Testing Water

[Faccia di Pesce]

I bought the API Master Kit which I found out after the fact that many do not recommend or trust this kit. Oh well. .

Anyway I tested the water today and this is what I came up with. Tank has filled three days ago. But I noticed that API only provides Ph, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate as do others.

This article talks about Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium, Phosphate? When and how do you test for these?

Thanks.


Calcium | Alkalinity | Magnesium | pH | Temperature | Salinity | Phosphate | Ammonia | Nitrite | Nitrate

Water Quality for Reef Tanks (Part 1): The Most Important Parameters - ATI North America

One of the first things that we learn when starting a reef tank is how important it is to keep an eye on our water parameters and to correct them if they get out of range. The best thing for a reef tank is to keep all parameters stable for optimal coral health and growth.... View Article

www.atinorthamerica.com

 

[Philly Reefer]

I bought the API Master Kit which I found out after the fact that many do not recommend or trust this kit. Oh well. .

Anyway I tested the water today and this is what I came up with. Tank has filled three days ago. But I noticed that API only provides Ph, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate as do others.

This article talks about Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium, Phosphate? When and how do you test for these?

Thanks.


Calcium | Alkalinity | Magnesium | pH | Temperature | Salinity | Phosphate | Ammonia | Nitrite | Nitrate

Water Quality for Reef Tanks (Part 1): The Most Important Parameters - ATI North America

One of the first things that we learn when starting a reef tank is how important it is to keep an eye on our water parameters and to correct them if they get out of range. The best thing for a reef tank is to keep all parameters stable for optimal coral health and growth.... View Article

www.atinorthamerica.com

You can start testing Alk, Calcium, Mag, and Phosphate after you finished cycling.

But to start, I wouldn't worry about them too much. Look at your salt, they should have a parameters of what their salt should produce alk, cal, and mag on their specific gravity. I.E. Tropic marin pro will give 7dKH alk on 1.026 specific gravity. Other salt will give you different numbers.

The best alk test kit is Hanna Checker Alk 772.
Phosphate also Hanna ULR Phosphate. There are 2 versions of ULR. PPB or PPM version. I use the PPB version.
I can't tell you which Calcium test kit is the best. I use Hanna but there are reports that they are not accurate.
According to BRS, the best Magnesium test kit is Aquaforest. And I am using that one.
Also for nitrate. I use Nyos

If you want to buy a package test kit. Its redsea

 

[MaxxuM]

You test for them when it becomes relevant basically. In the first few months your tank is going to fluctuate dramatically. The short answer is, start testing ALK at least a week before you plan on getting corals - track it for a week, then test weekly after you get stony corals. And try to keep it constant. Calcium will almost always stay in sync with ALK, so you can test it less often. Phosphates should be tested a week before adding coral, but they will be highly suspect until your tank is at least three months old.

What I'd recommend is to test ALK soon and manually adjust it a little so you get the hang of it.

 

[Super Fly]

Those other kits are used after tank has cycled and been running w livestock to keep track of water quality. Can track Calc, Alk & Mag after adding corals. Popular kits for these are Salifert & Hana (Red Sea is popular too but I didn't like it), I hated my API kits for these bc they were very messy while not precise.
I test/monitor Calc, Alk & Mag primarily for coral growth & to be honest don't really test for Mag that much. I test PO4 & NO3 regularly to monitor water quality as high levels of these 2 will result in nuisance algae while too low will result in Dino. I keep my PO4 around 0.10 and NO3 around 5-10 with mainly soft corals. IMO, I'd just get kits for Calc, Alk, PO4 & NO3

 

[PatW]

What you need to test and how often depends on your system.

Your API test kits are NOT THAT BAD. They are quick and dirty and about good enough for awhile. I never liked their nitrate test. It seemed pretty crude. Their ALK test is OK. It gives you DKH to the nearest figure which crude but good enough for the time being. The calcium test is better. A caution, their alkalinity test indicates a little ammonia when none is present at least to most people’s eyes.

Bulk Reef Supply has a pot load of reefing videos and they have a bunch on test kits. As a suggestion, before you buy a test kit, watch a you tube video on it so you get an idea of the process. Most of these require detecting color changes and some people just do not have the sensory equipment to do certain tests or the process is not to their liking.

That being said, the Red Sea Pro line of tests is pretty good except magnesium.
The Salifert line is very good and is dependable.
For phosphates, the Hanna ULR phosphorous or the phosphate kits (not the same) are the only ones sensitive enough to be useful.

Most people get the Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate tests to cycle their aquarium. Once you get the aquarium well cycled, you might only use the nitrate test from here on out.

Now hard corals, snails and other marine inverts make their hard parts with Calcium Carbonate (limestone). In doing so, they remove calcium and alkalinity from the water. Salt water is supersaturated with calcium and carbonate and magnesium plays a role in keeping it from coming out of suspension. The loss of alkalinity can lead to a tank crash which is a catastrophe. Usually this is NOT AN ISSUE unless you have rapidly growing hard corals or you have neglected to test you tank for a long time. But you should have a calcium test and alk test kit. I have hard corals and my water changes keep magnesium at decent levels so testing for this is less important.

 

[Faccia di Pesce]

thank you all for the responses, very helpful! Going to check out the BRS videos on testing.

 

[Conchman]

As most have said, load type and proper upkeep will depend on how often. I fall into the camp of starting event little earlier testing for Calcium and ALK. Get into a good routine, then if the test results stray you will have a better understanding of the baselines and where you are currently. I have a very small bio load compared to most, so my checks stay very stable. I have no issues checking every week or 2, only checking sometimes trates, CA and ALK. I do keep a log. I have an almost 3 year tank, and the rock is over 4.