You wouldn't run a sports car never looking at the gauges and readout.
Your tank doesn't come with dials, but it ought to come with 1) thermometer---I use 2, one on the sump, one on the tank. Sometimes they lie. I recommend the digital thermometer, Coralife. 2) a refractometer: accurate, when calibrated---and I've never bought one that wasn't. This measures salt instantly, accurately and down to a .001 not a 'kinda normal.' 3. nitrate/ammonia strips---at least. 4. an alkalinity test. Salifert is the brand I prefer, for speed and accuracy. It also comes with a calibration kit. But in general, just watch your expiration dates on the chemical tests. 5.-6. if you have stony coral, you also need the calcium and magnesium test. It would be a good idea if fish-only people also ran these: the tank would be a lot less mysterious in its reactions if they did.
To FIX the conditions turned up by these tests (and, incidentally, good test results are in my sig line, if you'll take a look) ---1. have salt on hand all the time, plus a water conditioner if you run into an emergency that needs a qt fast and you have no ro/di. Have a ro/di and use only ro/di. 2. have a jar of alkalinity buffer if your alk is low. 3. if you have corals have a jar of calcium and a supply of magnesium---what I use happens to be Tech-M and is liquid.
You do your water changes. Yes. That takes care of all trace elements. Don't monkey with those. But the supplements I name above are necessary.
For stony coral, some use kalk (limewater) in the autotopoff. I do. Some use Two Part. Which you choose is a matter of preference.
Keep records of your tests: just jot them down in a little booklet. If you test every day for two weeks, you will SEE what goes on with tank chemistry far better than any explanation can give it to you, the same as looking at the dials on your dashboard. There's information to be had. And it helps you not be surprised. You can see your car is running low on oil. You can likewise see that your magnesium is falling below 1200 and that's got to be fixed before it gets there.
That will, just fyi, prevent the bottom from dropping out of your alkalinity and calcium levels. Does. It's basic to the way the ocean works.
Re details on how the chemistry works, go to SETTING UP in the stickies above and look for a chapter named Dirt-simple Chemistry. Honestly, it's painless.
A new tank is a delight and an obsession---and if you can direct some of that energy to doing and recording tests, it will have far fewer problems.
Your tank doesn't come with dials, but it ought to come with 1) thermometer---I use 2, one on the sump, one on the tank. Sometimes they lie. I recommend the digital thermometer, Coralife. 2) a refractometer: accurate, when calibrated---and I've never bought one that wasn't. This measures salt instantly, accurately and down to a .001 not a 'kinda normal.' 3. nitrate/ammonia strips---at least. 4. an alkalinity test. Salifert is the brand I prefer, for speed and accuracy. It also comes with a calibration kit. But in general, just watch your expiration dates on the chemical tests. 5.-6. if you have stony coral, you also need the calcium and magnesium test. It would be a good idea if fish-only people also ran these: the tank would be a lot less mysterious in its reactions if they did.
To FIX the conditions turned up by these tests (and, incidentally, good test results are in my sig line, if you'll take a look) ---1. have salt on hand all the time, plus a water conditioner if you run into an emergency that needs a qt fast and you have no ro/di. Have a ro/di and use only ro/di. 2. have a jar of alkalinity buffer if your alk is low. 3. if you have corals have a jar of calcium and a supply of magnesium---what I use happens to be Tech-M and is liquid.
You do your water changes. Yes. That takes care of all trace elements. Don't monkey with those. But the supplements I name above are necessary.
For stony coral, some use kalk (limewater) in the autotopoff. I do. Some use Two Part. Which you choose is a matter of preference.
Keep records of your tests: just jot them down in a little booklet. If you test every day for two weeks, you will SEE what goes on with tank chemistry far better than any explanation can give it to you, the same as looking at the dials on your dashboard. There's information to be had. And it helps you not be surprised. You can see your car is running low on oil. You can likewise see that your magnesium is falling below 1200 and that's got to be fixed before it gets there.
That will, just fyi, prevent the bottom from dropping out of your alkalinity and calcium levels. Does. It's basic to the way the ocean works.
Re details on how the chemistry works, go to SETTING UP in the stickies above and look for a chapter named Dirt-simple Chemistry. Honestly, it's painless.
A new tank is a delight and an obsession---and if you can direct some of that energy to doing and recording tests, it will have far fewer problems.
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