Which Test kits are a must have for New Reef Tank?
- Thread starter sco999
- Start date
A
andretti
Guest
Buy a master test kit for reefs, you may however have to buy one or two test that do not come w/the master. You need the following: ammonia, pH, alkalinity, nitrate, nitrite, calcium, and phosphate. Also, you MUST use R/O D/I water for reefs. If you don't, your corals and other inverts won't make it. You can buy a decent one for about $75.00 on that famous auction site. Any other questions???? A word of advice. More often than not, some fish store employees either have no idea what they are talking about or have little knowledge about reefs. I'm saying this from personal experience, and by reading the threads on here that say, "The guy at my local fish strore said....." I'm not saying they're all wrong, just don't draw a conclusion from one person's advice...ask around. In this hobby, you will find that if you ask 10 different people the same question, you'll get 10 different answers. So like I said, ask around. If someone gives you advice, ask two or three other "experienced" reefers if it's true or if they know about it. It can be very confusing at times :notsure: Good luck and you're off to a good start by asking questions. When I started, there were no sites like this, and when I was your age, I had to walk to school barefoot in five feet of snow and my school was seven miles away
lion_crazz
Active Member
As to everything else, I could not agree more.
mudplayerx
Active Member
PH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, calcium, alkalinity, phosphate is almost mandatory if you have a reef tank.
irishsalt
Member
I think Andretti covered it all WELL>
IME...HIs remarks to the effect of *ten differnent opinons* covers EVRY fathomable hobby in life, and life in genreal for that matter.
Opinions are like A*sholes and we've all go them.
It's unfortuante IME that so many LFS put proftis before people and often have salesman that talk a nice game, but ultimately don't know their a*s from a hole in the ground. I'm fortunate that the LFS closest to me is honest as they get and not to marked up for a local buisness. Many LFS will test your water for FREE, take advantage of it and shoot em some buisness if they're cool.
Whatever you buy, just make sure you have a Calcium and Phosphate test kit as Andretti has pointed out.
EDIT- If you do have cool LFS's suppor them as much as possible as local buisness sure beats faceless megacorps.
IME...HIs remarks to the effect of *ten differnent opinons* covers EVRY fathomable hobby in life, and life in genreal for that matter.
Opinions are like A*sholes and we've all go them.
It's unfortuante IME that so many LFS put proftis before people and often have salesman that talk a nice game, but ultimately don't know their a*s from a hole in the ground. I'm fortunate that the LFS closest to me is honest as they get and not to marked up for a local buisness. Many LFS will test your water for FREE, take advantage of it and shoot em some buisness if they're cool.
Whatever you buy, just make sure you have a Calcium and Phosphate test kit as Andretti has pointed out.
EDIT- If you do have cool LFS's suppor them as much as possible as local buisness sure beats faceless megacorps.
A
andretti
Guest
Well thanks so much for the positive comments guys. I agree, If you're lucky enough to get a honest lfs, support them big time! Just the other day I went to a huge new fish store called "Saltwater Emporium." They had about 10 different mandarins in seprate tanks with no live rock or substrate for that matter. I asked an employee (whom later I found out was the owner)
what they eat; he said "algae and flake food." I was so #$%&*- mad!
I couldn't give myself away, so I went and got a book of marine fish and their care. So I found the mandarin pages, and showed him what they eat. His comment was "I don't know about the fish or their habbits, I just bought the business for investment purposes." What a(n) _____________!
what they eat; he said "algae and flake food." I was so #$%&*- mad!
reefnut
Active Member
The "Must Have" kits for a new tank IMO are ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. These three are essential during the cycle.
After the cycle you should test for nitrates, phosphates and silicates. These are the algae fuels. PH can also be monitored at this point.
After the tank has matured a bit and you start getting corals (even soft corals) it's a good idea IMO to test for calcium, alkalinity and magnesium. These three tests will become increasingly important as your tank fills up with corals, coralline, clams, etc. A balance needs to be maintained between the calcium and alkalinity... magnesium helps the water to hold alkalinity and calcium.
I have not real preference on most test kits but for calcium, alkalinity and magnesium... Salifert is one of the best. Spending a little extra on these kits is a wise investment.
After the cycle you should test for nitrates, phosphates and silicates. These are the algae fuels. PH can also be monitored at this point.
After the tank has matured a bit and you start getting corals (even soft corals) it's a good idea IMO to test for calcium, alkalinity and magnesium. These three tests will become increasingly important as your tank fills up with corals, coralline, clams, etc. A balance needs to be maintained between the calcium and alkalinity... magnesium helps the water to hold alkalinity and calcium.
I have not real preference on most test kits but for calcium, alkalinity and magnesium... Salifert is one of the best. Spending a little extra on these kits is a wise investment.