surftaco Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 Judging by the numbers in your name Im assuming 94 was the year you were born. Making you 13 maybe 14. Which explains a lot. Link to comment
neanderthalman Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 FL - fish won't like a pH of 8.4 any more than they'd like a pH of 7.8. The optimum is around 8.1-8.2 (some say 8.3). Regardless, fish are not particularly sensitive to pH levels. 7.8 and 8.4, while extreme ends of the "acceptable" scale for reef tanks, are perfectly fine for marine fish. It is the corals that are more sensitive to pH, and it is large pH swings that can affect marine fish, as well as corals/inverts. In addition, most aquarium test kits are not particularly accurate, and rely on human distinction of fine color changes. A titration test would be far superior, and would likely yield different results than an indicator test. A reading on a Tetra pH test of 7.8 could very well be 8.1 or higher - they're just not that accurate. I'm going to also agree that you shouldn't give advice until you have more hands-on experience - is the 90gal you're setting up your first reef? Xenia is my test kit. I can tell if anything is off by watching it's behaviour. I don't recommend it to anyone new to the hobby, because it takes a lot of experience to know what contstitutes abnormal behaviour in xenia. If it's unhappy, then and only then do I run tests. Besides that, it's a salinity test for WC water and a simple glass thermometer. I think I need a new thermometer though, it read 90 degrees yesterday, and everything in my tank was perfectly happy, open, and the xenia was pulsing away. Something is not right. Anyone new to the hobby should test weekly until they get a feel for how their tank behaves, and how their animals react to different parameters. Link to comment
FLcracker94 Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 FL - fish won't like a pH of 8.4 any more than they'd like a pH of 7.8. The optimum is around 8.1-8.2 (some say 8.3). Regardless, fish are not particularly sensitive to pH levels. 7.8 and 8.4, while extreme ends of the "acceptable" scale for reef tanks, are perfectly fine for marine fish. It is the corals that are more sensitive to pH, and it is large pH swings that can affect marine fish, as well as corals/inverts. In addition, most aquarium test kits are not particularly accurate, and rely on human distinction of fine color changes. A titration test would be far superior, and would likely yield different results than an indicator test. A reading on a Tetra pH test of 7.8 could very well be 8.1 or higher - they're just not that accurate. I'm going to also agree that you shouldn't give advice until you have more hands-on experience - is the 90gal you're setting up your first reef? Xenia is my test kit. I can tell if anything is off by watching it's behaviour. I don't recommend it to anyone new to the hobby, because it takes a lot of experience to know what contstitutes abnormal behaviour in xenia. If it's unhappy, then and only then do I run tests. Besides that, it's a salinity test for WC water and a simple glass thermometer. I think I need a new thermometer though, it read 90 degrees yesterday, and everything in my tank was perfectly happy, open, and the xenia was pulsing away. Something is not right. Anyone new to the hobby should test weekly until they get a feel for how their tank behaves, and how their animals react to different parameters. Thats all you have to say, dont have to argue with me or anything. Helps alot. No, the 90 isnt my first tank, I have a 12ga. Theres only some xenia and fish in that one, and it will be a while before I get a bunch of corals and new fish in my 90ga. Link to comment
Æonic Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 I tested very often when I first started. Over time, you just learn to read the tank by eye, mostly. But you need to have that initial period of testing, especially a new reefer with a new tank. I keep a close eye on temp because my house gets hot and my tank is fan cooled, and my 8g nano gets hot from being small with a strong light (also fan cooled). I have those cheap $5 digital thermometers on both, and they do an ok job. I check salinity a couple times a week in each because it's downright easy to do. Spending ~$40 on a refractometer is a great investment. Both tanks have decent skimming and I do waterchanges every 7-10 days. Maybe once every other month or so, very infrequently, I'll do the full array of tests just to make sure I'm still on top of things. Things I look for by eye are coral happiness (xenia pulsing/zoas fully out/polyp extension), new coral growth, coraline growth (mostly on glass), obvous coral or fish illness, fish activity/behavior, population explosions of various critters, what gets scraped off the glass, any algae or cyano growth, and water clarity. Link to comment
FLcracker94 Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 are you saying you can get a refractomete in $40 US dollars? Cause it usualy costs $100 US. Link to comment
andrewkw Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 this thread shows how lazy we all are. Honestly there is nothing to lose but a few bucks in weekly or bi-weekly testings. Especially when you consider the 1000s of dollars we spend. I'm trying to test more lately and considering the time I spend watching the tank its not that big of a deal to run a few tests while i'm watching. Link to comment
Æonic Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 are you saying you can get a refractomete in $40 US dollars? Cause it usualy costs $100 US. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...p;N=0&Nty=1 Mine is similar to this but I forget if I got it from there or somewhere else. The accuracy is great and a million times easier to read confidently than the floating glass or needle style ones I've used. Link to comment
Phixion Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 are you saying you can get a refractomete in $40 US dollars? Cause it usualy costs $100 US. Of course. Ebay and Premium Aquatics are 2 places i can think of with $40 refractos. Link to comment
surftaco Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 Great Price on Refractometer $31.68 shipped! Link to comment
FLcracker94 Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 cool, I should check those places. Link to comment
circusordie16 Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 this thread shows how lazy we all are. Honestly there is nothing to lose but a few bucks in weekly or bi-weekly testings. Especially when you consider the 1000s of dollars we spend. I'm trying to test more lately and considering the time I spend watching the tank its not that big of a deal to run a few tests while i'm watching. its not a big deal to run the tests and i agree that they money for tests is nothing compared to the money spent on other things. i jsut feel that testing doesnt tell me anything. if everythings happy and growing but a test tells me that my ph is .2 lower than most peoples, it doesnt accomplish anything because i wont do anything to correct it since everything is thriving. also, i keep things very simple so theres basically no room for things to go awry. all i add is topoff water and water changes so theres nothing going in or out that might alter parameters so i dont test. however, if i was dosing something, testing is necessary to find the correct dose. Link to comment
shaggydoo541 Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 I never tested until I started dosing. I also check salinity every once in a great while. Now I dose ca and alk heavily and used to do constant tests. Now that I've got a better handle on the level of dosing I need to do my testing is much less frequent. Link to comment
ReadyReefer Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 aww man, you mean the tests aren't accurate. D@mnit, my levels were perfect Link to comment
proraptor2 Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 I only start testing if my corals look bad...If they look good then I dont test....I will say I test calcium and alk more than anything Link to comment
FLcracker94 Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 aww man, you mean the tests aren't accurate. D@mnit, my levels were perfect lol, hey, maybe me nitrate kit is WAY off lol. hopefully....their at 30ppm I test every week or two, and usually SG when th water is getting low Link to comment
dshnarw Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 I generally test just before I intend to frag (optimal conditions equate to quicker recovery), and just before shipping (optimal conditions equate to better transport). That usually means once every week, since I like to frag stuff. Link to comment
Atlantis Reef Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 I haet to say this but I have dang near every test know to man for saltwater but I very rarely test anything besides saltity. BUT I have been doing satlwater since back in the day of skilters 15 YEARS OR BETTER hehe Link to comment
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