Water Testing

[LilNemo]

My tank will have been up one week tomorrow from the initial start. When do I start testing my water? What testing kit(s) specifically should I have on hand and what exactly should I be testing for and how often? Any help would be most appreciated. Thanks!

 

[redfishbluefish]

So you are cycling a new tank. If you wish to minimize your test kits, the only one you really need is nitrate. But this would require you to wait at least four weeks. If you want to follow what is going on, you'll need ammonia, nitrite and nitrate test kits. Note that with saltwater tanks, nitrite is only for you to see that ammonia has finally gone to nitrite. Nitrite levels are insignificant to saltwater fish/wildlife.

 

[LilNemo]

Thanks for the response and yes, that is correct, I'm in the cycling stage of my new tank. Sorry, don't know all of the lingo/terminology as of yet. Thanks again!

 

[robbrouse]

As far as test kits go for the cycling I get the cheap API. What have you done to kick start your cycle?

 

[mike007]

Are you using live rock? If not get a dead shrimp and put it in a net and that will help start the cycle. After a few weeks you will need to test ammonia and make sure it is at 0. Once its at 0 then you can add live stock slowly. Then you will need to test for nitrates. If you add corals you will need to test for calcium, alkalinity and magnesium. Don't worry about testing for nitrites.

 

[HiddenUser]

To start, I would be testing for Ammonia and Nitrite. Once those tests read 0, you can start testing for Nitrate. I started with API test kits, but they were impossible to read, so I switched to Salifert Test Kits. Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate would be the big 3 tests you'd need when cycling a new tank.

 

[LilNemo]

Thanks! My current setup is a 29g tank. I'm using live rock and sand. I have an Aquatic Life Mini-skimmer 115, 2 wave makers, and my lighting setup will be arriving tomorrow. Is the current skimmer I'm using ok for the tank I have or should I look for something else?