How often should I test my water?

[danenelsen]

Hello everyone! I was just wondering how often I should test my water. Right now I test ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, and salinity on a weekly basis. I just got the salifer test kit that includes: Phosphate, magnesium, alkalinity, and calcium. How often should I be testing each of those things? (Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, salinity, phosphate, magnesium, alkalinity, and calcium)

 

[blaxsun]

Depends on the size of the tank, how frequently you perform water changes, types of corals, filtration, automation, etc.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

It depends on where you are in your journey.

Test ammonia and nitrate until the tank is cycled.

After the cycle and once you start increasing the bioload (aka adding inverts and fish), test nitrate and phosphate frequently at first to track any trends. I suggest weekly at first and if after a couple months things have remained about the same, you can reduce the frequency... This is highly variable though and will depend on your bioload, feeding habits, efficiency of nutrient export, and frequency of water changes.

Test alk, calcium, and magnesium after your tank is ready for coral.

Test salinity every time you do a water change (test tank and new water).

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Hello everyone! I was just wondering how often I should test my water. Right now I test ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, and salinity on a weekly basis. I just got the salifer test kit that includes: Phosphate, magnesium, alkalinity, and calcium. How often should I be testing each of those things? (Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, salinity, phosphate, magnesium, alkalinity, and calcium)

No need to test ammonia after the tank is cycled.
No need to test nitrITE at all.

 

[danenelsen]

Depends on the size of the tank, how frequently you perform water changes, types of corals, filtration, automation, etc.

My tank is 55 gallons. I perform a 5 gallon water change every weekend. I have no corals at the moment but I would eventually like to get some.

 

[danenelsen]

It depends on where you are in your journey.

Test ammonia and nitrate until the tank is cycled.

After the cycle and once you start increasing the bioload (aka adding inverts and fish), test nitrate and phosphate frequently at first to track any trends. I suggest weekly at first and if after a couple months things have remained about the same, you can reduce the frequency... This is highly variable though and will depend on your bioload, feeding habits, efficiency of nutrient export, and frequency of water changes.

Test alk, calcium, and magnesium after your tank is ready for coral.

Test salinity every time you do a water change (test tank and new water).

Does this mean that because I have no corals, I don't need to test alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium at all?

 

[danenelsen]

No need to test ammonia after the tank is cycled.
No need to test nitrITE at all.

Ever? I've heard that nitrite can be dangerous for fish.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Ever? I've heard that nitrite can be dangerous for fish.

Nitrite is almost irrelevant in a cycled tank. It does not affect saltwater livestock the way it does freshwater... As long as the tank has properly cycled there shouldn't be any nitrite that remains after nitrification occurs.
*If your tank has a mini cycle, then IF your nitrATES are super high and you're not sure why, testing nitrITES can help, as high nitrITES can lead to a false high nitrATE reading.

But generally, there's no point in testing nitrite at all in a SW tank.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Does this mean that because I have no corals, I don't need to test alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium at all?

Possibly. Things other than coral use them, like snails, shrimp, crabs, etc, and coralline algae uses them. I would suggest testing these three plus nitrate and phosphate before your water changes and then again a few hours to a day after the WC. This will get you into a good routine. After a month or 2, if alk, ca, and mg seem to be stable and you still don't have coral, you can probably stop testing for a bit as long as your WC schedule stays about the same.

Again, it's all kind of dependant on your individual system and how nutrients and elements are produced/consumed. Getting into a routine of testing (and recording) will help you in the long run, but some tests won't be really needed as frequently.

 

[shakacuz]

i test 2x/week just because i manual dose and my ALK/no3/po4 intake has increased a lot

 

[vpierce3]

If the tank is stable and I’m not making changes, I test Alk and No3 once a week. I watch my ph, temp and Orp on my controller app. If I add new corals or see a change in growth, I test Alk every day until I know my doser is dialed.
Ammonia only in beginning. Nitrite only if I see things crashing; otherwise don’t need to.
Smaller tanks are less stable. So they need to be tested more often IMHO.
If the tank is heavily stocked, test Ph and No3 twice a week.
Every tank is different and after a while you’ll get a feel for what you need to do.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

If the tank is stable and I’m not making changes, I test Alk and No3 once a week. I watch my ph, temp and Orp on my controller app. If I add new corals or see a change in growth, I test Alk every day until I know my doser is dialed.
Ammonia only in beginning. Nitrite only if I see things crashing; otherwise don’t need to.
Smaller tanks are less stable. So they need to be tested more often IMHO.
If the tank is heavily stocked, test Ph and No3 twice a week.
Every tank is different and after a while you’ll get a feel for what you need to do.

pH or PO4?

 

[vpierce3]

pH or PO4?

PO4.