DOSER DUDES: how often do you test, what do you test?

[ZoWhat]

Attention DOSER dudes and dudettes;

I'm curious:

* What elements are you testing for?

* How OFTEN are you testing?

* How often are you taking corrective action by dosing the element back into range?

 

[PatW]

It really depends on your system.

If you are runnning a fish only system or a soft coral system, you only need to check ALK, Ca, and Mg rarely. If you stay on top of water changes, that alone will probably maintain the system.

But if you have a high demand SPS system, measuring ALK daily is almost essential.

It is best to test for nitrate, phosphate, alkalinity, Calcium and magnesium to get a handle of how much these things fluctuate in your system. I have a reasonably high demand SPS system. I measure ALK daily. I measure calcium once or twice per week. And I measure magnesium about once per month but it always stays the same.

 

[Rick Mathew]

Alk---Every Day

Calcium--Nitrate---Phosphate---Magnesium---Iodine---Every week

Copper---Potassium---Silica----Every 2 weeks

Salinity---pH---Temperature---ORP---Ammonia---Continuous Monitoring

ICP Testing---Every 2 months

 

[ZoWhat]

Alk---Every Day

Calcium--Nitrate---Phosphate---Magnesium---Iodine---Every week

Copper---Potassium---Silica----Every 2 weeks

Salinity---pH---Temperature---ORP---Ammonia---Continuous Monitoring

ICP Testing---Every 2 months

How do you adjust for low or high Alk?