What do you Test, How often, and with what brand

[Reefkeeper14]

Hi, everyone I am interested in learning about the tests people use for their reef tanks. Specifically I would like to know of the five parameters Calcium, Magnesium, Alkalinity, Phosphates, and Nitrates which you test for. I would also like to know how often you test each of these parameters and which brands you use to test them. To make answering these questions easy I created a simple 10 question survey on Survey Monkey. The survey should be very quick and will only take 1-2 minutes at most. The link is below

Free Online Survey Software by SurveyMonkey: Closed Survey

This survey is currently closed. Please contact the author of this survey for further assistance.

www.surveymonkey.com

The reason I chose the five parameters I did was that I wanted the survey to be brief and in past questions of the day on R2R I found that the five parameters listed were by far the most tested parameters in this hobby.

If anyone has any comments on why they test at the frequency they do, and with the brands they do it would be greatly appreciated! More information is always helpful when making decisions! If for any reason the link is not working please let me know and I will fix it asap! I will also post the results from the survey to this page as screenshots so that everyone can benefit!

Thank You,
Have a great day

 

[dbowman5]

Hi, everyone I am interested in learning about the tests people use for their reef tanks. Specifically I would like to know of the five parameters Calcium, Magnesium, Alkalinity, Phosphates, and Nitrates which you test for. I would also like to know how often you test each of these parameters and which brands you use to test them. To make answering these questions easy I created a simple 10 question survey on Survey Monkey. The survey should be very quick and will only take 1-2 minutes at most. The link is below

Free Online Survey Software by SurveyMonkey: Closed Survey

This survey is currently closed. Please contact the author of this survey for further assistance.

www.surveymonkey.com

The reason I chose the five parameters I did was that I wanted the survey to be brief and in past questions of the day on R2R I found that the five parameters listed were by far the most tested parameters in this hobby.

If anyone has any comments on why they test at the frequency they do, and with the brands they do it would be greatly appreciated! More information is always helpful when making decisions! If for any reason the link is not working please let me know and I will fix it asap! I will also post the results from the survey to this page as screenshots so that everyone can benefit!

Thank You,
Have a great day

took your survey, theoretically a tank size/type (sps, lps, mixed, FOWLR) question would have given more info as to the market population. look forward to your results!

 

[Reefkeeper14]

took your survey, theoretically a tank size/type (sps, lps, mixed, FOWLR) question would have given more info as to the market population. look forward to your results!

Thank you for the suggestion and for filling out the survey! Unfortunately I have to use the free version of SurveyMonkey so I can only ask ten questions at a time, but that definitely would have been valuable information!

 

[Reefkeeper14]

Thank you to everyone who has responded I am almost up to 20 responses! If you haven't responded to the survey please take the time to do so! There are only ten questions and on average it has taken people 2 minutes to complete!

Thank You!

 

[Reefkeeper14]

I just got to 20 responses for the survey. The attached results are below. I think it would be great if we could get another 20 or 30 for a total of 50 responses, so please keep the responses coming!

 

[X-37B]

Took survey.
Alk is only one I test with daily or every 2 and log.
Takes a couple minutes with Hanna.
Ca stays the same as I run a carx.
Mag stays the same from trace elements.
Just tested no3 and po4.
They have been in this range for 10 months.
Po4 .02
No3 1 but <2
I also test
Strontium and
Iodine monthly with
Salifert.

 

[Reefkeeper14]

Took survey.
Alk is only one I test with daily or every 2 and log.
Takes a couple minutes with Hanna.
Ca stays the same as I run a carx.
Mag stays the same from trace elements.
Just tested no3 and po4.
They have been in this range for 10 months.
Po4 .02
No3 1 but <2
I also test
Strontium and
Iodine monthly with
Salifert.

Thanks for taking the survey. I know some people test other trace elements and that they are important for reefs, but in past surveys on R2R I noticed that only a small number of people test for those elements. In the future it would definitely be interesting to look at additional parameters that are tested. If there is anyone who tests anything outside the parameters listed on this survey feel free to comment what else you test for!

 

[Reefkeeper14]

We are almost up to 30 responses! Please keep on responding! The help is greatly appreciated

 

[kyleinpdx]

We are almost up to 30 responses! Please keep on responding! The help is greatly appreciated

Where did you get your list of options for po4 testing? Unless I missed it, you did not include the most accurate titration test for po4, seachem.

 

[Hydrored]

Took the survey, you have trident listed twice

 

[Vette67]

Nyos test for nitrate was not in the list.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I'm not suggesting this for others that have not run their tanks a long time, but I only regularly monitored pH (which gave clues about limewater dosing I used) and salinity, and I knew that everything else was OK based on those for my system, or from observation.

 

[Reefkeeper14]

Where did you get your list of options for po4 testing? Unless I missed it, you did not include the most accurate titration test for po4, seachem.

You didn't miss it I just forgot to list it. I based a lot of what I included on the brands I saw listed on another testing poll on this site. I will see if I can make a change to fix that, thank you! Hopefully you still selected Seachem by using the "other" option in the polls!

 

[Reefkeeper14]

Took the survey, you have trident listed twice

I just saw that, thank you for pointing out, I will see if I can make a change!

 

[Reefkeeper14]

I'm not suggesting this for others that have not run their tanks a long time, but I only regularly monitored pH (which gave clues about limewater dosing I used) and salinity, and I knew that everything else was OK based on those for my system, or from observation.

Hi Randy, that is very interesting what do you mean by clues? I know there is some relation between pH and alkalinity but if you could further specify what you mean be clues I would be very interested to know.

Thank You,
CMH

 

[User1]

Nyos test for nitrate was not in the list.

It is a really good kit.

 

[Reefkeeper14]

Due to some of the mistakes I made in the survey I have decided it is easier and more compact to just present the results in excel. This way all of the Test options I neglected to add are included. The survey is still open and I am just short of 40 responses, so please keep them coming!

 

[Reefkeeper14]

I am just one response away from 40! If you have not responded yet please take the time to respond. The current time to complete is only around 1 minute and 40 seconds!

If you have already responded, thank you for your help!

Have a great day!
CMH