Water testing for a new tank

[RRsNano]

SETUP: IM 25g Lagoon

 

I'm new to salt. I have my rock cycling in a brute. I'm going to have maybe 2-3 fish and soft corals. What testing do I need to focus on once it's up and going. I have the typical new tank test kit; ammonia, pH, nitrItes, nitrAtes.

 

From what I've searched I need to test for calcium, alkalinity, magnesium and phosphates. Are those good basic testing for the time being?

[mcarroll]

That's a good selection.  🙂

 

If you have the tank (and nothing living in it) there isn't really a need to cycle the rock in another container.

 

I'd recommend checking out Marine Aquarium Handbook Beginner to Breeder by Martin Moe for a good base of info.

 

When you stock that tank, save the fish for last because they are biggest/have the biggest impact on the tank, and add no more than one at a time.  I like to wait/observe for a month in between additions (whether coral, fish, or other)...or longer.  Nice long waits give you a time to notice changes in the tank and if necessary, time to react....before the situation gets compounded with even higher bio-loads/whatever else.

[Tired]

Calcium and alkalinity aren't likely to do much if you just have soft corals, and no seaweed or anything else that puts a high demand on those minerals. Those are mostly changed by stony corals. 

 

Once you know a  tank is cycled, all you have to test on the regular is nitrAtes, phosphates, and magnesium, really, and that's just to figure out how often to do water changes. Salinity is checked with a refractometer, and is important to keep an eye on. Ammonia and nitrItes are only a concern if you see everything in your tank looking like something is wrong.