Testing new water make up?

[MikeC]

Discussion:

Does anyone consistently test their new make up water before a water change?

I'm not only talking about salinity but Ca,Alk & Mag
if so and the parameters are off are you adjusting by dosing two part to get it to where you want it?

I have been recently wondering about this because even with the recommended sifting of a new salt bucket to prevent settling of certain elements,you can still have vastly different parameters when testing different make up water.

Now I'm sure someone will say that the 15% w/c that's done every two weeks is not going to make a difference but in the continuous efforts to keep things stable is this something to think about?

 

[bklynreef]

i check mine every time after i got screwed with a few boxes of bad ESV salt with high PO4 in the .22-.24 range and who knows what else it had in there that killed off my garden of corals.

 

[Boomer]

Does anyone consistently test their new make up water before a water change?

I'm not only talking about salinity but Ca,Alk & Mag
if so and the parameters are off are you adjusting by dosing two part to get it to where you want it?

Yes, it is always a good idea.




Now I'm sure someone will say that the 15% w/c that's done every two weeks is not going to make a difference but in the continuous efforts to keep things stable is this something to think about?

Yes. In order to keep a flat line, to stop unwanted or unneeded ions from accumulating, it is 30 % WC / m, minimum. That means, you change 30 % or more of the water all at once.
Your 15 % every two weeks is much better than many @ 10 % / m.