Which test kits needed first, for corals

[Matt2939]

I am jumping back in after being out for a few years, and I am trying to avoid breaking the bank right out of the gates. I’ve been looking at the Hanna tests kits, which are about $65 ea for the various types.

My question is what would be the very first 1-2 tests you would start with (Phosphate, Alk, Magnesium, Nitrate, etc)? I’ll be getting the rest down the road I’m sure. The corals I want to start with are euphyllia and maybe zoas.

I can always go to the LFS too and get water tested to supplement my own testing.

 

[BAMatter]

Refractometer, alk, cal, mag, NO3, PO4 will be the important parameters. If you don’t want to buy these, make sure you have access to someone who can test. Euphyllia require stability and nutrients.

 

[Dburr1014]

First 2, alkalinity and phosphate.
Calcium, magnesium, don't move much.
Need to have phosphates before nitrates, this will avoid dinos and feed corals as long as there are fish in the system.
Next would be nitrates and calcium.

 

[Fishy Guy]

I went with Hanna for Nitrate and Phosphate ULR. I'm using Salifert for Ca and Alk.

I think the Hanna's are worth their weight in gold for tests where you would otherwise be trying to decipher between shades of color. With Ca and Alk you're just looking for a color change which as long as you're not color blind is easy.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Salinity and alk measurement are the two most important things, along with temperature.

I would not even get a magnesium kit on a new tank.

 

[Pistondog]

Refractometer for salinity
Hanna for alk
calcium
then nutrients, nitrate and phospate.

 

[Dom]

Salinity, Alkalinity, pH, Calcium.

 

[Matt2939]

Thanks for the quick replies! I’ve got a refractometer already. So definitely getting Alk test first since that seems to be general consensus most important.

 

[Dom]

Thanks for the quick replies! I’ve got a refractometer already. So definitely getting Alk test first since that seems to be general consensus most important.

I don't know about buying one test at a time. You can't just worry about Alkalinity. You also have o monitor the impact alkalinity has on other elements.

 

[Matt2939]

I don't know about buying one test at a time. You can't just worry about Alkalinity. You also have o monitor the impact alkalinity has on other elements.

Would you suggest waiting, saving up for all tests at once, and not testing in the meantime for anything?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Would you suggest waiting, saving up for all tests at once, and not testing in the meantime for anything?

I would not.

 

[PotatoPig]

Salinity and alk measurement are the two most important things, along with temperature.

I would not even get a magnesium kit on a new tank.

General curiosity: Why is Alk so important vs the rest?

 

[fushi]

Thanks for the quick replies! I’ve got a refractometer already. So definitely getting Alk test first since that seems to be general consensus most important.

I would also get calibration fluid for the refractometer, it's very cheap. Refractometers can drift and a lot of the cheap amazon ones arnt even properly calibrated from the factory. It could save you a lot of headaches.

Also My list would be:

Salinity
Alkalinity (I like to check it every morning on a new tank once the corals are in)
Phosphate (keep it detectable)
Nitrate
and wouldn't worry about Calcium and Magnesium untill things start growing at a good pace.

 

[fushi]

General curiosity: Why is Alk so important vs the rest?

Corals like alkalinity to be stable.
Rapid alk swings (especially fast large downswings) can stress corals enough to kill them.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

General curiosity: Why is Alk so important vs the rest?

Calcium (and magnesium) will not change if alk is not changing, or not changing much.

It is the bell weather for needing to dose or not (aside from trace elements).

 

[PotatoPig]

I would also get calibration fluid for the refractometer, it's very cheap. Refractometers can drift and a lot of the cheap amazon ones arnt even properly calibrated from the factory. It could save you a lot of headaches.

Seconding this. After a very frustrating time troubleshooting why I had ridiculously low calcium I found my refractometer was mis-calibrated so badly I was running salinity at 27 ppm.

 

[Js.Aqua.Project]

Since you already have a refractometer, my order would be something like:

1. Alkalinity
2. PO4/NO3
3. The opposite of #2 if not purchased together
4. Calcium
5. Iron
6. Potassium

As already stated by @Randy Holmes-Farley we use alk as one of the first and easiest ways to monitor consumption of elements within the tank to see if dosing will need to be required.

I would be looking at nutrient control, I may lean towards PO4 first but I personally don't prioritize one over the other.

Next (especially if using/believing in Red Sea's Trace Elements) would be calcium as it's the next biggest thing the corals uptake (if using the RS Trace dosing you also dose trace elements based on calcium dosing).

Iron comes next as it supposedly/anecdotally helps in coloration and algae growth/control.

Then Potassium, for health/coloration.

These are just my preferences and the master @Randy Holmes-Farley will probably correct any thing I misstated and then we all get to learn

 

[Dburr1014]

Better to make your own as store bought can very also.

https://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/rhf/index.php

 

[mdpitts]

Seconding this. After a very frustrating time troubleshooting why I had ridiculously low calcium I found my refractometer was mis-calibrated so badly I was running salinity at 27 ppm.

I'm a newb with saltwater. I'm going through a grind trying to get a good reading on salinity. I use a refractometer and one of those "pen" types. I misread the pen by thinking my salinity was way high and removed a bunch of water and replaced with RODI then didn't think my corals looked happy and got the refractometer out and it didn't look way off but it wasn't calibrated correctly. Now I have calibrating fluid but it's been about a month long process of bringing it back up without driving my tank crazy. The refractometer I have is hard for me to read so I'm searching for something that is accurate and I can actually read what its telling me.

 

[Dom]

Would you suggest waiting, saving up for all tests at once, and not testing in the meantime for anything?

I would imagine that some testing is better than none at all.