Testing

JEREMY82 · Jan 9, 2018

So was wondering how often ppl test there tanks. I personally do not test my tank hardly ever,what I do is study my corals and look at the algae color on the glass . Usually only time I test is when im adjusting my dosing. Just curiuos to who else may just study there reef more corals colors,polyp extension, and growth.

Crabs McJones · Jan 9, 2018

JEREMY82 said:
So was wondering how often ppl test there tanks. I personally do not test my tank hardly ever,what I do is study my corals and look at the algae color on the glass . Usually only time I test is when im adjusting my dosing. Just curiuos to who else may just study there reef more corals colors,polyp extension, and growth.

I test my tank at least once a week, only because i've been adding more sps corals lately and i'm trying to get an idea of my calcium alk and mag levels and how much the corals are using so I can dose the appropriate amount

PatW · Jan 9, 2018

I test ALK daily. My SPS frags are growing so the amount I need to add changes.

Calcium and nitrate levels are more stable and I test them weekly.

Magnesium seems to be stable with water changes. I test monthly. I might as well, the test will not stay good forever.

Israel1974 · Jan 9, 2018

Test alk & cal everyday, mag once a week

JEREMY82 · Jan 9, 2018

What about testing all the other fun stuff like po4 no3 and others ?

WWIII · Jan 9, 2018

I test alk a couple times a week. Calcium and magnesium, maybe once or twice a month. Phosphate and nitrate once a month, unless I see algae or corals looking bad.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 9, 2018

I very rarely tested anything aside from temp and salinity, but that's because it had run just fine for 20 years.

JEREMY82 · Jan 9, 2018

Anyone test for silicates ?

JEREMY82 · Jan 9, 2018

Rarely, as in months or do u just read your corals ?

Israel1974 · Jan 9, 2018

JEREMY82 said:
What about testing all the other fun stuff like po4 no3 and others ?

I

Israel1974 · Jan 9, 2018

JEREMY82 said:
What about testing all the other fun stuff like po4 no3 and others ?

I haven't been testing those. I really need to start.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 10, 2018

JEREMY82 said:
Anyone test for silicates ?

Unless you are dosing silicate and trying to control the level, I wouldn't bother. I discuss silicate testing and dosing here:

Feature Article: Silica In Reef Aquariums ? Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog
http://advancedaquarist.com/issues/jan2003/feature.htm

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 10, 2018

JEREMY82 said:
Rarely, as in months or do u just read your corals ?

Rarely as in many years. lol

Sure, I tested many things when I started. I'm a chemist, after all. But over the years there wasn't anything that I needed to do based on such measurements. The one big thing I varied in the last few years was vinegar dosing. I adjusted the dose up and down and observed the effects on the tank inhabitants.

Gareth elliott · Jan 10, 2018

Ca and Alk are down to weekly, before that i had started 2 part dosing and was testing alk daily to achieve stability.

Phosphate and nitrate i own the tests i dont use them.
Something goes wrong i start with

6 pwc of 20% spaced apart during a week and a half.
What ever went wrong is now a quarter of what it was, well 26%

The more complicated you make your set up the more numbers you need, ozone need orp probe. I run co2 on a freshwater tank, i need a Ph probe.

Dose 6 different trace elements should have a way to test for all 6.

g5flier · Jan 10, 2018

Tank is coming up on 1 year old so getting more stable, once things really settle in will likely adjust but for now:
Alkalinity twice weekly
Calcium, Magnesium, Nitrate, Phosphate, weekly
Salinity/PH is continuous on the Apex.

Js.Aqua.Project · Jan 10, 2018

I have an Apex that monitors ph, temp, Salinity, and ORP daily (even though I ignore ORP because I'm not dosing O3). I test my big 3 (CA, dKH, Mg) twice a week to verify and adjust dosing if needed. NO3 and PO4 weekly to tell when it is time to change my NoPox dose and GFO respectively.

andrewkw · Jan 10, 2018

For the most part I get away with testing alkalinity twice a week. By trying to test twice a week at the minimum it gets tested once but usually twice. I usually test calcium once a week but the alk test will give me an idea of what to expect calcium wise. Magnesium I only test about every 2 weeks. I used to test more but since it changes so slowly any skewed result is likely user error so when I test mag I often end up running 2-3 tests to confirm my number. Phosphate approximately once a month. I went many months without testing since I couldn't find reagents for my photometer only to realize they are all the same. Nitrate less than once a month this would change if I added a ton of new fish or drastically altered my feeding routine. For a while I used those colour change strips instead of the usual salifert since that's all I could find locally and I wasn't so much interested in a number as I was to confirm I wasn't stripping the water of all nitrate.

Unless you are absolutely insane about testing to the point where you are taking out too much saltwater and it's being replaced by your top off you can't over test. You can freak out about a number but as I mentioned with my magnesium testing, if I get a number that doesn't seem right I'll test again and again if need be. If alkalinity and calcium are in line odds are magnesium will be close and not drastically off. Personally I'd rather catch a problem before it becomes a problem. This is not to say experts cannot just look at the tank and see something is wrong, but I'd rather see something trending in the wrong direction on a test kit then excess algae or burnt tips, closed up corals ect that can take weeks or months to recover. They of course will recover if you observe your tank frequently enough I'd just rather my tank trend upward and not down. There are going to be hiccups along the way best to avoid the ones you can.