What is ESSENTIAL to test for in a reef setup

[excitedforfish]

Hi guys!

So I am running really low on cash and need to order a last few things for my newly setup SW aquarium. Man, this hobby can get expensive real fast lol.

Anyway, I was wondering if you could tell me what are the absolute necessary elements I need to test for in a Reef setup?

I ordered API's saltwater test kit and just got it yesterday.

I am already testing for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and pH.

I was thinking of ordering the same API kit but for reefs as well. It tests for calcium, carbonate hardness (KH). phosphate, and nitrates (again, I already have this in my other kit).

So I was thinking it'd be cheaper to order them separately. BUT, I wanted to make sure that is all I really need to test for. I ask because I read somewhere you need to check for magnesium. Is this true? Do I *really* need to check for it, or can I get by on weekly 10% water changes to the tank while maintaining all the other above mentioned parameters?

Also, what is the difference between calcium and carbonate hardness (KH)? Aren't they interrelated? I bought a Kent marine buffer so if there are low calcium levels, will the buffer help to raise them which in turn raises the KH? Please let me know if my thinking is flawed!

 

[lisafoster]

What kind of coral are you going to keep that will determine what you need to test for

 

[excitedforfish]

Oh didnt know that! I just want LPS: acan coral, any other recommendations in the LPS family? I also want some mushrooms, leathers, zoanthids, and ricordeas. Nothing crazy. Just wanna add some color to the tank.

So, should I invest in a calcium and KH test for these? Anything else?

 

[A. cervicornis]

Alkalinity, Phosphate, Calcium, Nitrate, and Magnesium are how I would rank them in order of importance.

Also, if you have a local store that can test these things for you it would probably be better to do that for the short to medium term. Since you're on a budget, you could allocate those dollars to saltwater for water changes.

 

[excitedforfish]

Unfortunately, my LFS charges $8 for water tests!!!!!!!:furious:

 

[A. cervicornis]

Sorry, I missed part of your question. Alkalinity is the same thing as kH and Carbonate hardness.

Basically, hard corals (like LPS) and other calcifying organisms make skeleton out of (predominantly) calcium carbonate. You test for calcium with a calcium test kit, and carbonate with an alkalinity test kit. These two things must both be at proper levels for calcification to take place. Magnesium is another part of the coral skeletal matrix, and you test it (obviously) with a magnesium test kit. Functionally though, if you use a good salt mix, keep up with calcium and alkalinity, and do water changes often, you're likely to have success even without constantly testing magnesium.

Phosphate is a direct inhibitor to calcification, so you have to minimize that to get calcification to happen at its full potential. Nitrate is less important to the calcification process, but we use it as sort of an indicator of water quality, since it's the end result of bacterial action on fish waste. If your nitrates are high, it often means there are more dissolved "miscellaneous" organic wastes in your water, and it's a good idea to do a water change.

I know that's a really brief answer to a complex question. There's a lot of good articles (probably more than you can count) on the web, and this stuff would be covered more systematically in a basic reef aquarium book. Again, I know you're on a budget, but a nice reference guide will be a good investment to keep you from buying stuff you don't need (for example, that test kit you just got). Good luck, and I hope that helps a little.

Edit: Forgot to mention, your Kent buffer only raises your carbonate content (alkalinity), but not calcium. And unlike some of the other buffers out there, Kent does not contain magnesium. You'll need a calcium supplement to raise calcium- these come in a lot of forms, but my favorite is the solid calcium blocks from SeaLab because it's a slow-release product and has other trace elements included.

 

[excitedforfish]

Wow, thanks for the breakdown. That helped tremendously! How would one decrease/raise phosphates (if needed)

 

[A. cervicornis]

Phosphates are the easiest thing to control in a reef. Phosphate comes from fish food, so first, don't feed too much food to your fish and don't put more fish in the tank than it can handle. Secondly though, there are commercial products that absorb phosphates directly from your water. You'll see these referenced on the internet, usually abbreviated GFO (for granular ferric oxide), and they're made either of iron (ferric) compounds or aluminum based compounds. The application is similar to activated carbon, where it's just pellets that you run water through in a filter bag or reactor. If you stock correctly though, you shouldn't have a phosphate problem- I have phosphate absorber in my fish cabinet, but haven't had to use it in like 10 months.

 

[excitedforfish]

Oh! My biocube filter has some carbon in it - I change it every 2-3 weeks. That should prevent a phosphate buildup right?

 

[A. cervicornis]

No, carbon won't absorb phosphate, but you can add phosphate remover to the back chambers easily.

Also, it's really easy to change out half or more of the water in a biocube (my biocube gets 80% water changes every 2 weeks, just for reference). That will help dilute any phosphate and nitrate that might accumulate in there, as well as replenish all the beneficial elements (calcium, alkalinity, magnesium, and others).

 

[excitedforfish]

Ok, thanks for the info!

 

[JeF4y]

In order of my importance:

Temp - get a good digital thermometer $10
Salinity - buy a refractometer, not the plastic thingies. A cheap refractometer is $30 and WELL worth it.

After these, then you should really know where your pH, CA, KH, MG are. The CA/KH/MG is dependent on your stocking choices and the salt you choose. Once you have a feel for the delpetion rate, you can test less frequently (personally I test like every 2 months right now unless I see something off visually).

During startup you are going to want to know about your ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and phosphate levels too.

In the end, you should have all of these test kits. You can get a universal saltwater kit from petco (or the like) for around $50 which should last you a year or so.

As for expensive? Ummm yeah, you'd do better to fill a glass container with $100 bills. But what's the fun in that?