Best investment with testing kits

[etork]

Hey all

Looking to start aquascaping/cycling in the next month or so. Before then, need to decide on how to best test our water.

What is your preferred testing method? Hanna checkers? Test kits (if so, which ones)? Which parameters can I wait to check (pretty sure I dont need to check calcium until I have corals, correct?) If i can wait to buy certain tests then i can focus on other things.

Thank you!

 

[andrewey]

For me, if I were to start over with a new tank, this is the order of tests I would buy, but everyone has something that works for them, so go with what works for you and your tank. Test kits often depend on preference, so there really isn't a right or wrong company for most kits.

I would just buy ammonia and nitrate in the beginning. API/Salifert for ammonia, salifert for nitrate.

Once I was ready for corals, I would probably consider phosphate tester (hanna), depending on type of coral I wanted to keep and the size of the tank (if it's small enough, I likely wouldn't test, as water changes tend to keep my phosphates in line on my nanos). If I was only running softies, I wouldn't bother testing phosphates.

If I started stocking LPS/SPS and noticed coraline algae growth, I'd start checking alkalinity and calcium (red sea, salifert, or hanna). Later on, you could look into testing magnesium (salifert only).

You can stagger them out pretty far to both save the life of the reagent, stagger the cost, and there's no need to test many parameters in the first few months in my opinion.

 

[fcmatt]

just buy the 2 red sea multi kit boxes. They will last you almost 2 years if the exp date is not old. Meaning a fresh supply. You won't need to worry about phosphate until later which will be Hanna ulr. Then upgrade to Hanna alk when u run out of red sea.

 

[codycolina707]

Hey all

Looking to start aquascaping/cycling in the next month or so. Before then, need to decide on how to best test our water.

What is your preferred testing method? Hanna checkers? Test kits (if so, which ones)? Which parameters can I wait to check (pretty sure I dont need to check calcium until I have corals, correct?) If i can wait to buy certain tests then i can focus on other things.

Thank you!

hanna alk tester is i would say a must once you have corals its really fast and pretty cheap for reagents phosphate is also nice i have red sea for calc and mag but manly use alk and phosphate hanna checkers

 

[robbyg]

Hanna for ALK, Calcium, Phosphate ULR and Red Sea Pro for Magnesium.
If you want to grow Coralline algae on those rocks you should be checking calcium from early on.

 

[kevin32]

Alk- Hanna
Calcium- salifert
Magnesium- salifert
Phosphate- Hanna

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I would use:

a conductivity meter for salinity
a pH meter for pH
a DIY alkalinity titration for alkalinity
Salifert for calcium

If I wanted to measure magnesium ( I think most should should not bother until they are focusing on much more minor reef chemistry details), I'd use Salifert.

 

[etork]

Hanna for ALK, Calcium, Phosphate ULR and Red Sea Pro for Magnesium.
If you want to grow Coralline algae on those rocks you should be checking calcium from early on.

We will be introducing Corraline (the stuff in a bottle) so I guess we will be checking calcium early on.

With that being said, do we use that after cycling, or during?

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

I would use:

a conductivity meter for salinity
a pH meter for pH
a DIY alkalinity titration for alkalinity
Salifert for calcium

If I wanted to measure magnesium ( I think most should should not bother until they are focusing on much more minor reef chemistry details), I'd use Salifert.

Randy,
Do you have a link to the DIY alkalinity titration?

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Hey all

Looking to start aquascaping/cycling in the next month or so. Before then, need to decide on how to best test our water.

What is your preferred testing method? Hanna checkers? Test kits (if so, which ones)? Which parameters can I wait to check (pretty sure I dont need to check calcium until I have corals, correct?) If i can wait to buy certain tests then i can focus on other things.

Thank you!

I've used Red Sea products since I started the tank, primarily because of availability in my local area.

I've heard some people like the Hanna checkers, others (like a good reefing buddy of mine) did not like them at all. I have no experience with them (full disclosure).

I've tried some of the Salifert tests and found them a bit clunky, but that's my personal opinion.

My personal opinion is that the testing kit you use matters less than testing often and being consistent in your testing methodology. Remember, more often than not we are look for changes in chemistry rather than a specific value.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Randy,
Do you have a link to the DIY alkalinity titration?

Sure:

A DIY Alkalinity Test: By Randy Holmes-Farley - REEFEDITION

A DIY Alkalinity Test: By Randy Holmes-Farley - REEFEDITION

Alkalinity is one of the most important measurements that a reef aquarist can make. It can become rapidly depleted in many aquaria, requiring frequent measurement in order to maintain stable levels.

www.reefedition.com

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

We will be introducing Corraline (the stuff in a bottle) so I guess we will be checking calcium early on.

With that being said, do we use that after cycling, or during?

What product?

If this is an actual coralline algae product (as opposed to something that claims to support its growth), after cycling.

Calcium will be fine right out of the box, and will stay fine until you start seeing substantial alkalinity declines.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Sure:

A DIY Alkalinity Test: By Randy Holmes-Farley - REEFEDITION

A DIY Alkalinity Test: By Randy Holmes-Farley - REEFEDITION

Alkalinity is one of the most important measurements that a reef aquarist can make. It can become rapidly depleted in many aquaria, requiring frequent measurement in order to maintain stable levels.

www.reefedition.com

Thanks!

 

[etork]

What product?

If this is an actual coralline algae product (as opposed to something that claims to support its growth), after cycling.

Calcium will be fine right out of the box, and will stay fine until you start seeing substantial alkalinity declines.

The purple helix/pink fusion corraline in a bottle. I figured not during cycling, but wanted to be sure given it's short shelf life (have not bought it, just trying to time things correctly)

 

[robbyg]

Sure:

A DIY Alkalinity Test: By Randy Holmes-Farley - REEFEDITION

A DIY Alkalinity Test: By Randy Holmes-Farley - REEFEDITION

Alkalinity is one of the most important measurements that a reef aquarist can make. It can become rapidly depleted in many aquaria, requiring frequent measurement in order to maintain stable levels.

www.reefedition.com

I never saw that before. Nice work! Seems like some other automated Alk testing companies used your ideas. I think this is probably a great project for someone with a lot of experience with Tanks but for a newbie starting up or anybody who is just not willing to invest time in making a test kit, IMHO it makes more sense to just buy the Hanna Alk Tester.

 

[waterskiguy]

I start with a cheap ammonia test kit. API work great and are cheap. It doesn’t need to be really accurate because you’re going to verifying the numbers later on in your cycle.
From there, you can get nitrite, but it’s not really going to be very important. You want to know that you have ammonia then verify that it’s turned into the end product of nitrate.

For long term use, I like salifert for nitrate, magnesium and calcium, Hanna ULR phosphate and alkalinity checkers, Milwaukee refractometer and an occasional ICP test for minor and trace elements.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I never saw that before. Nice work! Seems like some other automated Alk testing companies used your ideas. I think this is probably a great project for someone with a lot of experience with Tanks but for a newbie starting up or anybody who is just not willing to invest time in making a test kit, IMHO it makes more sense to just buy the Hanna Alk Tester.

I cannot claim credit for the idea. It is how alkalinity has been determined for many years by oceanographers. What is fairly new is the ready availability of chemicals like 0.1 N HCl from places like Amazon.

 

[AZ_Reef]

I would use:

a conductivity meter for salinity
a pH meter for pH
a DIY alkalinity titration for alkalinity
Salifert for calcium

If I wanted to measure magnesium ( I think most should should not bother until they are focusing on much more minor reef chemistry details), I'd use Salifert.

Hey Randy, do you prefer Hanna salinity pen tester or Milwaukee 887?

 

[Cstar_BC]

I bought the Nutrafin Master Test Kit and that was my go to for years - has every test in it you could ever need

then everyone on forums said they were inaccurate so I upgraded to Hanna

honestly the difference in values was like .1-.4

hannas are super easy and it’s a luxury

but some of the cheaper tests are just as good if you follow the directions

 

[piranhaman00]

Hey Randy, do you prefer Hanna salinity pen tester or Milwaukee 887?

The hanna measures conductivity. The Milwaukee is a digital refract. Its error is (+/-) 0.002. It is also notorious for reading high.