When do you Test Water Parameters?

[johnvic]

When do you test water parameters in relation to water changes? I'm new and it seems to take me hours to do a water change and test so I would like to break it up into 2 separate tasks.

So let's say I test on Saturday but change on Sunday. I get a chance to see what I need to correct, if necessary, before I do the change. This way I can do any corrections, such as salinity or if calcium is low. But if I change Satruday and test Sunday I get to see the effects that water chhanges do without having to supplement.

Any thoughts for a newbie?

Thanks!

 

[Josh]

After a while you shouldn't have to test salinity. The salt stays in the tank when water evaporates so unless you are taking salty water out of the tank (say to fill up a bag for a frag) or if you have a nano and are topping off a lot of fresh water, you shouldn't be too concerned with the salinity. As a newbie, with a hydrometer or refractometer, you should be hitting 1.023-1.025 with no issues and it should stay the same in between water changes.

Also, I put in enough salt when I am making up the water to get it to 1.024, adjust until it is spot on (usually takes a day), and then let the water sit with a powerhead overnight to make sure the water is exactly where it should be. So basically I am putting a few hours in between each change to let the salt dissolve or water dilute if I oversaturated. I have a high powered powerhead and heater in the bucket to keep the water moving.

I generally test conditions before a water change and then a day after the change to see if I made a difference in the water conditions. You do not need to test and do the water change at the same time.

What tests and test kits are you using btw?

 

[johnvic]

I do pH, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and SG ( using a glass hydromoter ). I have a good auto topoff in a Solana.

I started doing calcium, Alkalinity and iodine. I want to pick up a phosphate kit and magnesium too.

My kits are at home but I know I have mostly red sea and API.

 

[jrobbins]

wow, that's a lot of testing. once your tank is a bit more mature, you can probably stop testing for ammonia and nitrites. the iodine i would only test if you are dosing it. same with the calcium unless you are keeping a large amount of stony corals, otherwise just do waterchanges and forget it (same goes for mag in my book). and finally, most po4 testkits are crap. unless you are having large algae outbreaks i wouldn't bother with it either.

 

[johnvic]

I haven't picked up a phosphate or magnesium kit yet. I can probably skip phosphates, I guess, because I use RO/DI water and rinse my frozen mysis shrimp in RO/DI water. The magnesium and calcium I was going to test because my LFS tested my water and said I was low and should dose, same with iodine. I tested my calcium and it was low but that was before I started with water changes.

 

[Josh]

You don't need to check Iodine unless you are dosing it or if you are NEVER doing water changes. There is enough iodine in the tank if you do routine water changes, the only exception is as you get a little more advanced you may want to start dosing Iodine to keep the levels slightly elevated.

You do not need a PO test kit, they are worthless.

You can stop dosing for Ammonia once your tank has settled in, you should only see a spike if something dies or if there is a MAJOR problem with the tank.

What types of corals are you keeping?

 

[Josh]

my LFS tested my water and said I was low and should dose, same with iodine. I tested my calcium and it was low but that was before I started with water changes.

What was your Ca and did the LFS tell you what your Mg was?

 

[johnvic]

I only have one coral so far, a mushroom coral. I'll probably pick up 1 or 2 this weekend, but I want to see what they have in stock. I'm also getting a 2nd fish.

I measureed my Ca at 380. The LFS did not tell me the numbers.

 

[jrobbins]

dude, with only 1 mushroom you shouldnt really be dosing anything. all you are going to do is get your parameters out of whack. in a young tank, just be patient and let things stabilize before messing with them.

as for "going to the store and picking up whats in stock" that's rarely a good plan. do some research, figure out what type of tank you want to keep (softies, lps, sps, mixed) and get corals that are suited for the environment you can provide. this board is full of people trying to get rid of livestock that they bought on an impulse at the LFS. Try to avoid that if you can