How often do you test you water?

[Capsle]

Hey Reefers,

I am just wondering how often do you test you water? Daily, weekly?

More frequently if your having issues?

Just trying to get an idea. My tank new, 3 weeks old so I've been testing every 2-3 days. Things have been stabilizing (the only varying ones right now are Nitrates ALK and Phosphate) so just wondering what the intervals would normally be?

I also just started running Rowa Phos about 3 hours ago (phosphate was at 0.25) so when should I test again?

 

[zelie_dad]

I'm running Zeovit and I test for alk every day. I also test for Ca, nitrates, and P weekly.
I also test for K monthly as Zeovit can cause K levels to drop.

 

[oldpaddy]

Hey Reefers,

I am just wondering how often do you test you water? Daily, weekly?

More frequently if your having issues?

Just trying to get an idea. My tank new, 3 weeks old so I've been testing every 2-3 days. Things have been stabilizing (the only varying ones right now are Nitrates ALK and Phosphate) so just wondering what the intervals would normally be?

I also just started running Rowa Phos about 3 hours ago (phosphate was at 0.25) so when should I test again?

If you don't have corals, then you only need to test for ammonia and nitrates every few days. And when your cycle is complete you'll only need test for nitrates and possibly phosphates weekly to bi weekly.

 

[Sk8r]

Hourly when having critical issues --- but all corrective doses must be given 8 hours to fully dissolve.
Daily, with a new tank.
Before dosing, and 8 hours later.
Before and after a water change.
Weekly with a mature tank.

KEEP A LOG BOOK OF RESULTS. This way if you have trouble, you can report what's being going on.

 

[ReeferHead84]

I havnt tested my parameters in over a year, I usually just do water changes when I see the corals lacking luster.

 

[sfdan]

I test Alk every 2-3 days but tested it every day until my calcium reactor was tuned in. I could probably test less frequently than I do, but just in case something goes haywire I'd prefer to catch it sooner rather than later and the hanna tester is takes ~1 minute.

Test calcium and magnesium once a month or so, though if Alk started going haywire I'd test both of those as well.

Don't test anything else.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Cap, it really depends on how long your tank has been set up, how comfortable you are with the stability and if you are having any issues.

My old system had 430g of water (180g DT, 75g DT and 180g refugium/DSB?sump) and I only tested Ca and alk about every 4 to 6 weeks and Mg every 23 to 4 months.

But my 180g tank split a seam and next week I'll be setting up a new 125g tank with a 30g sump and later I'll add a 30g display refugium. So I'll be testing for ammonia, nitrite & Nitrate for the first time in over 5 years! And I'll be testing every 2 or 3 days.

My problem is that I have 250g worth of coral, fish and inverts spread out over 5 smaller tanks around the house (some without filtration) and I'll want to get some of them back into that new 125g ASAP. I'd love to take my time, but I'll be pushing my 12 years of experience to the limit to move the process along.

Good luck with your new set up.

 

[Capsle]

Cap, it really depends on how long your tank has been set up, how comfortable you are with the stability and if you are having any issues.

My old system had 430g of water (180g DT, 75g DT and 180g refugium/DSB?sump) and I only tested Ca and alk about every 4 to 6 weeks and Mg every 23 to 4 months.

But my 180g tank split a seam and next week I'll be setting up a new 125g tank with a 30g sump and later I'll add a 30g display refugium. So I'll be testing for ammonia, nitrite & Nitrate for the first time in over 5 years! And I'll be testing every 2 or 3 days.

My problem is that I have 250g worth of coral, fish and inverts spread out over 5 smaller tanks around the house (some without filtration) and I'll want to get some of them back into that new 125g ASAP. I'd love to take my time, but I'll be pushing my 12 years of experience to the limit to move the process along.

Good luck with your new set up.

Thank for the info Ron!

Sorry to hear one of your tanks split a seam. I'm not looking forward to the day I come come and find a leak.

Hopefully you get everything up and running quickly (as quick as possible in this hobby).

My tank is up and running now. The cycle has been complete for over a week. CUC is in and I added two Clowns yesterday with Rose BTA. My Phosphate has come down this morning to almost undetectable (going to buy a Hanna for phosphate as the colour chart is hard to read). The Rowa Phos worked amazingly and quickly.


The only thing I need to do is setup an ATO. I didn't think the evaporation would be as much as it is. Close to a gallon a day if not more.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Lrfox]

Hey Reefers,

I am just wondering how often do you test you water? Daily, weekly?

More frequently if your having issues?

Just trying to get an idea. My tank new, 3 weeks old so I've been testing every 2-3 days. Things have been stabilizing (the only varying ones right now are Nitrates ALK and Phosphate) so just wondering what the intervals would normally be?

I also just started running Rowa Phos about 3 hours ago (phosphate was at 0.25) so when should I test again?

I tested my FOWLR once a week during the first month (my cycle was long- close to two months). I got a little impatient during the nitrite portion (mine "stalled") and started testing daily. It was unnecessary. I test weekly for Nitrate, monthly for Ammonia/Nitrite. When I add a fish, I test daily for spikes in all three areas for about 5-7 days just to make sure there are no spikes and to act accordingly if there are.

 

[sde1500]

Ha, certainly not as often as I should. Something I resolved to correct this weekend.

 

[oldpaddy]

KEEP A LOG BOOK OF RESULTS. This way if you have trouble, you can report what's being going on.

I agree 110%. I use a free app called aquarium logger. I log every change to the system. I especially record every test reading and addition or subtraction to the tank. It's come in handy many times. It's great for keeping track of fish and will help you understand your tank better in the long run.

 

[C.Eymann]

I test alk once a month or so since I run a
Dialed in Cal Rx, if alk is good, cal and mag willbe too. NO3 and PO4 I have started doing once a week or so just to make sure I'm feeding enough. That's it.

 

[ScienceRulez]

I check the parameters before every water change twice a week. I have a real issue sometimes with nitrates and phosphates that can shoot up very fast so I like to keep an eye on things.

 

[illinijoe]

Once things stabilized I only test once a week. Once I have a better idea of my weekly consumption I'll probably test every two weeks. If things look bad I'll test.

 

[Hitch08]

Not as often as I should, to be honest.

 

[cincyjim]

Once a week for me usually on Saturday morning unless I notice something isn't right in the tank, rocks, sand, etc (algae for example).

 

[MidTnMike41]

Once a week for me. I test for P04, N03, Alk, Ca, and Mg

 

[CStrickland]

I test nitrates before a water change, as a estimate of how dirty the water is to see if I should've changed it sooner. Otherwise: nitrate, phos, alk, ca, temp, salinity - weekly; mg monthly. If something weird is going on I test as much as necessary to get my head around it. It can feel like a chore when everything is going ok, but you'll be really glad you did when you catch a problem before it affects the tank, or need to know your baseline levels. It sucks when something goes wrong and you're wondering if you could've done something sooner and prevented the issue.

 

[Flippers4pups]

I test alk every two to three days. (SPS heavy) All other tests once a month. I use aquarimate app on my Iphone to track prameters and graph them. Set up to remind me of water changes, water testing, maintenance........etc.

 

[Pmj]

At first you may test frequently, but after a while you see some tests always show the same and you won't bother with those. Mine everything is stable except alk. Alk test once or twice a week, calc & nitrate once every few weeks or a month. Phos I don't bother, just refresh the GFO when I see the glass needs to be cleaned more often. Have an ATS about a month in so hopefully nitrate & phos will be something I don't have to worry about at all soon...