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

[tyler91913]

Interesting results! Most votes land in the 1-2 hours a month range, which seems like a reasonable amount of time to spend. But folks were all over the map. Some observations and takeaways from the following discussion might be these:


- Alk checking probably gets more attention than the rest of the testing combined.
- Red Sea products seem to be most common and a favorite to some, though Hannah products seem preferable for their ease of use.
- Slackers are slow to speak up, while the go-getters speak up right away. Could be that there are many more slackers out there who didn't want to out themselves?


I realize too that I was not clear about whether water changes should be factored into the "time spent on water chemistry per month." I can see how folks understood it both ways. I didn't mean to factor in WC's, but for what it's worth, I do a 10% WC every two weeks. That probably adds 20minx2 to my time per month. And I'm probably a bad reefer by some folks' accounting because I don't check all the parameters of the freshly mixed water to match it with my tank water.

My attitude (which I see reflected in some of the comments above) is that reefing should be fun, and that the "chores" involved detract from the fun factor for me. So I spend as little time on the chores as I can without giving up fish health and coral growth. When I see a problem, I take steps to test and address it. I think the lesson for me from this thread is that if I'm going to test just one thing, I'll make it Alk. And I might pick up the Hannah checker to make that easier.

 

[N1Husker]

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.

I have a question regarding the Red Sea Nitrate Test Kit. What is the reading at which you should be alarmed on their test? I use to use the API kit and the scale was simple, 0, 10, 20, 30ppm, etc. If it was <40 you are okay, <20 better. The Red Sea has the high number at 4ppm, so I don't know how that compares. I have read the manual and it doesn't really say. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[choff]

I have a question regarding the Red Sea Nitrate Test Kit. What is the reading at which you should be alarmed on their test? I use to use the API kit and the scale was simple, 0, 10, 20, 30ppm, etc. If it was <40 you are okay, <20 better. The Red Sea has the high number at 4ppm, so I don't know how that compares. I have read the manual and it doesn't really say. Any help would be appreciated.

Depends on what you have in your tank. Saying less than 40 is OK would mean a FOWLR and def not an sps tank. My tank typically runs in the < 0.5 range with my RS kit. I'm SPS dominant though.

Personally I don't test nitrate all that often. Only if I notice unusual algae growth or a change in color of my corals. I believe your eyes are your best test kits. I posted earlier, but I mostly just test alk when things look good.

 

[Vaiodude]

I have a question regarding the Red Sea Nitrate Test Kit. What is the reading at which you should be alarmed on their test? I use to use the API kit and the scale was simple, 0, 10, 20, 30ppm, etc. If it was <40 you are okay, <20 better. The Red Sea has the high number at 4ppm, so I don't know how that compares. I have read the manual and it doesn't really say. Any help would be appreciated.

<10 is what it try to stick with. I have a pretty mixed reef, but mostly LPS.

 

[tonymission]

I test ALK in my three tanks religiously.. Every other day maybe daily. Two of the tanks are rather new so I want to make sure my dosing is dialed in. Had an empty Alk container in one for maybe a week so that sucked.....

Hanna checker ALK is the best

 

[N1Husker]

<10 is what it try to stick with. I have a pretty mixed reef, but mostly LPS.

That's what I am talking about, the highest number on the Red Sea kit is 4, there is no 10. So what does that mean, how does it compare?

 

[Vaiodude]

That's what I am talking about, the highest number on the Red Sea kit is 4, there is no 10. So what does that mean, how does it compare?

Nitrate is actually one of the few kits that I don't have in Red Sea. I use Red Sea for Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium. I don't test for nitrate all that often and when I do I have the API kit.

 

[Frankyrivera]

Same don't test until something is off. By then my test kits are expired and then I can't test anyway so a simple water change gets me back on track

 

[N1Husker]

I use the API for Nitrate also, much easier to make sense of it. I wrote wetwebmedia and they said that as long as you are under 40ppm you will be okay. They said ideally under 20 is what you want but you don't want 0. They said some of the corals rely on nitrates to survive, if it is at 0, they will eventually die.