Water quality testing

[Vogiechic]

Hi all,
I've been taking my water to my LFS which isn't all that L to begin with. They've discouraged me from trying to test my own water but all they are telling me is whether I have nitrates or nitrites in my tank and if my water is "good". I've been reading about other parameters that need to be monitored such as alkalinity, so I feel like I need to learn to test myself. What brand/ method do you use and which is the easiest for checking everything?
Thanks from the poster child for Tanks for Dummies.
Lorie

 

[mcgyvr]

Are you keeping corals or just fish only?
How often are you doing water changes?
Are you color blind?

Are you able to put the left shoe on the proper foot as needed daily?

Testing isn't that hard at all..
And depending on what type of tank inhabitants you are keeping there may only be a few things to test (if that)..
And it could just be as easy as a strip of paper you put into a sample of water that does it all at one time without any drops of liquid or vials,etc...

API test kits are very easy and "fairly" reliable. (most people will bash them for no reason other than others do it too)..

Salifert, Red Sea, Hanna all make "good" test kits also and are the most commonly recommended..
Elos, Nyos, Hach are a few others
In general all are "mostly" the same with only a few minor differences between them.. Some "picky perfectionists" may disagree..

 

[Valentini89]

Are you keeping corals or just fish only?
How often are you doing water changes?
Are you color blind?

Are you able to put the left shoe on the proper foot as needed daily?

Testing isn't that hard at all..
And depending on what type of tank inhabitants you are keeping there may only be a few things to test (if that)..
And it could just be as easy as a strip of paper you put into a sample of water that does it all at one time without any drops of liquid or vials,etc...

API test kits are very easy and "fairly" reliable. (most people will bash them for no reason other than others do it too)..

Salifert, Red Sea, Hanna all make "good" test kits also and are the most commonly recommended..
Elos, Nyos, Hach are a few others
In general all are "mostly" the same with only a few minor differences between them.. Some "picky perfectionists" may disagree..

Speaking of Nyos, I was interested in their tests for calcium/ALK/mag, and just sticking to API for the rest.

 

[hkgar]

Standard weekly tests for an established tank - 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites - would be for nitrates and phosphates for which I use Red Sea Pro for Nitrates and the Hanna Checker 736 for phosphates.

If you have SPS or LPS you should be testing for Calcium, alkalinity and magnesium and I use Salifert for those.

Other than those there isn't anything you "have" to test for. I also test , periodically for iodine and potassium, but it really isn't necessary.

But, remember, if you don't test for it DO NOT dose it.

 

[Ron Reefman]

As long as you can get by mcgyvr's sarcastic wit (actually sarcastic and at the same time good questions) he is 100% right. And like him, I'll support API as easy test kits to use and a bit less expensive. I'm sure there will be some here who disagree. But then there are some here who are way too OCD!

I've used Salifert and Red Sea kits, but I don't find they are really any better. Just because they give readings that are on a finer scale doesn't mean they are more accurate. Our local club did a big test with lots of people using lots of test kits and then sent a water sample to a commercial test facility. Users results were all over the map. Even people using the same brand of kit were getting different results (it's called user error). As long as your water is in the right 'range' you'll be OK. I've got 4 tanks full of livestock and coral, I've been in the hobby for 12+ years and I use API for all my tests except Mg because they don't make one. So I use Salifert for Mg.

 

[Maggie321]

API for me. The "fancy" test kits are on my want list but not my need list. Some of them just seem easier one handed. I also made up a spreadsheet to record my test results. That way I can remember what it was last time. If I get a wildly different reading I know I goofed so I test again. If I get 2 fliers, I test a 3rd time. 3 crazy reading will warrant a huge water change (hasn't had to happen yet). But testing at home is necessary. That way I can only blame myself if something is out of wack, I can't blame the LFS. And, as much as I kile to visit the LFS, I would buy something new every time... I'd be so broke $[emoji23]$!

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[Beff]

I've been using the same API saltwater kit for 17 years. I suppose it expired, but I like the results I get! :spin2:

I kind of restarted my tank a month ago. It's fish only. So I bought the Salifert nitrate kit. It was consistent with the 17 year old API nitrate kit. I just wanted to make sure the biologics were not disrupted.

To be honest, once my tank was established, I stopped testing for pH, nitrite and ammonia about a year after the tank was up and running. Once in a while, I'd check nitrate especially if I was delinquent on my husbandry duties. And, I never bothered with phosphate.

I like API because all the test vials are the same size and the instructions are written on each water resistant color card.

As far as the quality of my results, they are good enough for the girls I go out with.

Jeff