Water Parameters

[NaH2O]

I thought this would be a good topic of discussion. There are many factors involved with why we want our parameters within certain ranges. Keeping invertebrates means many of us want our Specific Gravity higher on the scale. Keeping stoney corals means we're interested in our calcium levels. I think that most of us keep our Ammonia and Nitrites at 0, or else we wouldn't have any inhabitants to observe. Many strive to attain 0 Nitrates, as well. I'm also interested in:

What do you test for? How often?

What are the ranges of parameters you strive for? *this is ultimately what I'm after, but didn't feel right without including the other questions

Why do you feel you need your parameters within these ranges? (i.e. what are your inhabitants, what had you heard or learned through experience) I feel this is important so we can learn how to better care for our inhabitants, by understanding their environment

[Curtswearing]

I think this is a great topic. Thanks Nikki.

Whose up to the challenge?

[middletonmark]

Well, I'll take the bait
Now, I have two tanks, one soft coral with a few `LPS' ... one mostly SPS and a clam, with a few `LPS'. I'll talk mainly about my 58g stony tank, as that's the one I'm more picky about.

I test for:
SG - refractometer - about every few days. Used to do it daily for a half year +, now slacking.
1.026 is my `ideal' ... don't want it more than .001 above/below as it seems like my corals/inverts like it like that.

pH - Salifert - once a week or every other.
8.1-8.4 is sort of my strived for range, seems like that's good ... I'd rather have little movement here than any exact #. Stability!

Calcium - Seachem - Started twice a week, now every other week.
460 it's been recently, I'll take 400 - 490. I like to `push' this envelope as it anecdotally seems like I get fastest growth with it 450 - 480. Not sure if it matters.

Alkalinity - Salifert - Same time as Calcium.
11's dKh ... I'll take 9-11 range. Want this to balance Calcium, generally keep high as it promotes stable pH and seems like it may have other positive effects [slows bubble algae that I'm `winning' the battle with, ? maybe helps coloration ?].

Nitrate - Salifert - Same as above, a little less.
Recently 2-3 ppm .... I'll take anything under 5, max of 10. Seems like this is highly emphasized, and things do better with it near zero - but I'm not obsessed with zero. As I don't run a DSB in this tank, I expect to have minimal #'s and don't stress it. No major algae problems, so I don't stress it too hard. [other tank has DSB 'fuge, zero nitrates]

---
That's anything I test for regularly. Have cheaper Ammonia / Nitrite test kits, but don't use them much as everything has been really stable. Have them `in case' ... but presence of either I'd want to respond with water changes and analysis of why to.

Probably will get Magnesium, maybe Sr and Iodine kits in the future - but as I don't dose them and can maintain high Ca/Alk [so Mg isn't too low] ... I'm not stressing it.

Only dose Kalk and 2-part solutions [was CBalance, then Ocean's Blend, now Bionic ... probably going back to CBalance].

Generally I tested a LOT more for the first 3-4 months ... have slowly slacked off more in meantime [used to test Amm and Nitrite, until zeros made wonder why]. Now I try for twice a month [every other water change, prior to] ... but sometimes I let it go longer. As readings even over a month period seem pretty stable - I think I have my dosing & w/c rhythm down, and if something looks `funny' ... I'm testing as analysis step #1.

Generally the biggest thing I strive for is stability ... that IMO is key to anything. Now stable imbalanced Ca/Alk or high Nitrates ... not ideal - but it seems to me like when my #'s are `spot on' for a few weeks, I really see my SPS grow rapidly. That IMO is the sign that things are well. I've been suprised to see low-level Nitrates with rapid growth - IMO it's not the boogeyman I first understood it to be. I'm sure things would be `better' with zero - and I think I'm getting there as my newish fuge is kicking in and skimmer is more supercharged as of late ... but that's just my experience.

That ok? [probably too wordy, but that's me ]

[ReefLady]

I'll first make a disclaimer (LOL), that how often you test greatly depends on the age and stability of your tank, as well as your experience level.

Since our water parameters rarely budge, I rarely test. However, this is in part because we have a lot of water in our system, which offers more stability. Parameters may fluctuate more in a smaller system. Also, using a Calcium Reactor and a Kalk reactor as our only "dosing" implements, also offers stability.

That said, I test for the following:

Ammonia & Nitrite - Never.
Nitrate - Once ever ~ 6 - 8 months
Phosphate & Silicate - Every ~ 3 months

Ca & Alk - ~ monthly
Mag - Every 2-3 months

Salinity - weekly & at water changes.
pH - glance at the monitor a couple times a day.

What I shoot for:

A/N/N = 0.00
P04 - 0.03 or less
Silicate 0.00
pH - 8.05 (am), 8.25 (pm)
Ca - 400-450 (usually is about 420)
dKH - 8 - 11 (usually about 9)
Mag - usually tests right where the Salifert test indicates it should be.

That's about it. If something doesn't seem "right", I'll drag out the test kits. Other than that, at times I'll go 4-6 months without testing anything.

[Craig Manoukian]

Originally posted by ReefLady
I'll first make a disclaimer (LOL), that how often you test greatly depends on the age and stability of your tank, as well as your experience level.

Since our water parameters rarely budge, I rarely test. However, this is in part because we have a lot of water in our system, which offers more stability. Parameters may fluctuate more in a smaller system.

Amen to that! Gotta run but will be back to post my ragged program!

[NaH2O]

Thanks for the great responses! Anyone have an idea on about how long it takes for a new tank to maintain constant test results? Does a new tank go through fluctuations (other than Amm, nitrite, nitrate), or are the other parameters stable based on salt mix? Basically, do things stabilize as the tank matures?

[wooddood]

i agree with teri i rarely test anymore.i can tell when something is not right in my tank by just looking at it.and yes i think the tank stablizes with age.im gonna say about a year.

[ReefLady]

Anyone have an idea on about how long it takes for a new tank to maintain constant test results? Does a new tank go through fluctuations (other than Amm, nitrite, nitrate), or are the other parameters stable based on salt mix? Basically, do things stabilize as the tank matures?

IME, this is really difficult to answer. Our current tank was stable in < 6 mos - but I think this had to do with a few things ....

- A lot of the LR was fully cured and imported from an established tank.

- We use a LOT of LR

- Very low bioload.

On an average, if you're starting "new" (from the beginning of a full cycle), and have an "average" bioload, I'd say about a year. This is truly dependent on other things though --

- Tank size

- Bioload

- Ability to maintain constant temp/salinity

- How & what you dose (example - dripping kalk will lend far more stability than dosing Turbo Calcium & an alk buffer weekly).

Also - a few other things - feeding regimen, how well you export nutrients (skimmer, 'fuge, etc.), and probably other factors as well.

I think I'm also more open to a wider range of parameters than are some reefers. I really tend to ignore the numbers for the most part, and look to my tank inhabitants to tell me how things are doing. This really does come with experience though. The only numbers I truly concern myself with are temp, salinity, & pH.

My calcium has dipped to 360, and nothing is bothered. I'm lucky if I test for Strontium & Iodine once a year - the tests are (IMO) pretty useless, and I truly believe that we don't need to dose for these elements.

But - this is just my tank, and my experience (and my opinion!) - all of which are very different from what someone else might prefer to do.

[Craig Manoukian]

In my experience and from consulting with a chemist, your tank is in a constant state of change. Every time you add livestock or your livestock grows your water chemistry changes.

This is different than your tank being balanced and as RL indicated above, tank stability is a very elusive thing that is impacted by many factors. In general, I believe it takes between one and two years for a tank to mature and stabilize. This will be porotracted by the amount of changes and additions you make to the micro ecosystem.

[Garrett]

I have recently plunged into my first 12 gallon reef and bought a package from a dealer here in Florida. I started with 12 lbs of live sand and 12 lbs of LR.The tank is an eclipse with an in tank PS and a small powerhead for water movement. Cycled for 2 weeks and the levels seemed to normalize(ammonia, nitrite and nitrate). I then went back and got the second half which included 12 more lbs of LR and the 24 blue legs, 6 turbo snails, 2 sea cucumbers, 2 peppermint shrimp, 1 serpent star. The 1 shrimp and the serpent star didn't last 2 days. The ammonia spiked again and the nitrates really spiked at about 10-20! I scrambled and made water changes but the levels came right back up. What the heck is going on?! Help would be greatly appreciated.

[tankgirl]

Great thread!!

I test salinity every morning.
pH at least once a day
Ca & alk weekly
Mg about once a month
Nitrates & phosphates every ten days (just before I do a water change)
and
got an ORP monitor for Xmas, and check that a couple of times a day (mainly to see how it changes, after feeding or using the magnet on the sides of the tank, etc.). I just use it to monitor general water quality. I cleaned out the fine silt from my sump the other day and ORP went up 10 points. Every time I clean my skimmer it goes up. It's been a great because I get visual encouragement for every little maintainance job I do.

[tankgirl]

Garrett, it sounds like the live rock wasn't cured. So, stuff died (in the LR) and caused another spike.

That sounds like a lot of livestock to add to such a new tank - so, that may have contributed or caused it, too.

Any time you add new livestock, the tank will re-cycle. Wait until all your levels are good before adding anything else. If you continue to have spikes after water changes, pull the live rock out and cure it.

You cure it by putting it in a bucket of salt water, with a powerhead (for circulation) and a heater, in a dark place (I always put it in the garage), until everything dies off and the water tests good. It takes a couple of weeks. You don't want it in your tank, if it's not cured yet because it'll continue to spike your ammonia, etc. and will kill off your existing livestock.

P.s. Welcome to RS!!!

[NaH2O]

Garrett, welcome to RS. I agree with TG in that you added a lot of livestock at one time for a nano. Continue to monitor your parameters.

[Witfull]

whwn starting a tank,,,test and test till you get the hang of things,,,,then you will see a trend in the tank, then you can easy back on the testing. keep a book of results so you can monitor the trends. also,,,,try to test at the same time of day, this is due to levels changing through out the day.

garrett....TG gave good advice.....mine is get rid of the crabs,,,,or at least cut them back,,,,that many in a small tank is asking for problems.

Crabs are Evil.

[Pro_builder]

Well this is a deep subject but here goes:
What I test for
Ammonia- first month (or till cycle ends) then every 6 months
Nitrite- same as above
Nitrate- same as above, but once a week after a major tank change.
pH- I have a controller, so it is monitored before work, after work and before bed.
Temp- 3 times daily
Salinity- 1 time a week before and after water change only. I have auto top off
Alk- every 6 months, or after a major tank change. ( Ca reactor cleaning, Kalk Reactor cleaning or a refill) I drip kalk
Ca- Same as above.
Mg- every 6 months
Iodine- Never I do water changes every week. I watch the tank for brown algae breakouts, this is a good indicator of high Iodine levels.
Phosphate- 6 months
I do 7 gallon water changes every Sunday, before the lights come on.

Things that I watch for
I alway keep an eye out for dead spots, in water circulation, so I can suck out the excess deteruis. So not to have a build up in Nitrate and Phosphate.

I watch my Acro's (SPS) polyp extention amounts and times, same with the Monti Dig. These are good indicators of a parameter change. I watch the Zoo's for retraction in mid day, this usually means the temp or pH has risen.
That is about it.