What "Qualifies" as Good Water Quality?

[blackjacktang]

I was just wondering out of my mind, People can say they have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrates etc. etc. But they still end up having things die. So my question is, what else is good water quality?
Also would i have good quality if all my parem are norm?
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 5
Temp. 80.5
I also have an in-tank refugium with chaeto and rock, a skimmer, and a hang-on filter,
I do water changes not very often.

 

[meowzer]

What about P.H., Calcium, Alkalinity, magnesium etc etc
things don't always die due to water quality either....
you don't do water changes often?? is that what you are saying....

 

[blackjacktang]

I do one about every 3 weeks...sometimes every 2
I do not test calcium, alk, phos., etc, so i dont have to add those like you said before.

 

[meowzer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackjacktang http:///forum/thread/383886/what-qualifies-as-good-water-quality#post_3360385
I do one about every 3 weeks...sometimes every 2
I do not test calcium, alk, phos., etc, so i dont have to add those like you said before.
That is not exactly what I said.....How do you know your water quailty is good if you are not testing all those....and what I said was
DO NOT dose what you do not test for.....not that you don;t have to.....we have no way of knowing this w/o testing

 

[blackjacktang]

sorry i ment what you just said, worded it wrong
So to ensure good water quality, what can I do?

 

[meowzer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackjacktang http:///forum/thread/383886/what-qualifies-as-good-water-quality#post_3360390
sorry i ment what you just said, worded it wrong
So to ensure good water quality, what can I do?
Good maintenance all around....keep regular on your water changes, clean your filters, skimmer, don't over-feed, don't over stock.....

 

[btldreef]

To me, good water quality is a mature and stable tank, AS WELL as excellent parameters.
If water parameters are consistently stable, you don't need to do a water change weekly, there are quite a number of people that do bi-weekly or even monthly and have wonderful tanks with excellent water quality.
Two big factors that get overlooked when speaking of water quality are CONSISTENT pH and oxygenation of the water. People don't realize that pH can change depending on what time of day/night it is tested, especially if there is not light on a refugium or sump. Another big one, especially for beginners is proper flow and circulation which aids in the oxygenation of the water.

 

[blackjacktang]

Thank you ladies (smiley face)
So what all should I be testing for and adding?

 

[blackjacktang]

I add trace elements, and calcium right now. But i dont test for calcium, i just read what it says on the bottle, i gues i should be testing for it now.

 

[meowzer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackjacktang http:///forum/thread/383886/what-qualifies-as-good-water-quality#post_3360397
I add trace elements, and calcium right now. But i dont test for calcium, i just read what it says on the bottle, i gues i should be testing for it now.
YES, you should be

 

[btldreef]

You should be testing for anything you add.
IMO, if you did water changes more frequently and you're using a good quality salt, you shouldn't ever need to dose trace elements in your size tank.

 

[blackjacktang]

Im using Instant Ocean right now. Should I be doing water changes every week or every other week?
Also out of the 25 gallons in my tank (normaly 28 but adding rock, sand etc.) how much water should I be changing?

 

[btldreef]

I'd switch to a better salt like Reef Crystals, but yes, if you're using IO, I'd be doing a weekly water change.
In your tank, I'd do 3-5G depending on how parameters look.

 

[meowzer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackjacktang http:///forum/thread/383886/what-qualifies-as-good-water-quality#post_3360401
Im using Instant Ocean right now. Should I be doing water changes every week or every other week?
Also out of the 25 gallons in my tank (normaly 28 but adding rock, sand etc.) how much water should I be changing?
I would do w/c's every other week, and change 5g's

 

[blackjacktang]

ok thank you girls.
So sohuld I stop adding calcium unitl I get a kit? Or just dont add anything and do weekly or bi-weekly water changes

 

[meowzer]

I would stop dosing
I would get a calcium kit
! would keep up on the w/c's bi-weekly

 

[blackjacktang]

So bi-weekly changes and im set?

 

[meowzer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackjacktang http:///forum/thread/383886/what-qualifies-as-good-water-quality#post_3360421
So bi-weekly changes and im set?
In most cases yes.......BUT you should still test periodically to be sure

 

[btldreef]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackjacktang http:///forum/thread/383886/what-qualifies-as-good-water-quality#post_3360421
So bi-weekly changes and im set?
if your tests look good
If you're testing for Ca, you should also be testing for pH, alkalinity and magnesium.

 

[chain]

Like BTLD said I would definitely use reef crystals in any tank with coral. Reef crystals are made by oceanic and are just a few dollars extra versus the standard salt. Reef crystals contain most of the trace elements neccessary for corals in the correct amounts so theoretically by using them you shouldn't need to dose anything unless you have specific corals which require extra supplementation. Thats not to say you still shouldn't get test kits and test for everything you can. I use reef crystals and some batches are a little low on calcium and other trace elements which I supplement in that regard; however I would be unable to determine this if I didn't test for these things beforehand. Its always important to know whats in your tank in order to determine what, if anything, you need to add. As everyone else has said. If you don't have the means to test for it, don't add it.