Cycle testing ??

[Dmat21]

Going with the Neptune Apex with salinity, orp, ph and temperature probes. What Hanna checkers will I need??
thanks

also what is orp used for?

 

[lapin]

You might get a Hanna Alkalinity and Phosphorus - Ultra Low Range
Then a good nitrate, calcium and mag if you are going to have corals

 

[Dmat21]

You might get a Hanna Alkalinity and Phosphorus - Ultra Low Range
Then a good nitrate, calcium and mag if you are going to have corals

Think I’m going to go with all Hanna checkers for all water parameters except they don’t have mag. One.
What do you think about that?

 

[lapin]

I use the RedSea nitrate pro .
Cal and Mag, Salfert is good enough for me.
I find the Hanna ones are too much trouble for these 2 elements.
But others love them.

 

[Dmat21]

I use the RedSea nitrate pro .
Cal and Mag, Salfert is good enough for me.
I find the Hanna ones are too much trouble for these 2 elements.
But others love them.

Thanks, going to give all those a try that you recommended. What do you recommend how often I test for all five of those water parameters?

 

[Ippyroy]

Not a fan of the Hana Calcium. It tests way too small of a sample size IMHO. Test kits usually come down to what the tester can see due to colors.
ORP is basically worthless. Don't worry about it. If you get a sudden spike in it up or down, by a lot, like maybe a 100 or so, then there might be an issue. ORP is hard to understand. Most people only use it if they are dosing ozone, which is scary and dangerous.

 

[Ippyroy]

If you have an LFS, ask to see theirs and try to perform a test with it. It would be nice to have someone experienced with the exact test kit to help walk you through it. At the end of the day they are all hobby grade and not exact. The main thing is to be consistent in how you perform it so that you can see trends.
In the beginning I tested everything regularly so that I could build a habit of doing it and considered it practice so that I could test the same way every time. This is more important than getting the exact number. The first tests you will need are for NO3 and PO4. After they have stabilized it would be time for ALK. You can't beat the Hanna for this. After you get Alk stable then move on to calcium. You only need to test these when you are adding corals and/or corraline starts to grow. Use the salt mix that matches your desired levels of Alk, Calcium, and Magnesium.
The salinity probe on the Apex is complicated to get it to read correctly. You will need a better way to test salinity.
Good Luck!

 

[Dmat21]

If you have an LFS, ask to see theirs and try to perform a test with it. It would be nice to have someone experienced with the exact test kit to help walk you through it. At the end of the day they are all hobby grade and not exact. The main thing is to be consistent in how you perform it so that you can see trends.
In the beginning I tested everything regularly so that I could build a habit of doing it and considered it practice so that I could test the same way every time. This is more important than getting the exact number. The first tests you will need are for NO3 and PO4. After they have stabilized it would be time for ALK. You can't beat the Hanna for this. After you get Alk stable then move on to calcium. You only need to test these when you are adding corals and/or corraline starts to grow. Use the salt mix that matches your desired levels of Alk, Calcium, and Magnesium.
The salinity probe on the Apex is complicated to get it to read correctly. You will need a better way to test salinity.
Good Luck!

Since the ORP and salinity probe are not the greatest on the Apex I think I’m gonna go with the Apex EL and save some cash to buy a nicer salinity probe
what is N03 and P04 ?

 

[Ippyroy]

Since the ORP and salinity probe are not the greatest on the Apex I think I’m gonna go with the Apex EL and save some cash to buy a nicer salinity probe
what is N03 and P04 ?

It is not the probes. It is just really hard to set it up right. ORP can give give a warning if something went wrong. I use the Hanna salinity checker personally. The refracto juice was off in a bottle for me once so I no longer trust. you can make your own though. Randy Holmes-Farley has a recipe on here for it.
Nitrates and Phosphates.

 

[PatW]

I use Hanna Alk and Hanna ULR phosphorous. I have heard that the calcium one is a bit problematic. And the nitrate looks a bit involved.

For Magnesium, I like Salifert. Red Sea Pro makes me go nuts on this test.

For Calcium, I use Red Sea Pro but I bet the Salifert test is good.

For nitrate, I use Red Sea Pro ... Salifert is similar.

If you are considering a test, watch some you tube videos on it. Bulk Reef Supply has some good ones. The thing with the videos is they will give you an idea of the procedure to follow and how much of a pain it is or not. You can also see the color end point (if the test has one). Quite a few people (mostly men) suffer a degree of color blindness which does not meld well with colorimetric end points.


The ORP probe is a bit problematic. I think it is supposed to sort of measure organics but I have never found it useful.

I like the salinity probe. But it is relative and not a good absolute measure. But you can look a salinity over time and that interesting but not that useful if you have a decent auto top off which you should have if you are messing with an APEX.

 

[Dmat21]

I use Hanna Alk and Hanna ULR phosphorous. I have heard that the calcium one is a bit problematic. And the nitrate looks a bit involved.

For Magnesium, I like Salifert. Red Sea Pro makes me go nuts on this test.

For Calcium, I use Red Sea Pro but I bet the Salifert test is good.

For nitrate, I use Red Sea Pro ... Salifert is similar.

If you are considering a test, watch some you tube videos on it. Bulk Reef Supply has some good ones. The thing with the videos is they will give you an idea of the procedure to follow and how much of a pain it is or not. You can also see the color end point (if the test has one). Quite a few people (mostly men) suffer a degree of color blindness which does not meld well with colorimetric end points.


The ORP probe is a bit problematic. I think it is supposed to sort of measure organics but I have never found it useful.

I like the salinity probe. But it is relative and not a good absolute measure. But you can look a salinity over time and that interesting but not that useful if you have a decent auto top off which you should have if you are messing with an APEX.

I wasn’t so worried about an auto top off because I filter my own drinking water at my house every other day so I was just going to top off the tank when I do so for my drinking water since it’s already a routine. It should be fine correct? And how do you feel about the old-school refractometers for eight bucks??