general chemistry to look for?

[Baribaroory]

Other than the nitrogen cycle, what things do I need to look out for in a reef tank and why? There's just so much info on the internet I thought I'd start with the people who keep the tanks themselves . Like I said in my introduction post, I did read a few books and did a lot of research I'm still not really sure what to do in terms of chemistry. Also, (last question) do I need to get reef tank salt or can I get pure sun dried salt from the ocean? (I live next to the Red Sea and a lot of companies make a profit by selling its salt) Like the ones without any additives? Is there a difference? And for my last question (I promise) whats the most accurate way of testing? Are there digital ones for things like magnesium or phosphates (which I still don't know what they do)?
Thanks.

 

[ichthyogeek]

Do you need to get reef tank salt when you live next to the Red Sea? If you go that route, you may as well just go and pick up a couple hundred gallons of water every month or so, shock'em with bleach, then dechlorinate as necessary. I believe the difference between sun dried salt and reef salt mixes, is that the salt mixes use more dissolvable forms of salt (think: Calcium chloride, and sodium carbonate, as opposed to calcium carbonate and sodium chloride), whereas sun dried salt tends to be an amalgamation of the various salts that form when water dries out.

The most accurate way of testing that I know of, is ICP testing, which involves sending samples of your water to a lab to do highly rigorous testing. Otherwise, I think that Salifert and Hanna Checkers may be the most rigorous...I could be wrong, since i'm mostly a refractometer guy who doesn't mess with stony corals all that much.

Magnesium helps with coral skeleton growth, and for photosynthesis within the coral. Plants/algae really, really like magnesium since it forms the center of the chlorophyll molecule.

Phosphates are part of the building blocks that corals need to uptake. Think of things like ATP/ADP (the energy that cells predominantly use), and the phosphate used in DNA. Compared to nitrogen, cells don't need that much of it, but they still do need a small quantity.

 

[Baribaroory]

The most accurate way of testing that I know of, is ICP testing, which involves sending samples of your water to a lab to do highly rigorous testing. Otherwise, I think that Salifert and Hanna Checkers may be the most rigorous...I could be wrong, since i'm mostly a refractometer guy who doesn't mess with stony corals all that much.

Magnesium helps with coral skeleton growth, and for photosynthesis within the coral. Plants/algae really, really like magnesium since it forms the center of the chlorophyll molecule.

Phosphates are part of the building blocks that corals need to uptake. Think of things like ATP/ADP (the energy that cells predominantly use), and the phosphate used in DNA. Compared to nitrogen, cells don't need that much of it, but they still do need a small quantity.

Thanks! What about KH and calcium? And at what level should I keep it? Are stony corals the only corals that are sensitive to magnesium and phosphate? If I only keep soft corals would it be pointless to test for them? Would it be better for me to just keep track of temp, alkalinity, salinity, and ammonia if I'm keeping soft corals?

I've also found this: https://aqualabaquaria.com/pages/reef-aquarium-water-testing-chemistry-guide
is it accurate? I've come across some misleading info in the past so I like to double check my facts. Again, thank you for answering!