usually. Nitrates maybe once a month. I don't test for Phosphate as I find it useless with the test kits so plan to get a photometer for it at some point.

Here is what I aim for and typical results:
temp 78-79
pH 8.3
SG 1.025
Alk 10 dkh
Ca 420
Mg 1500
Nitrates <5

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

something that a lot of reefkeepers tend to forget:

something that a lot of reefkeepers tend to forget:

we keep a wide variety of reef critters that occur in different reef zones (and sometimes different oceans!) all in the same glass box. You can only hope to strive for a generalistic optimal environment for all.

Prime example: pristine conditions for Xenia are much different than pristine conditions required by many Acropora.

Natural seawater values vary throughtout the Earth's oceans. So do NSW values around coral reefs.

Some suggested average optimal values for coral reef aquaria (in order of importance):
salinity: 35 ppt (this is my target value)
temp: 75F - 81F (80F is my target)
alkalinity: 7dKH / 2.51 meq/L - 11dKH (9dKH is my target)
calcium: 380ppm- 450ppm (420ppm is target)
magnesium: 1250ppm - 1350ppm (1350ppm my target)
pH 8.0 - 8.4 (8.2 my target)
PO4: below .2
since all of these values are in a constant state of flux in a closed system I strive to keep levels balanced with one another rather than worry about an individual parameter that's out of whack

I no longer routinely test for ammonia, nitrites or nitrates in my reef aquarium.

FWIW edit: I purchased a controller in order to monitor calcium reactor effluent pH but as it turns out it was one of the best investments I ever made because it continually monitors and displays (and controls!) my systems temperature and pH (along with the lighting schedule, powerheads on/off, etc.)