Testing in the Aquarium Hobby

[Parker Kufel]

how many people test their water on a monthly basis, and if your corals are growing and are healthy, do you need to do tests at all?

 

[Montiman]

I test Alk every 5 days and Nitrate and Phosphate once per month. Other things like Magnesium only about every other month.

I used to work at an LFS and I ran so many free water tests that it is now my most loathed aquarium maintenance task. I have gone six months or more between testing but what I found was that everything is OK until it isn't. My Alk may have been 10 3 months ago but in 6 months things start looking bad and I realize it is down to 5. Same story with every parameter they seem to slowly drift. I find I need to test to catch these drifts before they become problematic.

The only exception to this is that I have run some pico tanks for years without testing but in these cases I changed over 50% of the water once per week essentially resetting the chemistry once a week.

 

[MONTANTK]

I try to test at least 3 times a week. I like knowing what my parameters are at so I can keep everything as stable as possible

 

[Quietman]

Monthly is a stretch..maybe every 3 weeks but I have gone a month before on nutrients if steady state - no changes in population, feeding or visual indications.

Ca/Mg are monthly - low demand tank.

Never less than weekly on Alk and Salinity. Alk weekly is because I dose All For Reef manually and sometimes I skip doses unintentionally - the weekly testing keeps me in line. Salinity is just too easy not to and it backs up my ATO/evaporation.

pH and Temp are monitor continually - Apex.

 

[blasterman]

A lot of us get away with not doing water changes....or running without a skimmer.

Unless you have your calcium reactor dialed in like a SpaceX booster landing I don't know any serious SPS keeper that doesn't test alk somewhat regularly.

A mixed reef that relies entirely on water changes can likely get away with rarely testing aside from nitrate now and then. If you are dosing though you have to test alk.

 

[WVNed]

Flying blind is fine until you run into something.

 

[Waters]

I use a Trident so ALK, CA, and Mg are tested multiple times a day. Phosphates and Nitrates are tested once or twice a week.

 

[PeterC99]

Smart Reefers test based on the trajectory of their aquarium. This means testing is necessary but can be done strategically based on the load and growth.

Your aquarium is a living environment that is producing and consuming elements at different rates. As the occupants grow, the rates of elements production/consumption changes. Testing alerts you to those changes and allows the aquarist to react appropriately, this significantly increasing the chances of long term success.

This hobby encourages new Reefers to adopt a regimented testing schedule. This way the hobbyists learns proper testing techniques and understands the test results impact on their aquariums. Once you become experienced in testing and understanding the results, then one can relax what gets tested and the testing schedule.

 

[WVNed]

I do testing not because I want to know what the numbers are right now.
I want to know if they are going up or down. It tells me if my reactors are working and when the media needs changed or refilled.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I think it depends on how experienced you are and how long you have been monitoring the same aquarium with the same husbandry techniques.

For the last 10 years of running my tank, I rarely tested anything except pH, temperature, and salinity. But that is not advisable for new systems or reefers. I knew if those were good, the tank was doing fine based on many years of observing it.

 

[BoxKing]

Here's my thought.
If you're testing all the time, and not willing or able to correct parameters that should be adjusted, then you're wasting your time doing so. For this person, weekly/bi=weekly water changes should be done

Only test for what you're willing to balance if needed.