honestly i dont test much besides my alk. and i dont even test that a lot anymore. i know that by dosing a predetermined amount of kalk, my alk will stay at 9 dkh. i also know that the amonut of calcium my tank uses is replaced by the amount of calcium im dosing.
i did test at first, and thats how i came up with the predetermined amount of additives. i also take into account that the corasl/clams grow, thus using more magnesium and more calcium.
mainly i just watch the corals. when i frag a branch off a hard coral, it takes about 2 days for it to heal over. in about a week i see a nub starting to form and the feeder tentacle comes out at night. thats how i kind of keep an eye on things. as well as watching some of my faster growers, like my mircopthalma and my montis.
my coraline has exploded and keeps growing at an alarming rate, so i know my alk and magnesium are in check, and all my corals have great color. its not snowing and my pumps dont have excess calcium build up, and at the same time the corals are growing, so i know my calcium is where it needs to be.
if i had to guess, id say my calcium is between 400-430, my dkh is at 9, and my magnesium is about 1250-1300. my pH is at 8.3 which i attribut to my tank being next to a indow which i leave open a lot to let fresh air in. higher pH allows for better calcification of the corals.
nope, no chiller. i have a small heater that i unplug before i go to school in the morning and plug back in at night. (it seems to stay on a lot, even when the temp is at 80, so i unplug it so it doesnt overheat anything). if the temp goes abpve 82, i turn a fan on and that brings it down to 79. temp goes from about 78 at nigh to 82 in the day.
and might as well say this too, i only turn my skimmer on about twice a week. i turn it on overnight, let it skime overnight and into the next day then i shut it off. do that again sometime during the week. i see no need for it to be on 24/7.
