water testing

[mark3090]

hey guys,

i was wondering how often and what you're testing for during both the cycling stage and once the tank is established. currently during the cycling i'm testing for salinity, pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and montoring temperature but for the most part its pretty self managed. right now i'm testing every 1-2 days but after its complete how often sould i be testing?

thanks

 

[OhNoNemo]

once your cycle is complete and you have added your first 1 or 2 fish i would test in a couple days.Then as the tank matures it does not need it as much,1 a month,then 1 every 2..ect...I haven't tested in months ...well,until i had to do my hypo,but that had nothing to do with not testing

 

[Smitty]

I test once a week after doing a water change...I do so because I have a smaller tank...the larger the tank, the less you'll have to test, because you have more room for error.

 

[mark3090]

Thanks for the response guys.. I've also noticed my salinity has climed over the last few days. Its now sitting at 1.026. I've taken about 2 ga out and replaced with pure water in an attempt to bring it down a touch. I did 1 ga at a time with a day apart. Any feedback?

 

[BL1]

You shouldn't have to take any water out, when your salinity goes up it is usually because of evaporation. You should just have to add RO water, not take any salt water out. As far as your salinity right now, it's fine where it is. 1.024-1.026 is optimal for reef aquariums.

 

[wontonflip]

+1 BL1. If you do a water change, you runt he risk of slowing down your cycling process.

During cycling, I tested once very 4-5 days or so, but only for ammonia. When I saw the ammonia, I started checking every other day for ammonia , and every few days for nitrites...then once I saw nitrites, again, I'd monitor ammonia and nitrites every other day and started looking for the nitrates until all ammonia and nitrites were at 0.

After cycling, I check my levels only as needed, but then again, I have a 125g (plus 60g in the sump), so like Smitty said, more room for error, so less need for testing.

 

[OhNoNemo]

Tank size,good point guys,i did not even consider that