What types of test kits to get

tax lady

tax lady

Member
Have a 34 gal aquapod w/ mostly soft corals, a few hard, lr,inverts, clowns, goby. I have the normal tests, but have heard a few other mentioned here and there. Cn someone give me a list of the one I should have.
On of my main probs is I can't seem to keep any pep shrimp , some crabs,& snails (think the hermits are eating my snails though). But recently bought 2 large snails and one already died. My pram seem o.k. with the tests I have now, but something is wrong, so maybe I need to get some other test kits.

Thanks for any info you can give.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by Tax lady
http:///forum/post/3094129
Have a 34 gal aquapod w/ mostly soft corals, a few hard, lr,inverts, clowns, goby. I have the normal tests, but have heard a few other mentioned here and there. Cn someone give me a list of the one I should have.
On of my main probs is I can't seem to keep any pep shrimp , some crabs,& snails (think the hermits are eating my snails though). But recently bought 2 large snails and one already died. My pram seem o.k. with the tests I have now, but something is wrong, so maybe I need to get some other test kits.

Thanks for any info you can give.

What are you calling "normal" tests?
Here is of list of tests have
  • PH
  • ALK
  • Phosphates
  • Nitrates
  • Nitrites
    Magnesium
    Calcium
    Ammonia
    Hydometer for SG
    Thermometer for temp.
 
posiden

posiden

Active Member
Originally Posted by Tax lady
http:///forum/post/3094129
Have a 34 gal aquapod w/ mostly soft corals, a few hard, lr,inverts, clowns, goby. I have the normal tests, but have heard a few other mentioned here and there. Cn someone give me a list of the one I should have.
On of my main probs is I can't seem to keep any pep shrimp , some crabs,& snails (think the hermits are eating my snails though). But recently bought 2 large snails and one already died. My pram seem o.k. with the tests I have now, but something is wrong, so maybe I need to get some other test kits.

Thanks for any info you can give.
Well I have taken some time off, the last time we talked you had some black stuff growing. Did you ever get that taken care of?
Oh yea, yes the hermits will eat your snails.
When you say normal, what test kits do you have?
 
tax lady

tax lady

Member
Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3094237

What are you calling "normal" tests?
Here is of list of tests have
  • PH
  • ALK
  • Phosphates
  • Nitrates
  • Nitrites
    Magnesium
    Calcium
    Ammonia
    Hydometer for SG
    Thermometer for temp.
Test kits I have:
PH, Nitrates, Nitrites, ammonia. Guess I need all the rest. Any specific brand or type?, oh I do have a SG, but its the one with the swinging hand. Do I need another kind? Also have thremometer.
Thanks,
 
posiden

posiden

Active Member
Originally Posted by Tax lady
http:///forum/post/3094489
Test kits I have:
PH, Nitrates, Nitrites, ammonia. Guess I need all the rest. Any specific brand or type?, oh I do have a SG, but its the one with the swinging hand. Do I need another kind? Also have thremometer.
Thanks,
Swing hands are ok. Mine was right on when I got my refractor meter. My friends tho is off.
You need ALK, CAl, KH, I don't think MAG is necisary. Others will disagree.
It does depend on the type of corals you have and want to keep.
As far as brand. Well that depends on how much you want to spend and which test you are in reference to. I use the API test kits which the last I heard was a good bang for the buck and will get you real close.
 
tax lady

tax lady

Member
Originally Posted by Posiden
http:///forum/post/3094505
Swing hands are ok. Mine was right on when I got my refractor meter. My friends tho is off.
You need ALK, CAl, KH, I don't think MAG is necisary. Others will disagree.
It does depend on the type of corals you have and want to keep.
As far as brand. Well that depends on how much you want to spend and which test you are in reference to. I use the API test kits which the last I heard was a good bang for the buck and will get you real close.
What exactly is alk and kh?
 
tax lady

tax lady

Member
o.k got ordered KH from api. Also ordered calcium and Phosphates tests. Looking for what is alk.

Finally got it...there is a salifert test called kh/alkilinity. So I am ordering that instead for just the kh.
thanks for all the help.
 
tax lady

tax lady

Member
Originally Posted by Posiden
http:///forum/post/3094246
Well I have taken some time off, the last time we talked you had some black stuff growing. Did you ever get that taken care of?
Oh yea, yes the hermits will eat your snails.
When you say normal, what test kits do you have?

Should I just get rid of any hermits I have or what?
 
posiden

posiden

Active Member
Originally Posted by Tax lady
http:///forum/post/3094984
Should I just get rid of any hermits I have or what?
I wouldn't off them myself. In this hobbie you gat to take the good with the bad.
One other thing is, snails will die if they fall and dont land right side up. Unless there is something near by to get a foot hold on they can't right themselves.
 
tax lady

tax lady

Member
still waiting for my other test kits that were ordered, but with the ones I have, here are the params.
ph 7.8 (cant seem to get any higher)
nitrates 5 or 10, ( can't make out the colors too good)
nitrites 0
ammonia 0
1.25 for the hand swinging test.
Anything wrong there that would affect my inverts ??
 
jas1

jas1

Member
Originally Posted by Tax lady
http:///forum/post/3097513
still waiting for my other test kits that were ordered, but with the ones I have, here are the params.
ph 7.8 (cant seem to get any higher)
nitrates 5 or 10, ( can't make out the colors too good)
nitrites 0
ammonia 0
1.25 for the hand swinging test.
Anything wrong there that would affect my inverts ??
I had a hard time getting my ph above 7.8 also. Reef Buffer did the trick. Not just PH Buffer, Reef Buffer. It raised my ph to 8.3 after one dose!!!
 
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