Can you have successful tank without testing water?

[ReefGoat]

I hope you find success in your adventures and I would love nothing more than to see your 16 gallon chugging along and you not having to test and just chill and enjoy it. That would make me happy for you. Good luck!

[Andrew561]

3 minutes ago, ReefGoat said:

Being on a budget is one thing and I fully understand and respect that. But you're simply trying to convince yourself that you don't need to test and using conformation bias by finding someone who doesn't test and is having success. Theres a big difference between a seasoned reefer with a dang 800 gallon system thats been running for years and a 16 gallon system with a beginner. Thats just the the truth. 

This is my tank. Been running for over a year. 25G and has a lot of corals in it. I’ll keep everyone updated with how it’s doing. Going well at the moment.

 

He also said one of the best 25 gallon tanks he’s ever seen is this guy who changes 2 gallons every other week.

 

I’ll continue to learn and see what works.

[farkwar]

Honestly,

 

If you're new enough to the hobby to ask IF you should test

 

You should test

 

At the very least, phosphate and nitrate tests. 

 

If you are using only water changes to circumvent testing. Buy this tester

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007Z4ITWU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabt1_v8FQFb9BHFSBV

[pokerdobe]

2 hours ago, Andrew561 said:

My local fish store owner. Very knowledgeable guy, low key, has been doing this for 45 years. When I asked about testing water he said “ in 45 years he’s never tested his water”. 
 

He said a water change will cure all. In fact what he said about this 800 gallon tank where all his corals are is he changes 800 gallons at a time. 

 

Interesting.

I call total and utter BS unless your LFS guy is keeping a softie only tank. Even if you're doing 100% changes weekly, there's a tipping point where water changes alone just doesn't cut it. 

 

A healthy SPS dominant tank can easily run through 1-2DKH per day. Even if you run a high alk salt, 1x a week change means you're swinging from 12 to 5 DKH on a health thriving system in a week. The fluctuations in parameters on a weekly basis alone will pretty much ensure any coral with a skeletal structure is pretty much screwed. 

 

 

[pokerdobe]

1 hour ago, Andrew561 said:

This is my tank. Been running for over a year. 25G and has a lot of corals in it. I’ll keep everyone updated with how it’s doing. Going well at the moment.

 

He also said one of the best 25 gallon tanks he’s ever seen is this guy who changes 2 gallons every other week.

 

I’ll continue to learn and see what works.

Gunna be that guy - this is not a lot of corals. They also look like they're all primarily small frags. 

[banasophia]

I only test my salinity in all 3 of my tanks (and of course also in the water I mix)... that’s because I do consistent 25-50% weekly water changes... I wouldn’t recommend that when you’re brand new though because you’re still learning about your tank and how changes in parameters affect it. 
 

Just snapped some shots of my tanks for ya cuz I figured I should back up such a statement with tank shots. Not the greatest pics cuz I just took them spur of the moment and it’s not their best time of the day so not all the corals are opened up, but here ya go:

 

 

 

 

 

[farkwar]

Banasophia,

 

That first tank tells me a LOT about what kind of experience you have

 

My belief, my guess would be, is that you are testing your tanks with your eyes(and your nose) more often than anyone does with test kits

 

With a glance, I would bet, you can tell if the tank is a little off. You can probably tell whether it's day or night by that tank, and probably the time of day within an hour.

[banasophia]

26 minutes ago, farkwar said:

Banasophia,

 

That first tank tells me a LOT about what kind of experience you have

 

My belief, my guess would be, is that you are testing your tanks with your eyes(and your nose) more often than anyone does with test kits

It is true that I monitored my first tank extremely closely, and tested in the beginning, so I have a good sense of what changes in the appearance of my tanks indicate what probable changes in parameters. If I didn’t want to do 25-50% water changes, I’d test more, but with such big water changes I know that those water changes should take care of my parameters and keep them in the acceptable range. Started to seem like a waste of time to test when I knew I was gonna do the big water change anyway. If my tanks were doing poorly I’d test them. And once I get around to adding more acros to my middle tank I’ll probably start testing and dosing again. 
 

I just wanted to chime in here because my point is always that there are lots of ways to do a successful reef tank... my methods are not the usual, but they work for me and my tanks. The main thing is, IMO, you really have to look closely at your tank and observe the changes.

 

Oh... AND, I think it is essential to use a good refractometer and test your salinity in your tanks weekly, and the salinity of your water you are using for your water change... if your salinity is off everything will be off. I use a Milwaukee like the one you posted.

[seabass]

If you don't know basically what your tank's parameters are prior to testing, then you aren't testing enough.  You can reduce the frequency of testing when you get the same values time after time.  Then only occasional spot checks are necessary.

 

Also, if you only test when you have a problem, then you're not getting the whole picture.  You are taking a snapshot of the current conditions; however, that doesn't always address stability (which is often more important than the actual values).

 

At a minimum you need some baseline numbers.  Pick a salt mix that you feel has acceptable parameters (they vary wildly, but you can usually make any mix work).  I use newly mixed water as a target/baseline, so that a larger water change won't swing parameters very much (and will actually help return the chemistry back to baseline).

 

Now most of the above is for when you have stony corals (which have demands for alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium - to build their skeletons).  Soft corals don't have these demands, so nutrient levels (phosphate an nitrate) are typically of more interest.  Water changes (and feeding) are usually enough to replace any consumed elements in a tank of soft corals.

 

You should always know your tank's phosphate and nitrate levels (low levels can often be more dangerous than higher levels).  For stony corals, you need to add testing for alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium (alkalinity being the most important).  You can usually just monitor alkalinity to determine when you need to start dosing.  When dosing, simply aim to replenish consumed elements (and not to elevate levels).

 

Since the ratio of alkalinity to calcium consumption remains fairly consistent, you can often base your two part dosing plan off of your tank's alkalinity levels (occasionally checking calcium, and adjusting magnesium).  Frequent testing is required up front, but as this post started off, you will eventually know what your levels will be prior to testing.

 

Then obviously, you should know salinity and temperature.  Actually, I primarily use a swing arm hydrometer (which I've checked against a refractometer).  If used properly, it's usually good enough to provide the stability that you need.

[mcarroll]

On 11/9/2020 at 8:27 PM, Andrew561 said:

My local fish store owner. Very knowledgeable guy, low key, has been doing this for 45 years. When I asked about testing water he said “ in 45 years he’s never tested his water”. 
 

He said a water change will cure all. In fact what he said about this 800 gallon tank where all his corals are is he changes 800 gallons at a time. 

 

Interesting.

Doing it for THAT LONG he might not remember anymore how he learned to be as good as he is today.  It may not have involved testing, but he also didn't get good by magic or start off good by luck.

 

I'd recommend to anyone to at least consider starting exactly (as close as I can recollect it) how I started.  I tested and logged everything I could.  I tested the water change water.  I tested before a water change and after.  I tested a lot in-between water changes too...espeically once I started growing stony corals since they modify the water's alkalinity so severely.  

 

I wanted to see the effects of changes I (and my corals) made to the tank and learn what I could from all the time and money I was spending.  And I did.

 

This went on for a few years until the tank was more or less stable (no new additions) and all the water test results became more or less predictable for me.  

 

Today my system is 10-12 years old and I test only every few months or more often if I see fit....like when a dosing reservoir goes empty too long by accident.

 

If I started off ten years ago with my "lazy" testing schedule and never went through my crazy test-and-log-it-all-all-the-time phase I feel pretty confident that I'd be ignorant as hell on reef chemistry right now.

 

Of course it wasn't only testing.  I read (among a ton of other things) more or less everything that Crag Bingman and Randy Holmes-Farley had ever written or posted about water chemistry maintenance too.

 

So as the disclaimer goes, "your mileage may vary"...but I would suggest doing both of the things I did.  (Which are the same two things a LOT of other reefers have also done....no my ideas, just trying to keep them popular.)

[tk-it-ez]

On 11/9/2020 at 8:29 PM, Andrew561 said:

This is my tank. Been running for over a year. 25G and has a lot of corals in it. I’ll keep everyone updated with how it’s doing. Going well at the moment.

 

He also said one of the best 25 gallon tanks he’s ever seen is this guy who changes 2 gallons every other week.

 

I’ll continue to learn and see what works.

Your tank looks good. 

[Rabb.D]

i think going without water testing is fine, as long as you use filtered water

[Tired]

Filtered water has nothing to do with it. It's good to test the water that you use for water changes, but the point of testing tank parameters isn't to confirm that the new water is good. The new water should always be good. The point of testing tank parameters is to watch how that water becomes different over time, as various minerals are used up and various substances are released into it.