What test kit do you REALLY need??⚗??

[Saltydude]

Hi all, I m planing on starting a 15g nano reef which I have most supplies for but anyway I was wondering about test kits and why they are so expensive...

So which test kits do I REALLY need i plan on having one blue yellow tail damesel and maby a shrimp In the future so low bio load and having mostly softies and 1-2 lps in the tank later and do weekly 40% water changes. Anyway I though of only buying nitrite then alkalinity and a jar of kalkwasser once I get my first lps.

I was wondering about ph is it necessary and will a cheap $10 moniter work?

[Mariaface]

I'd start with test kits for cycling the tank - ammonia and nitrate at the least. If you can add pure ammonia to the tank, get to 1-2ppm, then come back 24 hours later to 0ppm ammonia and a jump in nitrates, you're good. If you come back later and see a drop in nitrates, even better (but not totally necessary).

 

I'd also go with a refractometer for salinity. Swing-arm hydrometers can cause false high readings quite easily, so I'm partial to the refractometer.

 

Pick up a simple glass thermometer and a cheap digital one - the glass one will tell you how far off the digital one is (and help you set your heater), and then you can continue to use the digital one to monitor.

 

Once you get into LPS, alkalinity is more important. The good thing is that if you need to dose two-part at any point, you don't need to measure calcium - just dose the same amount of each, going off of your alkalinity needs. Water changes should help with magnesium, though bringing the water in to your LFS for a test every couple of months might be good too.

 

I wouldn't worry about pH too much. Certainly not enough to go out and buy a test kit for it (though the API cycling kits include one). It's going to vary throughout the day based on your light cycle, and throughout the seasons based on your window-opening habits. Crazy low or high pH is more an indicator than a problem you need to fix (don't chase a number for this), but something else will usually clue you in to what's wrong - fish gasping at the surface means low oxygen or ammonia, corals shrinking back implies an alk spike, etc etc.

[Saltydude]

That really makes it clear thanks

LOL "the glass one to tell me how far off my digital one is"

Btw i don't really like my lfs. They probably won't do my water test nor sell me RO water.They tried to sell me a t8 and sell a parent with a child "nemo" to put in a fish bowl.

[Mariaface]

That really makes it clear thanks

LOL "the glass one to tell me how far off my digital one is"

Btw i don't really like my lfs. They probably won't do my water test nor sell me RO water.They tried to sell me a t8 and sell a parent with a child "nemo" to put in a fish bowl.

 

 

Oh. In that case, get an RO/DI filter and TDS meter and call it a day 8D No need to go them for RO/DI water, and for everything else there's mastercard amazon prime

[Saltydude]

Haha yea instead of RODI water I got rainwater from my roof gutter and ran it through some carbon and it read 1 or 2 Tds which I suspect is either bird crap or leaf matter particles.

[allenspidey]

Haha yea instead of RODI water I got rainwater from my roof gutter and ran it through some carbon and it read 1 or 2 Tds which I suspect is either bird crap or leaf matter particles.

I would not use rainwater off of your roof.

[burtbollinger]

I would not use rainwater off of your roof.

I'd normally agree but I think this guy lives in the Shire...literally.

 

http://www.newzealand.com/ie/hamilton-waikato/

 

I'm a fan of Alk., and I just bought my first refractometer and I'm kicking myself for not having one for the last 15 years.

[Saltydude]

Lol I don't even know what ure onn about shire.... U WENT 15 YEARS WITHOUT KNOWING YOUR SALTINITY. What!!!!

DOES this mean I can skimp completly on a refractometer too. Yo u gotta teach me your ways since you've been reefing for 15 years.. What other stuff did you skimp on since it probbly wasn't made those days... Lights... Test kits.... Kalkwasser...

(Im on a low budget here)

Btw I'm not gonna buy a RO DI system

It's either tap water or rainwater for me as my lfs doesn't sell it

[Clown79]

Tap water or rainwater both are going to cause issues and then u need to spend more money on dechlorinators and eventually all the other stuff you're going to need to eradicate algaes etc.

 

If you can't afford an ro/di system buy distilled water.

 

There is a budget friendly way to set up a reef but there is no cheap way. It costs money to start up and it will cost to maintain.

 

You need liverock, sand, good lighting, 2 powerheads(1 for tank, 1 for saltwater mixing), 2 heaters(1 for tank, 1 for mixing), salt, buckets, hob filter(if no sump or aio), refractometer(u need to check salinity, good luck mixing salt without it),

 

Media: filter floss(replaced at least 2 times a week)

Carbon- replaced at least monthly

 

Test kits: to start ammonia, alkalinity, and nitrate

 

After cycle: phosphate(salifert kit)

Magnesium and ca- sorry i use 2 part doser and my ca isn't perfect and it takes time for new tanks to stabilize therefore testing is important.

 

If magnesium isn't in normal ranges- your ca and alk won't balance.

[burtbollinger]

Lol I don't even know what ure onn about shire.... U WENT 15 YEARS WITHOUT KNOWING YOUR SALTINITY. What!!!!

DOES this mean I can skimp completly on a refractometer too. Yo u gotta teach me your ways since you've been reefing for 15 years.. What other stuff did you skimp on since it probbly wasn't made those days... Lights... Test kits.... Kalkwasser...

(Im on a low budget here)

Btw I'm not gonna buy a RO DI system

It's either tap water or rainwater for me as my lfs doesn't sell it

 

I measured it with a hydrometer...not a refractometer.

[blasterman]

If you plan on doing regular water changes and aren't running an SPS heavy tank but will be keeping mixed coral all you really need is an alk test kit. Calcium/Magnesium can easily be replenished via moderate water changes. You are otherwise just checking your salt mix for consistency and not consumption. Alk levels can dive and weave for several months after you start a tank, but they are easy to correct with good old baking soda.

 

A nitrate kit is important for when the tank matures. I've actually begun to add potassium nitrate to starter tanks to get nitrate levels up to 'mature tank' levels so all bacteria can get a running start.

 

I don't even bother with ammonia/nitrite kits, even for cycling. If you use live rock and 'seed' the tank with ammonia first I've never had a problem beginning light stocking a couple weeks after seeding. Overstocking too quickly, and/or relying on bottled additives creates a need for 'ammonia chasing'.

 

A pH test is only advisable if you plan on going SPS heavy.

[Saltydude]

If you plan on doing regular water changes and aren't running an SPS heavy tank but will be keeping mixed coral all you really need is an alk test kit. Calcium/Magnesium can easily be replenished via moderate water changes. You are otherwise just checking your salt mix for consistency and not consumption. Alk levels can dive and weave for several months after you start a tank, but they are easy to correct with good old baking soda.

 

A nitrate kit is important for when the tank matures. I've actually begun to add potassium nitrate to starter tanks to get nitrate levels up to 'mature tank' levels so all bacteria can get a running start.

 

I don't even bother with ammonia/nitrite kits, even for cycling. If you use live rock and 'seed' the tank with ammonia first I've never had a problem beginning light stocking a couple weeks after seeding. Overstocking too quickly, and/or relying on bottled additives creates a need for 'ammonia chasing'.

 

A pH test is only advisable if you plan on going SPS heavy.

 

I was planing on getting nitrite and ALK to start well it's down to ALK then. Do you recommend kalkwasser dosing or baking soda. Do theses additives buffer the ALK up? If so how would you get it down water change?

Thanks for answering all my questions

[Sea_Of_Treachery]

Do it right, DO NOT use rain water. Who knows whats in the atmosphere and everything else your not testing for. The ocean is a much larger place than our tiny fish bowls.Get an ro/di or just buy distilled. Do not skimp out or you WILL have problems.

 

API test kits have been around a long time and will suffice. I have not had any issues with them. Salifert is better if you want to spend the few extra dollars. Get ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate and calcium test kits. I do not recommend the Redsea test kits however. I haven't tested ph for over 10 years as the sand and rock will keep that buffered for the most part but would be wise to have one around. I highly recommend that you watch some bulk reef supply videos on youtube.

[Clown79]

Not testing your parameters is fine for advanced aquarists and those who have maintained a tank for a long time. Otherwise testing is key to a successful tank and knowing whats going on it it.

 

Ca and alk are effected by low magnesium

Alk effects ph

 

Ca, alk, mag, phos, nitrates. These are important. Ammonia is important for cycling. You won't have a clue if the tank has even started cycling or finished without testing ammonia.

If you dose ammonia, you need to test it to ensure you are reaching the correct levels and its processing correctly.

 

Out of experience, i have seen major issues occur with low magnesium, low ca, and alk swings. I had a softie tank at that time.

 

With lps ca, alk, and magnesium is as important as it is with sps.

[Saltydude]

Do it right, DO NOT use rain water. Who knows whats in the atmosphere and everything else your not testing for. The ocean is a much larger place than our tiny fish bowls.Get an ro/di or just buy distilled. Do not skimp out or you WILL have problems.

 

API test kits have been around a long time and will suffice. I have not had any issues with them. Salifert is better if you want to spend the few extra dollars. Get ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate and calcium test kits. I do not recommend the Redsea test kits however. I haven't tested ph for over 10 years as the sand and rock will keep that buffered for the most part but would be wise to have one around. I highly recommend that you watch some bulk reef supply videos on youtube.

About the rainwater thing.. After I filterd it I got it lab tested and they said it was fine. I'll start off with rainwater and then if I get piticular problems I buy an RO/DI unit. If I do get a RO/DI Unit let's say 4 stage how often do u think I would have to replace cartridges for a 15g tank.

[Clown79]

What does fine mean?

 

Fyi: There are various things in the water that can effect corals and fish opposed to humans. So the lab may consider fine in regards to regulation numbers but it may not be fine for aquaria.

 

Some of the possible issues we are discussing may cause problems that aren't fixable outside of starting fresh. It may cause death to inhabitants.

 

Membrane/cartridge replacement depends tank to tank. Depends on how often its used and the water its actually filtering. Each locations water is completely different.

[Saltydude]

Clown I didn't know what they mean by fine... I know freshwater is really different from saltwater but these guys at the local club told me at a meeting that they used rainwater in their planted tanks without problems. Right now I'm doing some research about water filtering, air pollutants ect... I want to build a filter. thanks for you opinions

[patback]

Hi all, I m planing on starting a 15g nano reef which I have most supplies for but anyway I was wondering about test kits and why they are so expensive...

So which test kits do I REALLY need i plan on having one blue yellow tail damesel and maby a shrimp In the future so low bio load and having mostly softies and 1-2 lps in the tank later and do weekly 40% water changes. Anyway I though of only buying nitrite then alkalinity and a jar of kalkwasser once I get my first lps.

I was wondering about ph is it necessary and will a cheap $10 moniter work?

Didn't bother reading other replies so I may be repetitive. For what you want as a beginner, I recommend a quality nitrite and nitrate test, pretty much for the "cycle" period. Kalk will be unnecessary if using a quality salt. Dkh and calcium tests are good to have for Lps heavy tanks but in all honesty un necessary if you plan on having a small amount.

About the rainwater thing.. After I filterd it I got it lab tested and they said it was fine. I'll start off with rainwater and then if I get piticular problems I buy an RO/DI unit. If I do get a RO/DI Unit let's say 4 stage how often do u think I would have to replace cartridges for a 15g tank.

I did however scroll up after posting and read this. DO NOT use rain water. Fine today, dead tomorrow. You need to use distilled or better yet rodi due to being able to make it on a whim. No point in worrying about alkalinity testing if you are not also checking for every other type of pollutant found in air.

Reef keeping is expensive to get into and costs need to be taken into consideration before starting. Rodi filters last depending on your waters quality.

[BulkRate]

I'm notoriously lazy on the testing front, but after getting bit by the LPS bug (euphylia) I've narrowed down the bare minimum of what I'd need to start a new tank and keep it going.

 

Start with one of the batch-tested salt mixes - this'll good enough to provide the base parameters until there's a significant amount of life in the tank utilizing carbonate, calcium & such.

 

Cycling (base rock build): Bacteria culture product (Dr. Timms, Stability, BioSpira, etc) + janitorial ammonia + Seachem Ammonia Alert badge - stick it into the cycling tank and keep the tank dosed into the lower "warning" area for a couple weeks. When you can dose to warning and have it drop back to safe within a 12-24 hour period you're good to go.

 

(When stocking corals) Hana alk checker - accurate enough, easy, quick, no color charts makes reagent/cuvette costs an acceptable trade off. Get one of the dKH-readout models if you don't want to convert parts per million into other units. Use once a day for a week or two to see what your kalk/2-part dosing needs to be, then once every week or two to make sure you're staying within the desired range.

 

Once a month or so - magnesium/calcium. I haven't had issues with the Red Sea kits, but always look for something easier. I hate titrating... am bad at it. Fortunately one of the LFS near me does free testing with the Profi-test kits (bargain Salifert brand)... so there's that off my plate.

 

So 2 testing products to own, (maybe three) depending on how lucky you are/aren't on the local store front. If I had a larger tank/greater investment in corals and no local freebie option I'd see if there was something like a Triton service to use once every six months or so.

[jedimasterben]

The only necessary kit is alkalinity. That is by far the most important value you want to keep track of. Beyond that, nitrate and phosphate kits will help dial in your filtration and feeding, and calcium and magnesium if you are planning on keeping more than a couple stony corals of any species.

 

Keep a Seachem Ammonia Alert badge in the tank at all times and don't bother with a test kit.

 

And you absolutely do not want to buy API test kits, for anything. Salifert and Elos are two of the best and easiest, and the kits and reagents are very inexpensive.