B
bdawls
Guest
I was just wondering what kind of water tests I should do for my tank. It is a 20 gallon. Also, can someone recommend a good kit to get? Thanks
trigger11
Member
Good question.
Having had a tank for 8 months now I would say it all depends on what stage your tank is in for what tests you should run.
For example,
If you have a new tank then I would check the following every few days.
1. SG should be 1.023 - 1.027
2. PH should be 8.0 - 8.5
3. Ammonia (should be to zero before adding fish)
4. Nitrites (if these are present the tank is still cycling)
5. Alkalinity / dKH
Once the tank gets established then you can pretty much quit checking on the PH as long as you know the alkalinity is good. Then you also want to test for nitrates, calcium, magnesium if having any corals.
If having a lot of issues with algae then a check for phosphates would be good
From everything I have read about Salifert makes the best testing kits. However, they are more expensive and a little harder to use. I think most of the kits out there are going to be ok. The only one I would personally avoid would be the Red Sea kits. I had one and it just wasnt very accurate at all. The LFS always had different readings.
Having had a tank for 8 months now I would say it all depends on what stage your tank is in for what tests you should run.
For example,
If you have a new tank then I would check the following every few days.
1. SG should be 1.023 - 1.027
2. PH should be 8.0 - 8.5
3. Ammonia (should be to zero before adding fish)
4. Nitrites (if these are present the tank is still cycling)
5. Alkalinity / dKH
Once the tank gets established then you can pretty much quit checking on the PH as long as you know the alkalinity is good. Then you also want to test for nitrates, calcium, magnesium if having any corals.
If having a lot of issues with algae then a check for phosphates would be good
From everything I have read about Salifert makes the best testing kits. However, they are more expensive and a little harder to use. I think most of the kits out there are going to be ok. The only one I would personally avoid would be the Red Sea kits. I had one and it just wasnt very accurate at all. The LFS always had different readings.