Getting away without water testing

[LongIslandIcedReefer]

Hey guys, I've been reef keeping for quite awhile but decided to downsize because I'm getting old and tired, plus commitments are catching up with me.

 

I've sold all my hard corals and what I'm left with are mushroom corals which i'm pretty contented with at the moment. Nothing else in my tank, all the fish, hermits and snails, i've sold them all. Just copepods, little tiny snails, some benthic life on the live rock, and loads of mushrooms. 

 

I would like to keep my tank however, because it is relaxing to look at. I am willing to do like 10 percent water changes on my 20 gallon tank, but I find testing water such a pain. 

 

With my low bioload and bi-weekly water changes, do you guys think water testing would be necessary?

[spectra]

I have a 20 gallon and all I do is test the salinity when doing water changes. I have LPS and SPS in the tank and a dwarf lion fish for bio load. I do about 10 gallons every 2 weeks if that sometimes longer. 

[debbeach13]

Absolutely should be ok. If anything looks off you can take a water sample to the LFS and ask them to test for you. 

[Jakesaw]

1 hour ago, debbeach13 said:

Absolutely should be ok. If anything looks off you can take a water sample to the LFS and ask them to test for you. 

 

Not all LFS will do that - test your water.  I brought a sample of water for that purpose to my LFS coral specialty store, where they are a pretty high service store.  Owner has helped me with alot in the hobby. 

 

I told him I had a sample of water to test and it turned into a tank discussion.  They didn't show interest in doing a water test for me.  I suppose if I insisted, they may have - but didn't really seem inclined to open that door. 

 

I'm sure experiences will vary on owners & locations. 

[debbeach13]

Your right not all stores will test. The store I go to the most does. I have not had them do it for me. They actually use one of those things that looks like a portable disk player. 

Compared to the Petco which uses a test strip on saltwater. I check the temp and SG. I would rather clean the tank and do a water change than test.