Getting sick of manual testing

[SK_maui]

I've lost tanks over the years because of lack of testing (got lazy).... trident is calling.

 

[Glass Algae]

@ca1ore I feel you there! Is trident pretty much the highest end right now is there any cons you can give me about it?

 

[Fishbro]

@ca1ore I feel you there! Is trident pretty much the highest end right now is there any cons you can give me about it?

I’m not ca1ore but I know for sure the reagents for it can get pretty expensive and it’s hard to find them sometimes. Plus the Trident makes you test you test I think 4 times a day so you blow through reagents quick.

 

[Crustaceon]

There’s no real reason to test for ammonia and nitrite once your tank is cycled. Also the Salifert nitrate test isn’t too bad. Just make sure to always look through the side of the vial and do the conversion instead of looking from the top. If you’re in between 5-20ppm nitrates, you’re probably fine. It doesn’t have to be perfect.

 

[SK_maui]

@ca1ore I feel you there! Is trident pretty much the highest end right now is there any cons you can give me about it?

Man I'm right there with you. The cost of the unit and the mixed reviews of the tirdent is killer! I've been in since '03 and it seems like every 5-6yrs I let is slide then poof. I'm currently in the market for a larger tank and automatic testing is second on my list!

 

[SK_maui]

I’m not ca1ore but I know for sure the reagents for it can get pretty expensive and it’s hard to find them sometimes. Plus the Trident makes you test you test I think 4 times a day so you blow through reagents quick.

not to mention I heard you need to recalibrate it every time you change he reagent. My LFS has been getting steady shipments of reagents but you better be on a list. I guess we all pay for convenience

 

[Glass Algae]

There’s no real reason to test for ammonia and nitrite once your tank is cycled. Also the Salifert nitrate test isn’t too bad. Just make sure to always look through the side of the vial and do the conversion instead of looking from the top. If you’re in between 5-20ppm nitrates, you’re probably fine. It doesn’t have to be perfect.

Cool thank you for this I'm at like 10 rn but again I had over fed a bit by accident so I blame this cause I'm usually a bit lower. This post was brought on cause my salifert told me i have <. 15 ammonia and that surprised me cause I usually have 0 so here we are me naive and thinking ammonia tests are my life now

not to mention I heard you need to recalibrate it every time you change he reagent. My LFS has been getting steady shipments of reagents but you better be on a list. I guess we all pay for convenience

OOOOF see now THAT'S a con alright. Is there an alternative if I don't want something that will dose for me but just show me parameters when I want them? That would be ideal honestly. I like feeding and stuff like that. It's sitting down and trusting my seeing impaired self to read the tests right against my paranoia

 

[WallyB]

@Hydrored is that a trusted item in the hobby or is it faulty? Also I'm coming up on a month cycled in the 7th. I checked ammonia recently during the change cause I added a shrimp and wanted to note if there was an excess of waste for whatever reason. I suppose I just redundancy test myself Lot. My occupants are a juvie clown and cleaner shrimp.

My salifert said I had a <. 15 reading which I was unsure why so this is what prompted my question.


@AZMSGT

Just started the phos tests. Am about to start testing everything else soon as the 7th of June I was going to order my first frag. Wanna make sure everything is on the up and up.

My worst fear reefing is failing due to a misread test.

Here is a cheap but JUST AS EFFECTIVE solution for Ammonia Monitoring.



I use it whenever I startup a QT. (Wouldn't start a QT or new Tank without one)

I lost a fish twice due Ammonia once, and after using these Never again.
Its not critical to ALSO test Nitrite since Ammonia will usually kick in first, or at the same time.

It's perfect to give you early warning of Toxic Ammonia Level. Constantly monitors Good, to Critical levels.

If it changes from Yellow it's time to give the tank some attention (ie water change), or a little bit of Sechem Prime (which will detoxify Both Nitrite, and Ammonia).

If you correct things, it will go back to Safe(Yellow)

Lasts month for continuous use.
I dry mine and reuse, but if you want to be extra save use a fresh one every so often.


I also have some Seachem Stability to Boost the Bacteria to naturally bring down nitrite. (Read Instructions and never overdose or a Bacterial Bloom can happen, and you need to add a airstone to bring up Oxygen Levels)

 

[Glass Algae]

Here is a cheap but JUST AS EFFECTIVE solution for Ammonia Monitoring.



I use it whenever I startup a QT. (Wouldn't start a QT or new Tank without one)

I lost a fish twice due Ammonia once, and after using these Never again.
Its not critical to ALSO test Nitrite since Ammonia will usually kick in first, or at the same time.

It's perfect to give you early warning of Toxic Ammonia Level. Constantly monitors Good, to Critical levels.

If it changes from Yellow it's time to give the tank some attention (ie water change), or a little bit of Sechem Prime (which will detoxify Both Nitrite, and Ammonia).

If you correct things, it will go back to Safe(Yellow)

Lasts month for continuous use.
I dry mine and reuse, but if you want to be extra save use a fresh one every so often.


I also have some Seachem Stability to Boost the Bacteria to naturally bring down nitrite. (Read Instructions and never overdose or a Bacterial Bloom can happen, and you need to add a airstone to bring up Oxygen Levels)

I have one of these! Quickly learned it was better for qt and not display checks. Just want the most accurate reading :/

 

[Doctorgori]

You test for ammonia and nitrite until your tank is cycled .... and then never again. Test for nitrate and phosphate every couple of months to gauge longer term nutrient balance. If you are keeping stony corals then alkalinity is really the only regular test required. Unless you are running something exotic like a sulfur reactor, when alk is right, calcium and magnesium usually are. Plenty of auto testers for alk if that proves too much for you lol.

Exactly. .... Although since Hanna checkers came on, I Figured may as well test for Phosphate & Alk 1-2X weekly, all depends on how the Assorted glass algae Species are reacting (long explanation but purple is better than green, green is better than brown and brown is better than red) ... I recently added nitrate to my weekly test, again depending on how well your system handles nutrients.
If you are automatically dosing then I’d personally check for Ca & Mg at least 1x/mo (I’ve has equip failures)

I've lost tanks over the years because of lack of testing (got lazy).... trident is calling.

YUP!!! Me too

I’m not ca1ore but I know for sure the reagents for it can get pretty expensive and it’s hard to find them sometimes. Plus the Trident makes you test you test I think 4 times a day so you blow through reagents quick.

And thats the deal breaker for me, I actually think the $600 Is almost fair, but IMO hey should add a”guaranteed” “reagent subsriction” for a additional fee

Man I'm right there with you. The cost of the unit and the mixed reviews of the tirdent is killer! I've been in since '03 and it seems like every 5-6yrs I let is slide then poof. I'm currently in the market for a larger tank and automatic testing is second on my list!

Everything adds up fast when dosing, treating or water changing anything over 200G .... I got 2 lrg tanks and they are money sinks just for Amino’s, bacterial additives, Reagents et et

 

[ca1ore]

@ca1ore I feel you there! Is trident pretty much the highest end right now is there any cons you can give me about it?

There are a number of options in the market at the moment; you'd have to look through the many threads to see which makes the most sense for you. If you plan to get an apex, then probably trident; if GHL then the KH Director. As to cons with the Trident, reagent has been hard to come by lately, but that's true for a lot of things. I was always able to find the 6 month kit, which at the minimum testing intervals means about $17 per month. So far, I have been pretty pleased with mine.

 

[jda]

Testing is a way of life with this hobby. If it is not going to work for you, then you should strongly consider selling out and doing something else - this might sound harsh, but it is entirely true.

Some of the automated stuff is cool, but I would urge you to not use it until you really know what you are doing and are one with your tank. Otherwise, every step that you take to distance yourself from the day-to-day will also likely distance yourself from success.

After you are cycled, then just test for alk every day or two and then the no3, calcium weekly or bi-weekly.

 

[h2so4hurts]

I've only been testing ALK and Ca once a week for like a decade. One it's stable and you're doing regular water changes these are the only two that actually fluctuate because of coral/coraline growth. Mag is a 3rd that can be important but I've never noticed it change much with consistent weekly water changes. The real dream is auto water change. Just need two high volume peristaltic pumps and you're good to go with ultimate stability

 

[W1ngz]

I really agree with the 'being one with your tank' approach, though phrasing it that way is somewhat existential. Doing the tests manually a little more often really helps you understand and correlate the changes you've made, and how they affect your water chemistry. It also makes the tank a little more interactive, since face it, fish and coral are nice and rare to see in someone's home, but they aren't anywhere near as interactive as other pets.

Running towards automation before learning a few hard lessons through mistakes is depriving yourself of a better understanding of how you directly affect your tank imo.

 

[WallyB]

I've only been testing ALK and Ca once a week for like a decade. One it's stable and you're doing regular water changes these are the only two that actually fluctuate because of coral/coraline growth. Mag is a 3rd that can be important but I've never noticed it change much with consistent weekly water changes. The real dream is auto water change. Just need two high volume peristaltic pumps and you're good to go with ultimate stability

Well, Auto Water Changers make life nice, and improve stability a bit. Help with keeping trace elements replenished daily.
But as far as Alk, Calc, and Mag, they won't improved those parameter stability much. (Maybe for a nano tank where you do like 50%+ water changes)
Anything bigger than 25 Gallons with small coral load...You still need some kind of dosing.
I know, since I build my own water changer, and it does all 3 tanks (DAILY). Even the 35 Gal Frag Tank without dosing falls behind on alk.

 

[h2so4hurts]

Well, Auto Water Changers make life nice, and improve stability a bit. Help with keeping trace elements replenished daily.
But as far as Alk, Calc, and Mag, they won't improved those parameter stability much. (Maybe for a nano tank where you do like 50%+ water changes)
Anything bigger than 25 Gallons with small coral load...You still need some kind of dosing.
I know, since I build my own water changer, and it does all 3 tanks (DAILY). Even the 35 Gal Frag Tank without dosing falls behind on alk.

Obviously, if you're growing acros you need to dose Ca, ALK and Mag...

 

[WallyB]

Obviously, if you're growing acros you need to dose Ca, ALK and Mag...

Agree on my 110G Acro Tank. That needs 40 ml a day Dosing even for tiny Frags. (1 Gallon Daily Water change)

However this 90G Tank Needs 5ml a day Dosing of ALK/CALC (with the Daily 1 Gallon Water change)

No ACROs, just Mushroom and LPS.

 

[Kfactor]

reefbot

is the reef bot anygood ?

 

[Charles Zinn]

I use salifert tests for the basic 3 after a water change weekly. I'm getting very sick of relying on these is there any reliable digital testers for these basic ammonia nitrite and nitrate levels?

Hanna has the ammonia checker but it's for freshwater and I'm not sure if they can be used for salt (I assume they wouldn't specify if it did work on salt) I know they also have the nitrite one but can't find that in stock.

I'd be more interested in a nitrate and ammonia checker as nitrites seem to be the only thing I get the same reading for after 3 tests in a row (which I have done to test for differences)

Can anyone reccomend any good digital checkers that are trusted? I don't mind doing manuals once in a while to cross check. Just would rather not whip out the bottles and syringes weekly :/

Get a trident and che k weekly against the results manually. Ko

 

[Cell]

The reefer struggle.