Water Testing

[ShawnMarie]

Hello folks,

I am VERY new to all of this.. With that said, can I get some advice on what I need to buy to test my tank so I can keep my 'tenants' happy and healthy? I have a refractometer and ..... test strips. :facepalm: I also will need a little bit of schooling on how to read and adjust accordingly. My tank has been running now for about 3 months.
:thumbsup:

 

[joewallace2008]

I have red sea pro test kit I like it kinda hard to use at first but you can buy refills for them instead of a whole kit

 

[joewallace2008]

Read stickys by sk8r a Rc mod great and very very helpful Ph is nearly meaninglessin a marinetank.Alkalinity istheimportant one. Unfortunately, if you re-read the chemistry article, your alk won't steady down if your cal and mg are off, so you need all 3 tests. Test for nitrate and keep it as low as possible. I found this.post from sk8r

 

[dMarina]

Hello folks,

I am VERY new to all of this.. With that said, can I get some advice on what I need to buy to test my tank so I can keep my 'tenants' happy and healthy? I have a refractometer and ..... test strips. :facepalm: I also will need a little bit of schooling on how to read and adjust accordingly. My tank has been running now for about 3 months.
:thumbsup:

You will want to test calcium, nitrates, alkalinity, PH, magnesium and ammonia. You will need to get a test kit for each. API tests are very inexpensive, so that's a good starting point. Once you get the hang of it, you may want to experiment with different brands, some of which are 30.00. They come with pretty detailed instructions.

 

[charleneatkins]

when I first started testing, I made them harder than need be. Do not read more into the instructions than whats there. Keep a file of when you test and the results.
the only test you cannot due when the lites are out is for PH. Ph is affected by the lite cycle of the tank. Some folks have better results with different types of testers.
I prefer the ones I do not need to compare color strips. good luck

 

[BubbaBoBobBrain]

If you only have corals like what you have pictured then the cheapo API test kits will work fine for you because they will give you your parameters fairly accurately. But if you get into more difficult corals to keep you are definitely gonna want to get the good test kits. Personally I use and swear by the red sea pro kits because I have had great success with them. The major things to test for are Ph, ammonia, nitrate, phosphate, calcium, alkalinity or dkh, and magnesium. In my opinion these are the most important thing to test for. Good luck.

 

[icycoral]

What levels you will wan to test for and how often will depend on how old your tank is and what animals you are keeping.

When your tank is new you will want to test more levels more often untill you learn to recognize something is off by looking at your tank. When I set up a new tank I test ammonia nitrite and nitrate while it is cycling along with specific gravity alk and ph. After the initial cycle I do not belive it is necessary to test for ammonia or nitrite. As you become confident in your maintence of topping off you find less need to check salinity (sg).

If you are going to keep sps you will want to keep an eye on alk calc and mag along with nuttrient levels like phosphates and nitrates. If you notice these are off you will need to test often as you adjust them (for me that's twice a week). As routine maintence I check once every 4-6 weeks unless something seems off. I almost never check my ph unless I think it is being pushed down by calcium reactor or if my dkh drops (dkh is your tanks butfering capacity, or resistance to swings in ph) hardly ever notice a drop in ph though.

For softies and lps I find water changes will keep calcium and mag just fine and only check for alk upon occasion. As you become more proficient with your maintenance you most likely will not need to test your salinity untill you do a water change.

The greatest "test" I have for my tank is a small piece of Xenia, sounds strange I know. If the Xenia looks anything but awesome I know there is something askew and start to check my levels.

You should try to make it down to the meeting next weekend, you will find lots of poeple willing to share thier personal experience on testing and whats working for them.

 

[ShawnMarie]

Thanks for all of the tips. I purchased the Red Sea Pro test kit. I watched all three youtube videos on how to preform each test... The only thing Im not sure on is if I read the numbers correctly on the syringes. The readings I did get are this.. Calcium 490-500 .....Magnesium ...1520 .. Alk.....4.8/13.4. Nitrites 0 .... Nitrates .1 PH 8.2. I did each test three time just to make sure I was doing it correctly. And I dont know what they should be. I have the three corals in the photo, two clown a peppermint shrimp and CUC.

@ icycoral... I will be at the meeting next Sunday.

 

[Sandia97]

I just bought the Red Sea kit and I also had to watch the youtube videos so you're not alone there!! lol
I may be mistaken but are the mag and alk a bit high? My mag is also testing high ..like 1600.
See you at the meeting!

 

[I_H8_JDM]

I just bought the Red Sea kit and I also had to watch the youtube videos so you're not alone there!! lol
I may be mistaken but are the mag and alk a bit high? My mag is also testing high ..like 1600.
See you at the meeting!

I use the Red Sea reef pro kit to and my mag tested above 1600 as well. And my old test read 1450 ish


Sent from my iPhone8

 

[ShawnMarie]

I just bought the Red Sea kit and I also had to watch the youtube videos so you're not alone there!! lol
I may be mistaken but are the mag and alk a bit high? My mag is also testing high ..like 1600.
See you at the meeting!

I dont know what they Should read... I have never done any water tests except for the color strips... My tank is about 3.5 months old... Just put the coral in a week ago and I purchased 2 more today. (picked them up at the Puppy Center)

:thumbsup:

 

[icycoral]

Calcium 490-500 .....Magnesium ...1520 .. Alk.....4.8/13.4. Nitrites 0 .... Nitrates .1 PH 8.2

Oh wow some those levels are a bit high. Are you using a fortified salt mix? Some salt mixes have raised levels of mag calc alk and other essential elements. Those mixes are best used in a large system w a high demand for those minerals. If that is the case you may want to switch salts or if dosing supplements stop.


Here's a rewrite of a chart by Randy Holmes-Farley pertaining to recommended reef perameters.

(rar) reef aquaria recommendation
(tsov) typical surface ocean value

Ph (rar) 7.8-8.5 ok 8.1-8.3 better
(tsov) 8.0-8.3 can be lower or higher in lagoons

Salinity (rar) 35ppt or sg=1.026
(tsov)34-36ppt or sg=1.025-1.027

Alkalinity (rar) 7-11 dkh
(tsov) 7 dkh

Calcium (rar) 380-450 ppm
(tsov) 420 ppm

Magnesium (rar) 1250-1350
(tsov) 1280

Phosphate (rar) <.03 ppm
(tsov) .005 ppm

 

[ShawnMarie]

I am using Red Sea reef salt .. CA 410 Mg 1230 Alk/KH 2.8/7.7. I have only just tried testing the water today with Red Sea Pro test kit. The error rate from USER error is most likely extremely high. I do a partial water change once a week. About 2 gallons each time. I have done the test strips up to today. I will test every other day for the next week and I started a log. If it stays high you are suggesting that I should switch the salt I am using? Any suggestion on what type/brand?