Tank checking/dosing questions

spshal1

New member
Dear One and All:

I am new to the hobby and am look for the advise of some "seasoned" veterans.
I have a decent grasp on the relationships of the various things that we test for in our water...pH, kH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, etc., etc. But I don't know how often I should be checking these various levels. Every day, every other day, I have even heard every other week? How often do most people run checks on their water paramiters?
Second question, what is the relationship between the tanks pH and the lighting? Does the pH go up or down with the lights off?
Last question, for now at least. I was talked into buying Kent Marine's Tech CB part A and B. From what I can tell this is a well balanced product and should be about the only thing that I need to dose my aquarium with. Am I on track with this thought? Also, how often should I be adding this supplement, in addition, are there parameters that I should be watching for that would tell me I need to add more or less of this product - or even stop all together?
Like I said, I am new. Any advice is helpful and appreciated and will go along way in helping me better enjoy this hobby. Thank you in advance for all of the great advice and I look forward to hearing from you. :D
 
Once the tank is cycled, calcium, alkalinity, pH and salinity are all that need routine testing, and how often depends on how rapidly they vary. I rarely test them because they are very stable in my system. Once a week is a fine place to start for calcium and salinity. Alkalinity frequency depends on how you are maintaining it.

This article has more on what to test:

Reef Aquarium Water Parameters
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.htm
 
Thanks for the link to the great article. I was also wondering if there was a place to find a back log of other articles that would also be helpful?

Thanks again!
 
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