Required test kits?

[SixlineRyan]

I'm setting up a 10G cube tank, and planning on keeping soft corals to start (Toadstools, Mushrooms, Zoas), and then would add an Acan, Hammer, and/or a Torch down the road. After that would be a Birdsnest and/or a Monti Cap. I'm going to be adding very slowly so the LSP and SPS are a ways off.

Are there test kits I can skip in the beginning and then pick up when I'm actually at a point where I am thinking about adding the stony corals? I guess specifically Magnesium and Calcium?

I'll be getting water from my LFS for now and they're using Fritz RPM if that factors in at all.

Any insight would be appreciated.

 

[smitten with ocean life]

first of all i would be leery of getting my water from the fish store. much better to make your own. then you know for sure what youre getting. i would probably go with the salifert tests for cost wise. and make sure you have a way to test your salinity

 

[Fish Fan]

I'm setting up a 10G cube tank, and planning on keeping soft corals to start (Toadstools, Mushrooms, Zoas), and then would add an Acan, Hammer, and/or a Torch down the road. After that would be a Birdsnest and/or a Monti Cap. I'm going to be adding very slowly so the LSP and SPS are a ways off.

Are there test kits I can skip in the beginning and then pick up when I'm actually at a point where I am thinking about adding the stony corals? I guess specifically Magnesium and Calcium?

I'll be getting water from my LFS for now and they're using Fritz RPM if that factors in at all.

Any insight would be appreciated.

I consider myself an advanced-intermediate beginner reefer, and as such, here's my thoughts:

First things first, I believe the most important parameter to stay on top of is salinity because when your salinity fluctuates, every other parameter fluctuates. For this reason, I would say get yourself a decent refractometer and some calibration fluid. I would also highly recommend an Auto Top Off unit to automatically replace evaporated freshwater, which goes a long, long way to keeping your salinity stable.

For test kits, I would really recommend the Salifert brand, they are inexpensive yet regarded as reasonably accurate, and they are also very easy to use and read, unlike many test kits.

If you have not yet started your tank, you will almost certainly have to "nitrogen cycle" your new tank, unless you start it with real, wet live rock from a quality Local Fish Store (LFS), which I very much recommend. There's a whole lot of misinformation when it comes to cycling, but my suggestion would be to get a test kit for ammonia and nitrate. You can quite safely skip nitrite here, and I don't suggest the "master" test kits; just get at least nitrate and ideally ammonia too.

From here, I think it depends on what you want to keep. If you're just getting started you're quite likely to be interested in easy to keep soft corals and Zoanthis, which are ideal for beginners. For softies and Zoa's, I would suggest just keeping track of your nitrate and phosphate. The parameters of Alkalinity, Calcium, and Magnesium are not as important when keeping soft corals, and regular, partial water changes will help keep everything in balance.

My advice here would be to get the Salifert tests for ammonia, nitrate and phosphate (in addition to a good refractometer). These will get you through your initial nitrogen cycle and well beyond for soft corals.

As your tank matures and you want to explore keeping LPS and SPS story corals, then the parameters of Alk, Calc, and to a lessor extent Mag come into play. But this is down the road, you can get started with just what I suggested above

I'm sure other members will be along with their own suggestions too.

Good luck!!

 

[SixlineRyan]

I do have a spectrometer and calibration fluid, and I've kept tanks in the past (FOWLR) so I'm familiar with the cycling process at least. Still trying to figure out a reservoir, but I do have a Tunze 3152 nano on deck for when I get everything set up.

I don't have an RODI unit as of yet, so I'll be relying on the LFS for the next 6 or so months probably. Hope to have one in by the new year at the latest, but they're all I've got at the moment.

I appreciate the info and looking out!

 

[reely989]

People here have you going the right direction so I'm going to give you a piece of advice I wish I'd gotten. Keep in mind these are hobby grade kits and don't pull your hair out over them. Be CONSISTENT in how you do the tests and go from there. Try to shoot for values in the middle of "acceptable" ranges so if the tests are reading a little higher or lower than actuality you're still good.

 

[Fish Fan]

I don't have an RODI unit as of yet, so I'll be relying on the LFS for the next 6 or so months probably. Hope to have one in by the new year at the latest, but they're all I've got at the moment.

Just don't assume the water you buy at the LFS is the right salinity, double check with your refractometer. It would be a good idea to check their freshwater with a TDS pen too. You could also consider buying gallons of distilled water from any grocery store, pharmacy, or Mega-Lo-Mart to use to make your own saltwater, and top off any freshwater that evaporates. You could also check out the RO Buddy with DI, is a low-cost ($70) RODI system to make your own RODI water.

 

[SixlineRyan]

Just don't assume the water you buy at the LFS is the right salinity, double check with your refractometer. It would be a good idea to check their freshwater with a TDS pen too. You could also consider buying gallons of distilled water from any grocery store, pharmacy, or Mega-Lo-Mart to use to make your own saltwater, and top off any freshwater that evaporates. You could also check out the RO Buddy with DI, is a low-cost ($70) RODI system to make your own RODI water.

Thanks for the RO buddy link, I hadn't run across that one before. Any idea how often the cartridges need replaced?

 

[Fish Fan]

Thanks for the RO buddy link, I hadn't run across that one before. Any idea how often the cartridges need replaced?

I don't, it's going to depend on what's in your source water and how much water you need to make. The one negative I hear about that filter is that the cartridges are non-standard, and a little more expensive to change, but I would say get it soon, use it until it's depleted and at that time look into a more typical system.

 

[exnisstech]

TBH rather than an RO buddy I would just get a typical 4 stage RODI system. By the time you buy the first set of replacement filters you'll be close to the cost of the 4 stage unit. I started with an RO buddy.
I'm kinda funny and don't trust anyone but myself to make my water but the comments above are good ones.
I have multiple tanks running including an acro dominate tank and in addition to salinty the only thing I test on a regular basis is Nitrate, phosphate, and alkalinity. I test calcium once a month maybe. I use Hanna for everything but calcium which I use salifert for. I picked Hanna because I prefer the digital read out over color changing not because they are more accurate. Unless you venture into stoney coral you probably won't need to worry about alk testing.

 

[SixlineRyan]

Gotcha. I was trying to keep the initial costs down a bit by using the LFS, but maybe I just bite the bullet now... I appreciate the additional info!

Also, already had been through both of your smaller tank builds while poking around doing research. Both are awesome!

 

[Fish Fan]

Also, already had been through both of your smaller tank builds while poking around doing research. Both are awesome!

Thank you, but @exnisstech is the guy to watch here, his tanks are awesome!

Gotcha. I was trying to keep the initial costs down a bit by using the LFS, but maybe I just bite the bullet now... I appreciate the additional info!

You definitely can get your water from your LFS, many do. I'm just going to say it's a very good idea to double check the parameters of the water you're buying. Don't just assume it's the correct salinity; double check. Another poster here recently mentioned that they found measurable nitrate in the saltwater they bought from their LFS. Most of us like to have an RODI filter so we can be sure our water is made properly, but with some care you can absolutely use the water from your local store.