Just a Rant. Water Testing is so difficult, time-consuming, and $ wasting!

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fixingstill

New member
Just a Rant. Water Testing is so difficult, time-consuming, and $ wasting!
Same kit, same procedure, and I can't even get the same results.
Different kits, and results are all over the place.
And I have to test 4 tanks, each for nitrate, PO4, cal, alk, etc...

Saltwater fish keeping, let alone reef keeping, is a huge time and money pit!

IMG_20180501_122850928_HDR.jpg
 
No one said you had to have 4 tanks to test either.

I personally hate the red sea kits. I could never get repeatable results, and they take to long to perform.

Switched to hanna for alk and po4, salifert for cal and mag, nyos for nitrate. I can test my tank with those 5 tests in about 10 minutes.

FWIW, hanna is expensive to buy, but it's cheaper in the long run just having to buy reagents and way faster.


Testing is like WC's, no one wants to do it, but you kind of have to. The easier you make the process, the more likely you are to do it.
 
homer1475 said:
No one said you had to have 4 tanks to test either.

I personally hate the red sea kits. I could never get repeatable results, and they take to long to perform.

Switched to hanna for alk and po4, salifert for cal and mag, nyos for nitrate. I can test my tank with those 5 tests in about 10 minutes.

FWIW, hanna is expensive to buy, but it's cheaper in the long run just having to buy reagents and way faster.


Testing is like WC's, no one wants to do it, but you kind of have to. The easier you make the process, the more likely you are to do it.
Click to expand...

+1 I use the same kits, except Red Sea Pro for nitrate. I get consistent results and except that these kits do have error rate. The Hanna Alk specified accurace of +-5PPM +-5% of reading. I periodically cross check Hanna dKH against Elos and/or Salifert.
 
If I focus it takes 15 minutes to do 8 Salifert tests. I do not enjoy it but it is a necessity. 15 minutes every 3 days is not a chore.

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homer1475 said:
No one said you had to have 4 tanks to test either.

I personally hate the red sea kits. I could never get repeatable results, and they take to long to perform.

Switched to hanna for alk and po4, salifert for cal and mag, nyos for nitrate. I can test my tank with those 5 tests in about 10 minutes.

FWIW, hanna is expensive to buy, but it's cheaper in the long run just having to buy reagents and way faster.


Testing is like WC's, no one wants to do it, but you kind of have to. The easier you make the process, the more likely you are to do it.
Click to expand...

I don't know about me but I enjoy the water change. Everytime I do one, it felt as if I took a refreshing shower. I have the most satisfaction when I clean the substrate.

The one thing I don't enjoy is constantly doing test to the point of being paranoid with it.
 
hkgar said:
+1 I use the same kits, except Red Sea Pro for nitrate. I get consistent results and except that these kits do have error rate. The Hanna Alk specified accurace of +-5PPM +-5% of reading. I periodically cross check Hanna dKH against Elos and/or Salifert.
Click to expand...

Exactly!

You have to realize these are hobby grade kits, and as such they have a wide range of error rates. Hanna ALK even after doing 4 or 5 readings they are typically within .5dkh of each other, so I average out. If I cross check it with say a salifert(I keep it around for anything I think is a weird reading with the hanna), they match up pretty close.

Gary,

you like the RS nitrate kit? Haven't used it in a couple years(been using salifert but didn't like the process or color matching) and only tried the NYOS out this time when needing another kit. Only thing about the NYOS kit is it starts at 1ppm, how far down does the RS kit go? Seeing as I have 0 fish right now, I'm going to start dosing nitrates as my corals are looking rather bland since I've been testing 0's for the last couple months. I would like the most accurate kit available. NYOS is an easy process, just don't like how it starts at 1ppm. I would prefer something with a little better resolution.
 
accel said:
I don't know about me but I enjoy the water change. Everytime I do one, it felt as if I took a refreshing shower. I have the most satisfaction when I clean the substrate.

The one thing I don't enjoy is constantly doing test to the point of being paranoid with it.
Click to expand...


I'll take it that you are new to owning a tank? You'll end up hating it just like the rest of us. lol

But like I said, the easier you make it, the more likely you are to do it. That goes for anything in life.
 
I stopped testing about 5 months ago. The results were always the same so I figured the tank had reached a balance. I only check salinity now after top offs, and maybe dkh if corals dont look extended enough. I gave up on the exact "perfect" measurements and just gauge it based on how the tanks inhabitants are reacting. Biology is not an exact science. Things adapt to minor variations.

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Honestly, automated water test home device is probably one of most game changing breakthroughs that reef keepers waiting for. Only hope that the device and reagents will be affordable enough lol.
 
Big_ Macc said:
I stopped testing about 5 months ago. The results were always the same so I figured the tank had reached a balance. I only check salinity now after top offs, and maybe dkh if corals dont look extended enough. I gave up on the exact "perfect" measurements and just gauge it based on how the tanks inhabitants are reacting. Biology is not an exact science. Things adapt to minor variations.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I am the same way....I rarely test for anything anymore.... except salinity...

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Seriously why is there no nitrate probe or test like a seneye has for ammonia?

Also still waiting on the Apex unit that's supposed to monitor Calc ALK and MG.
 
Boochika said:
Seriously why is there no nitrate probe or test like a seneye has for ammonia?

Also still waiting on the Apex unit that's supposed to monitor Calc ALK and MG.
Click to expand...
Right....I totally agree.... curious why someone hasn't come up with one...

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Boochika said:
Seriously why is there no nitrate probe or test like a seneye has for ammonia?

Also still waiting on the Apex unit that's supposed to monitor Calc ALK and MG.
Click to expand...

Pinpoint makes a nitrate monitor with probe. Would be cool if Neptune got together with them and made it work for the Apex.
 
I am just getting back into the hobby again and I wanna toss this out. Anyone use the API saltwater and saltwater master kits? If so are they pretty accurate?


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calli said:
I am just getting back into the hobby again and I wanna toss this out. Anyone use the API saltwater and saltwater master kits? If so are they pretty accurate?


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Click to expand...

API test kits are not well regarded for their accuracy.
 
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