Poll: How many hours a month on average do you spend on water chemistry (testing, dosing, adjusting,

[tyler91913]

And if you have some element of your system that you think saves you a ton of time, post a note to say what it is! It could be equipment, a certain brand of test kits, a certain philosophy of what needs to be tested when, or something else entirely. Curiously awaiting the results, Tyler

 

[tyler91913]

Personally, if I'm honest, I spend 15-30 minutes per month. But if I were checking everything I ought to check, it'd be more like 4-5 hours. That's part of why I posted the thread. I'm interested in learning some tricks to stay on top of the most important parameters I'm not usually or consistently checking!

 

[SaltySammy]

In invested in a few Hanna Inst. digital testers(Alk, Nitrate, phosphate) this past month and they are awesome. quick quick quick. used my Red Sea kit to check the readings and they were right on the money. So my testing time will be greatly reduced.....

 

[Vaiodude]

I haven't tested like I should lately, but usually 30 minutes to and hour of testing per month. I use Red Sea test kits and swear by them.

 

[143MPCo]

5 - 10 min a night... 30ish-min on Sunday.

I've a bad issue with algae 2yrs in, before that all was great... so I wanted to try something new and at the time it was ZeoVit (I'm not going to even blame that product) I just couldn't get it to work for me... I had a massive algae issue so stopped right away, still have a small amount left but it's almost all cleared up now. I test everything, Alk, CA, SG, MAG, PO4 (Hanna Checkers), every Sunday, and I also started doing 1% water changes everyday (hoping to automate that soon) additionally I'm skimming really wet. All that has REALLY turned things around for me, now I changed the filter socks on Sunday and Wednesday, I clean the skimmer cup on the same days and have also started using Fauna Marin Ultra Balling Light Trace 1, 2, and 3 and can visually see a change in my system, colors seem more intense (could just be I need new glasses, :nerd. I keep the system as stable as I possibly can, no BIG rush to put in changes, use the same salt, same two part, and so on... stability... stability... stability... and it's working for me.
Alex

 

[choff]

I only test alk every 3 to 5 days with my Hannah. I will test mg and ca monthly. Might do a Hannah phosphate for kicks, but I mostly use my eyes and keep an eye on alk.

 

[watdachuck]

I just look at the PH and temperature each day on the monitor. Water samples go out to AWT.com every other month for a full analysis unless something looks out of whack.

Water changes probably take up 4-5 hours of my life each month.

 

[FishWrangler]

Bi-monthly wc's take the most time for us...mixing the new batch and testing.

We only test parameters when doing the wc's...bi-monthly. I know we should do it at least weekly but it never changes so we get lazy.

Daily, my routine takes under a minute...dose, top off, dump skimmer cup.

 

[Triggreef]

I don't think he meant to include water changes into this. I test alk 2 or 3 times a week or less. Ca hardly ever. Mg never. Po4 once a week or less. Dosing is automated, maybe 5 minutes to change out a bottle once a month. That's it. So I voted 30 to 45 minutes a month, that's on the high side.

 

[Electrobes]

I test weekly (Alk, Cal, Mag, Nitrates.. all with Salifert) and adjust my doser (Alk, Cal, Vinegar) accordingly. This takes me about 15 minutes a week. My Kamoer Dosing pump makes life very easy and I honestly love it more than using the Apex and BRS pumps I was using beforehand.

 

[LE0]

I test my alk every other day and test mag and calcium at the end of the week on sunday

 

[Blitzie]

I am in the 2-3 hours per month range.
I check Alk 2-3 times a week, Calcium 1x a week, Mag 1x a week, and potassium 1x a week.
I don't check nitrates or phosphates and I look at the PH strictly on my Apex.

Now if I make changes to my Calcium reactor I will check Alk and Calcium daily for a week or so until parameters re-stabilize

Test Kits are RedSea for Alk , Calcium and Magnesium, Sailfert for Potassium.

 

[sassAwrasse]

We use Red Sea test kits for everything except for the Phosphate. We recently acquired a Hannah Phosphate checker and love it.
We set up BRS dosers on the frag tank, but are still adjusting/tweaking the dosing.
Manual dosing on the 30g for now.

I was testing once a week, but I have been slacking recently.

 

[GobyWanKenobie]

I spend wayyy more time than I want to. I'm having trouble with my alk lately, so I'm testing 3 of my tanks at least 2 times a week. Usually just alk, but sometimes CA too. I use the Hannah testers.

 

[sassAwrasse]

I spend wayyy more time than I want to. I'm having trouble with my alk lately, so I'm testing 3 of my tanks at least 2 times a week. Usually just alk, but sometimes CA too. I use the Hannah testers.

Do you use the Hannah Alk tester? We want to buy it because we're not getting good readings with the Red Sea kit, but then again, the kit could be bad.
Either way it's next on our list to buy. Just wondering what your experience is with it and how you like it?

 

[kgstei]

So who is the other slacker. there is always one in every group now I have company. Perhaps I'm a train wreck waiting to happen but I actually haven't tested my water. I'm content with hardy soft corals and so far so good. I do check salinity and temp regularly and now that I have a RO filter I'm sure I'll do more water changes. For the most part the snails, pods, emerald crab and green pistol have done a good job. Unfortunately right now I've been using bryopsis harvesting for nutrient removal. Couldn't find anything to eat it so I've started to add tech M. We will see how this plays out

 

[LeslieP]

I'm the other slacker. Could be why some of my corals are fading but I only test around 2x a month, for Alk, Ca, Mg, NO3, phosphate. All Red Sea except for a Hannna phosphorous checker. If most things look good and I don't have an algae problem then I don't worry. I'm too busy and that's why I don't try to keep more sensitive corals.

 

[james30ct]

Also a slacker. i dont test anything unless something looks off

 

[Kdocimo90]

Also a slacker. i dont test anything unless something looks off

Same here James. My tank has been around for about 8 or 9 years, so I only test if something looks off. I do test once in a while though, just to make sure.

I used to test every water change (1x per month) for about 30 mins.

 

[GobyWanKenobie]

Do you use the Hannah Alk tester? We want to buy it because we're not getting good readings with the Red Sea kit, but then again, the kit could be bad.
Either way it's next on our list to buy. Just wondering what your experience is with it and how you like it?

I love the Hannah checkers because I can never decide what color the other tests are. I need numbers. The alk test is very easy to use. I don't use the syringe that comes with it. I use a pipette. That way I'm sure it's consistent. I have a certain number that my tank looks good at, and that's what I strive for so I can't tell you how accurate it is, but I think it's great.