What levels to test post-cycle?

[D3DPrintedThingz]

My tank is cycled and seasoned. I am still testing ammonia/nitrite/nitrate, more or less just so I can feel good about those 3 levels in my tank. 75g, 2 clown 1 yellowtail.

I just started a 20g refugium, only have 1 piece of LR in there moved from the DT. I noticed copepods on DT glass, so gave them a little 20g refugium to thrive in. Hopefully their 1 rock can turn into copepod-city and I have copepods being shot up into DT from refugium 24/7.

What is the next thing I should begin to test for? I of course monitor temp and salinity. I keep temp at 78 and I keep salinity at 1.025. They are stable. Top off with RO/DI and have two heaters, in the event one dies the other should hold the temperature stabilish enough until I figure out there is an issue with temp.

1) What are the next things I should begin testing for? I plan to introduce soft corals, and some more fishes. Probably a mandarin, and I have wanted yellow eye kole tang forever.
2) How do I test these things? The API kit I have had very mixed reviews on, as they aren't 'accurate.' I also am aware of the Hanna checkers, and if I have to buy 1 checker for each level, then I suppose so be it...

 

[Biokabe]

Get the Hanna checkers for everything that you can. Much more reliable, on average, than the more traditional tests, and they're not a lot more expensive than quality 'traditional' tests. If you don't want to use Hanna, Salifert, Red Sea, and Nyos are all fairly decent.

Once you're settled into a routine, this is what you should be testing for regularly:

1) Nitrate
2) Phosphate
3) Alkalinity
4) Calcium
5) Magnesium
6) PH
7) Temperature
8) Salinity

In addition, I would recommend testing for Copper intermittently. Once you get inverts in your tank, even a little bit of copper can start inducing losses, and there are quite a few ways that copper can get into your tank without your intervention.

You can keep your ammonia test, or you can get an ammonia alert if you're really worried about that parameter. Personally, I don't test for ammonia or nitrite; in a cycled tank, nitrite is almost immediately converted into nitrate, and ammonia spikes tend to happen quickly and are more urgent to deal with than can be caught with a regular testing schedule. I keep my ammonia test around to rule out an ammonia spike if I notice something wrong with the tank, but otherwise I don't use it.

For temperature control, I *highly* recommend getting an Inkbird or something like it. I always try to have at least two levels of redundancy for my heaters (heater's internal thermometer + Inkbird), and I'm more comfortable with three or more (adding an Apex on top of the Inkbird). Heaters are the #1 most failure-prone piece of equipment in your tank, and a failed heater can be absolutely catastrophic to your tank.

 

[nereefpat]

My tank is cycled and seasoned. I am still testing ammonia/nitrite/nitrate,

No reason anymore to test for ammonia or nitrite, likely ever again.

What is the next thing I should begin to test for? I of course monitor temp and salinity. I keep temp at 78 and I keep salinity at 1.025. They are stable. Top off with RO/DI and have two heaters, in the event one dies the other should hold the temperature stabilish enough until I figure out there is an issue with temp.

1) What are the next things I should begin testing for? I plan to introduce soft corals, and some more fishes. Probably a mandarin, and I have wanted yellow eye kole tang forever.

For soft corals and hardy fish:
Temp, salinity, and arguably alkalinity and nitrate.

2) How do I test these things? The API kit I have had very mixed reviews on, as they aren't 'accurate.' I also am aware of the Hanna checkers, and if I have to buy 1 checker for each level, then I suppose so be it...

A refractometer calibrated with 35ppt saltwater standard for salinity.
API is fine for alk and, especially for a soft coral system. If you're having trouble with the range of API's nitrate kit, there are a few brands that have smaller increments. I like Red Sea's nitrate kit.

 

[D3DPrintedThingz]

Get the Hanna checkers for everything that you can. Much more reliable, on average, than the more traditional tests, and they're not a lot more expensive than quality 'traditional' tests. If you don't want to use Hanna, Salifert, Red Sea, and Nyos are all fairly decent.

Once you're settled into a routine, this is what you should be testing for regularly:

1) Nitrate
2) Phosphate
3) Alkalinity
4) Calcium
5) Magnesium
6) PH
7) Temperature
8) Salinity

In addition, I would recommend testing for Copper intermittently. Once you get inverts in your tank, even a little bit of copper can start inducing losses, and there are quite a few ways that copper can get into your tank without your intervention.

You can keep your ammonia test, or you can get an ammonia alert if you're really worried about that parameter. Personally, I don't test for ammonia or nitrite; in a cycled tank, nitrite is almost immediately converted into nitrate, and ammonia spikes tend to happen quickly and are more urgent to deal with than can be caught with a regular testing schedule. I keep my ammonia test around to rule out an ammonia spike if I notice something wrong with the tank, but otherwise I don't use it.

For temperature control, I *highly* recommend getting an Inkbird or something like it. I always try to have at least two levels of redundancy for my heaters (heater's internal thermometer + Inkbird), and I'm more comfortable with three or more (adding an Apex on top of the Inkbird). Heaters are the #1 most failure-prone piece of equipment in your tank, and a failed heater can be absolutely catastrophic to your tank.

Thank you!!

 

[D3DPrintedThingz]

No reason anymore to test for ammonia or nitrite, likely ever again.

For soft corals and hardy fish:
Temp, salinity, and arguably alkalinity and nitrate.

A refractometer calibrated with 35ppt saltwater standard for salinity.
API is fine for alk and, especially for a soft coral system. If you're having trouble with the range of API's nitrate kit, there are a few brands that have smaller increments. I like Red Sea's nitrate kit.

Thank you!!