I bought this Test Kit

[phastroh]

I just went and bought this kit.

Red Sea Marine Master Test Kit | Aquarium Supplies | PetSolutions

I just picked a decent brand with all the tests I need.

Then i read I need a Calcium and Phosphate test for corals if I get them.

I also read on thrie site about a clam they sell that is found in 30 feet of water and that it can live in a tank without mega lighting.

 

[Bifferwine]

You won't need phosphate. But you will need calcium.

30 feet of water is nothing. That's the depth at which most of the world's reefs are found. Many corals are found even deeper than that. The light at 30 feet is extremely bright.

There are some clams that don't need very high lighting, and clams are generally easy to keep. But anything that lives at 30 feet is getting blasted by the sun. You can keep a clam under the same strength lighting as you'd keep most corals.

 

[sen5241b]

You won't need phosphate. But you will need calcium.

30 feet of water is nothing. That's the depth at which most of the world's reefs are found. Many corals are found even deeper than that. The light at 30 feet is extremely bright.

There are some clams that don't need very high lighting, and clams are generally easy to keep. But anything that lives at 30 feet is getting blasted by the sun. You can keep a clam under the same strength lighting as you'd keep most corals.

???

I think you will need a phosphate test. Phosphates are very bad for stony corals and tiny amounts, like 0.25 ppm, will start killing corals.

 

[tankedchemist]

the odds of ever testing any phosphates with a colorimetric test are pretty darn low. Algae consumes the phosphates well before you'll be able to capture it in the water column, IME. Also, the phosphate tests aren't all that accurate anyway.

 

[Bifferwine]

^^ This. The test kits available just aren't accurate. They usually give false readings of zero. Phosphates stay (on average) in the water column for 7 seconds before being consumed by algae. That means they are not going to show up on a test kit.

 

[sen5241b]

Yeah but if you saw corals dying and then you tested phosphates and they were high enough to measure then at least you would know what was wrong. ???

Also does the fuge light need to be on over the cheato with photosynthesis in progress to eat up the phosphates?

 

[tankedchemist]

photosynthesis occurs in two steps, basically. one step requires light, the final one does not. typically, plants grow more during the dark period, when more energy is available, so more phosphate gets used up in the "dark cycle" than the light.

However, if I remember right from botany, algaes can do light and dark cycles with light on.

 

[bjohanson1234]

I believe you are correct Tanked. If I recall correctly, the dark cycle is where the pores(cant remember scientific name) open and release the CO2. This happens at night so less water will be lost due to evaporation. In water plants, they dont need to do that because they are in water and wont become dehydrated.

 

[sen5241b]

photosynthesis occurs in two steps, basically. one step requires light, the final one does not. typically, plants grow more during the dark period, when more energy is available, so more phosphate gets used up in the "dark cycle" than the light.

However, if I remember right from botany, algaes can do light and dark cycles with light on.

VERY interesting, I've noticed that running my fuge light for longer periods of time seemed to cause more problems. Ideal amount of time to run fuge light per day??

 

[tankedchemist]

probably 12/12, which is approximately what the cycle is in nature during prime growing season (spring/summer)