When testing, top two to check?

sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
For those of us with multiple tanks it's not always feasible to run through all the test parameters on every tank at every test session. For example, if I only have 10 minutes to kill in the middle of the week and just want a general feel for what condition the various tanks are in, what would you test for? I'm guessing ammonia is first and foremost, but if the ammonia is zero, do you need to bother with the nitrites and nitrates every time you test? (in an established tank). If not nitrites and nitrates, what's the second thing you'd test for if you're in a hurry? PH? (I'm not counting salinity as one of the choices since I always automatically test the salinity whenever I grab some tank water - it's fast). What other "color" test would you do besides ammonia?
Sue
 
spiderwoman

spiderwoman

Active Member
I go for nitrates and alkalinity (in a reef tank). I'm pretty darn sure that I'll notice if I've got ammonia in any of the tanks just by looking at how the inhabitants are doing.
 
matt b

matt b

Active Member
I have had my 180 setup for a few months and have never tested ammonia, nitrate, nitrites. I have had my 75g for almost and year and have not tested any of those either. I have gotten to the point where I can look at the animals and see if they are ok and if not whats wrong. Ammonia will always be at 0 unless you ad like 4 huge fish at once. Same with nitrites. And nitrates IMO only show up in a dangerous level when your over stocked and do not do enough water changes. All I ever check on a normal basis is alk and calcium and salinity. For a FO tank I would only be checking nitrates every now and then and salinity every week.
 
matt b

matt b

Active Member
Originally Posted by bigarn
http:///forum/post/2838156
Ammonia and nitrites are priority.

If you have ammonia or nitrites then things are going to be dying. Why would they be a priority to check? You would be able to check them by looking at the tank.
 
bigarn

bigarn

Active Member
Originally Posted by MaTT B
http:///forum/post/2838161

If you have ammonia or nitrites then things are going to be dying. Why would they be a priority to check? You would be able to check them by looking at the tank.
the whole idea is to catch it and correct it before damage is done.
 
spiderwoman

spiderwoman

Active Member
I can see ammonia and nitrites being something to test in a new tank, but I honestly never check them past the first few months depending on how I've set the tank up.
 
matt b

matt b

Active Member
Originally Posted by bigarn
http:///forum/post/2838163
the whole idea is to catch it and correct it before damage is done.
unless you have a monitor that sounds a alarm when ammonia raises then it would not be possible to catch it before damage happens. Ammonia and nitrites do not creep up over time. They will always be at 0 in a established tank unless there is something to cause a spike (to many fish added at once, a bunch of snails die off, ect). So there is not really a point in testing it unless your cycling a tank.
 
cleve_seahorse

cleve_seahorse

Member
salinity and trates...sg every few days due to evap and trates once every 4-5 days...as they said above, you'll be able to tell in an established tank if there's amm/trites
 
wangotango

wangotango

Active Member
Depends on how old your tank is and what you have in it.
For a new tank then yeah ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are important, but I cannot remember the last time I checked those. If something is off or if a piece of livestock disappears then those are my priority.
My top three are pH, calcium, and alkalinity.
-Justin
 
sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
Thanks...... lots of good thoughts in this thread. It seems alkalinity is one of the top "winners" and yes, I agree that once I've been doing this longer I will probably instinctively know when there is ammonia, but being a newbie I'm paranoid about not knowing how much of a bioload the various tanks can handle so I find myself checking ammonia often. And as was said, I'm hoping I can CATCH and FIX before the ammonia is high enough to harm the livestock. Once I've got all of this down pat and know what my limits are on each tank I'm sure I'll be checking ammonia less or hardly at all.
Thanks for the input!
Sue
 
robertmathern

robertmathern

Active Member
sue exellent question and honestly not one I even thought about. But being a newbie and about to cycle my tank after work (adding more live rock and a piece of raw shrimp) after my cycle that handy info as I will have a reef tank later on down the road. Thanks sue
 
rotarymagic

rotarymagic

Active Member
Originally Posted by SueAndHerZoo
http:///forum/post/2838146
For those of us with multiple tanks it's not always feasible to run through all the test parameters on every tank at every test session. For example, if I only have 10 minutes to kill in the middle of the week and just want a general feel for what condition the various tanks are in, what would you test for? I'm guessing ammonia is first and foremost, but if the ammonia is zero, do you need to bother with the nitrites and nitrates every time you test? (in an established tank). If not nitrites and nitrates, what's the second thing you'd test for if you're in a hurry? PH? (I'm not counting salinity as one of the choices since I always automatically test the salinity whenever I grab some tank water - it's fast). What other "color" test would you do besides ammonia?
Sue
KH and nitrates lol...
actually... KH and phosphates for longterm tanks... I know the nitrates aren't going to be there (I'm just cocky I guess) and that my pH is going to be 8.3 as long as I dose the right amounts when needed.
 
spiderwoman

spiderwoman

Active Member
Definitely one of the better questions asked here in a long time. Everything else but alkalinity stays stable in our 150 reef and that's where I want to keep some SPS's. I have so much leathers and softies in there that my alkalinity keeps dropping. Mag and Cal are nice and high. Never had problems with pH either.
 
rotarymagic

rotarymagic

Active Member
Originally Posted by SpiderWoman
http:///forum/post/2838242
Definitely one of the better questions asked here in a long time. Everything else but alkalinity stays stable in our 150 reef and that's where I want to keep some SPS's. I have so much leathers and softies in there that my alkalinity keeps dropping. Mag and Cal are nice and high. Never had problems with pH either.
maybe invest in a kalk reactor or something... that keeps KH up...
 
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