What will the ICP test do? yes i make water myself i mix the salt with the regular instant ocean. i dont have any magnets in the tank though. nothing metal
Yes my nitrates are bottomed out lol growing hair algae in the refugium has worked amazing from the start for my tank. But again everyone’s tank is different!
ICP test sends your water to a lab where a ton of elements are tested for and can tell you if your water you make has something in it that’s rising in the tank that isn’t good like silicates ect. Or if something in your tank is leaching like a pumps internals rusting. Again with a young tank they do all kinds of strange things. An ICP test will really give you an idea of how your water is doing.
so an ICP is only 50 bucks?
i get RODI from my LFS
I stopped buying my water from my LFS right away after I tested!!!!! Red flag lol so I just checked for you. ICP tests are only $30 now! https://www.icp-analysis.com/collections/icp-testing
So do you make your own RODI? do you have any ideas on how i can do it myself? would this be a better option? sometimes i feel like my LFS is selling me tapwater
My advice is DO NOT tell your LFS that you’re gonna send out their water for testing. They might flip out and get defensive. Buy the two pack in my opinion. Time for you to start making your own water to give yourself that guarantee and piece of mind.
what is the two pack?
Yes I do make my own rodi water at home. On the ICP website they sell single tests and two tests. You can send the first test with your LFS’s water and start making your own rodi water at home to compare.
which RO system do you use? i was looking for one on amazon
I own the 100 gallon per day 5 stage system from Melev’s Reef. Great products and system comes with all kinds of extra connection fittings to get you making your own water. He has a great article on his website to learn how to use it. Any issues with it and he will directly help you out. Here is a link to my system. To be fair, any 5 stage system should suffice to purify your water with correct or dual carbon blocks. Marc stands behind his product very well though. Plus his tank is outstanding. https://www.melevsreef.com/product/100gpd-5-stage-rodi-system
Just remember even if you’ve heard it before that in this hobby you’re keeping water, not fish or corals. Meaning your water quality is very important and starting with truly pure water is the only way to go.
i agree. ive just always thought my LFS had really good water. Seeing that their corals look beautiful
Right and please understand I am not at all saying that they don’t. At least test the water you are paying for and the water currently in your tank with your corals. Also, if you’re changing water with instant ocean, you for sure need to be making it the day before if not letting it mix for two days before you use it on your tank. It takes a very long time for certain salts to fully dissolve and be ready to use in your tank. Too fresh of mixed salt water can shock your corals. Please understand also I’m no professional. Just another hobbiest trying to help you out.
And I really appreciate the help. One thing I do know about this hobby is that it definitely isn’t easy
It’s not easy, it’s not cheap, and sometimes it will make you sad and angry. But for some of us that have the reef bug it just doesn’t matter because we love it all. The challenges and rewards!! Another piece of advice I’d like to share that stuck with me and really helped my path to success was to stop listening to everyone’s advice and to start listening to only 1 persons. Obviously someone who you can see their success. Who that person is to you will be up to you but that same guy who sells those rodi systems I recommended to you also has so much information for you to read and learn more about. He has great videos on YouTube that are helpful and useful and is who I recommend to learn from. His 400 gallon reef has high nitrates and phosphates too and looks great.
