best way to test CAL, ALK, MAG

[james1990]

Iv been engulfing myself in this hobby for 8 months now, but I still have some very new questions to have answered. Starting with testing CAL.

Though I have a 10gal nano, and most of my nutrients come from 1 1/2 gal water changes once a week. I want to house a small clam and know I need to monitor cal levels. So whats the best way to do it? best product for it?

what else do I need to monitor, ALK? MAG?

please fill me in, so I and other beginners can get clear cut answers to help them out as well. thanks reefers:starfish::grouphug:

I was recommended to dose 2 drops of Purple up a day. what do you guys think of this stuff?

 

[JonnyJ]

10 gallon tanks can have pretty harsh swings if over stocked alk,cal,temperature are normally the problems.

i would skip using the purple up.

If you choose to add a clam or stony corals just do it slowly and keep an eye on your parameters. My system is around 25 gallons and i have around 70% sps and i get away with only doing weekly water changes. Normally people start having problems first with ALK especially in smaller tanks. I have always housed Caps in my tanks and i can vouch by saying they are normally the first to show a decline in parameters. when i see them start to bleach i test. but i havent had issues for a long time.

a quick note, in the past vendor friends of mine have explained that most small clams [under 3"] in general have a lot lower survival rate in tanks.

You can start by getting some reliable test kits to test your parameters. i use salifert for cal alk mag. and for the rest i use api. [simply because they were cheaper and i do not test much] a ph monitor can help you monitor alk.

what is currently housed in your tank atm? what lights are you using? and is everything growing well now?

before adding anything i would get a hold of some test kits and start doing weekly testings. what salt are you using?

 

[duke62]

i use salifert for alk and red sea for calcium. i dont check calcium that often i have a cal reactor and i know if my alk is good my cal is good. only other thing i test for is nitrates with salifert and phosphates with hanna meter but i check that only once in a blue

 

[james1990]

jonny, you have an idea of what I have now that I updated my thread thanks. I will grab the salifert test and start testing. I will be getting a RO unit soon but for now and since I started the tank Im using the pre made Sea Pure sea mix. So I dont know what is in it. I sure hope for the price tag it has plenty of everything but im starting to not be so naive lol sure makes water changes easy though.

 

[james1990]

I was told it wasnt worth running a cal reactor on a nano? I would like to try SPS