Testing Water Parameters

[JammyBirch]

This came up in another post and I thought it would be interesting to see how often water parameters are tested, what is being tested regularly and the experience level or age of the tank.

The poll is a little generic I know, but there are a lot of options..."everything" to you might mean something different than "everything" to someone else...I'm interested in the rigor, or lack there of, of the community.

Post your detailed explanation if you feel inclined, and make sure to add how old the tank is or your experience level.

 

[thegrun]

I test Ca, Mg, alkalinity and salinity weekly, and nitrates and phosphates monthly.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I test Ca, alk and salinity every month and Mg about every 4 months. Nitrates, ammonia and phosphates if something seems wrong. But personally I think testing for phosphates is a fool's errand on my system with a big refugium.

 

[Member No. 1]

The "Big" Three Ca, Alk, Mg once every 1-2 weeks.
Anything else as I see a need by how the tank looks.

I think that on a new tank, (and by new I mean less than a year old), you need to test more as new tanks seem to fluctuate more as the water chemistry is leveling off. As the tank matures, and the dosing amounts are figured out, be it Ca reactor, 2 Part, or whatever method, it becomes easier to maintain stability, so less testing is required.

I also believe this is where a lot of new hobbyist run into trouble. They test the crap out of the water, are constantly are trying to make changes, and in the long run are only hurting themselves because they can't achieve the stability that the inhabitants need.

 

[Member No. 1]

The "Big" Three Ca, Alk, Mg once every 1-2 weeks.
My Apex "monitors" conductivity (salinity), pH, ORP
Anything else as I see a need by how the tank looks.

I think that on a new tank, (and by new I mean less than a year old), you need to test more as new tanks seem to fluctuate more as the water chemistry is leveling off. As the tank matures, and the dosing amounts are figured out, be it Ca reactor, 2 Part, or whatever method, it becomes easier to maintain stability, so less testing is required.

I also believe this is where a lot of new hobbyist run into trouble. They test the crap out of the water, are constantly are trying to make changes, and in the long run are only hurting themselves because they can't achieve the stability that the inhabitants need.

 

[gone fishin]

Calcium and alkalinity, salinity weekly

Magnesium and phosphate every two weeks

Nitrate if something looks off.

 

[kmbyrnes]

Ca, Alk, Mg every week or so. My tanks are over a year old now and fairly stable. ATO's ensure salinity, but I still test weekly.
I wouldn't have believed it when I started, but my corals will tell me if something is off.

 

[JammyBirch]

Ca, Alk, Mg every week or so. My tanks are over a year old now and fairly stable. ATO's ensure salinity, but I still test weekly.
I wouldn't have believed it when I started, but my corals will tell me if something is off.

This is where I'm at too, although I don't test Calcium or mag anymore. I can tell by the color, polyp extension (SPS) and inflation (LPS) if my tank is in good shape.

I gave up the phosphate game too, I bought the Hanna checker too which was a waste since the sensitivity is low for the levels we'd be interested in. The phosphorous checker would be better but still not accurate based on the uptake...for me the frequency of cleaning my DT glass is the best gauge I've found.

 

[JammyBirch]

I also believe this is where a lot of new hobbyist run into trouble. They test the crap out of the water, are constantly are trying to make changes, and in the long run are only hurting themselves because they can't achieve the stability that the inhabitants need.

+1 chasing numbers can destroy a tank especially with so many chemical treatments out there you can really get your system out of whack.

 

[Bent]

I test my alk, ca, po4, nitrates and salinity every Sunday. Just so I can see a trend on my spreadsheet. I don't necessarily make any changes weekly. I just like seeing a trend rather than an individual result. If I start seeing an uptick in the po4, I can often get ahead of the problem before I have an algae outbreak. .

Mag I'll test once a month.

 

[cloak]

I usually test my Alkalinity, Calcium and Magnesium once every month or so. Once I started using kalkwasser in my ATO reservoir the tank really seemed to stabilize. I'll have my LFS test my Nitrates two or three times a year and I've never had my Phosphates checked. There's really no need to put a number on an existing problem IMO. (algae growth)

The tank is a little over 8 years old btw.