"Just us bacteria..."

[Kurt Copeland]

I'm building a new tank (20 gallon) and the water has been siphoning through the filter for about a week now.

I'm excited but I'm going slow and I have the salinity set at 1.025

Nothing in the tank but water and reef salt at this point. I have a bag of live sand but I want to make sure I test all the levels before adding any of that. And, yes, I now know that sand it usually added before the water. Live and learn.

I am getting ready to get a reef test kit (shopping around) and I was wondering if there were any additional chemical parameters not contained in a standard marine aquarium test kit. What ARE all of the various thing for which one would test and how critical are each of them?

 

[twilliard]

At the beginning it comes down to nitrates.
Later as you add stuff the other elements will have to be checked.
Red sea kits are awesome.

 

[Kurt Copeland]

I was hoping for a definitive list, if possible, so I would know what to look for in a test kit. Even Red Sea has a test kit, a master test kit, a basic foundation test kit, and Alk and PH test kit...shrimp scampi...shrimp gumbo...shrimp paste...shrimp fondue...

 

[twilliard]

I was hoping for a definitive list, if possible, so I would know what to look for in a test kit. Even Red Sea has a test kit, a master test kit, a basic foundation test kit, and Alk and PH test kit...shrimp scampi...shrimp gumbo...shrimp paste...shrimp fondue...

Lol!
That was funny!
This is all I use and have been for many years:
Red sea algae control kit
Hanna alk and calcium checkers
Elos ph kit
Triton water testing

 

[Tahoe61]

I use Red Sea and a back up Hanna Checker for Calcium.
I use a Hanna Alk Checker and for back up a Salifert for alkalinity.
For magnesium a Salifert.
For phosphates a Hanna ultra low phosphate.
For SG a Marine Depot pro refractometer.

When you start to invest a lot of money in corals it's nice to have back up testing types.

Hope that helps.

 

[Russ265]

ill try not to show my bias... i have some api stuff to see if my other kits are out of whack.



special note on red sea pro phosphate kit. reagant A should be 15 drops. not 10. this is a well known issue.

 

[oldsaint]

What ARE all of the various thing for which one would test and how critical are each of them?

A good place to start.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/

I was hoping for a definitive list, if possible, so I would know what to look for in a test kit. Even Red Sea has a test kit, a master test kit, a basic foundation test kit, and Alk and PH test kit...shrimp scampi...shrimp gumbo...shrimp paste...shrimp fondue...

My texting kit/equipment
Sal. - Milwaukee MA887 & DD seawater refractometer
Alk, Ca, Mg, NO3 - Salifert
PO4 - Hanna 93713 low range meter & a Checker

And a shrimp cocktail. Since he never mentions that one on the movie.

 

[TomatoSauceTy]

I use the API master kit that includes: Ph, Ammonia, Nitrate, and Nitrite.
For others I use Red Sea test kits for: Calcium, Magnesium, and Alkalinity.

The first list are the basics, if you dose anything make sure you have a test kit before hand.

 

[bobman]

You will want to start out with a way to read :
Salinity (refractometer recommended)
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
PH
This will get you started and cycling. If you want to have a reef tank then you will need at minimum the above and:
Alkalinity
Calcium
Magnesium
Phosphate

Those are the most basic test you will need to do. I am not going to recommend what brand or type of reader/kit to use. Everyone has a different preference but as long as you get the job done what tool you use to do it dont really matter.