Any need to test for ammonia, nitrate, nitrite anymore?

[Wade]

Once your tank is up and running and maintaining fairly stable parameters, is there really any need to test for ammonia, nitrate, nitrite anymore?

[madsalt]

Once the tank is cycled I would say there is no need to test as often as you did before. Unless you get something happening in your tank that has you worried, I would say to cut back on the testing. I still test once a week for nitrates and phosphates because I feed twice a day with mixed foods. I also test my calcium and alkalinity once a week, I currently replace my elements with water changes so I do not feel I need to test those as often. As far as the ammonia and nitrate, unless you do something to stir your tank a lot or add a bunch of new uncured rock you should be fine on reducing how much you test these.

[Richard L]

I like just testing Nitrate once a week once things have stabilized. Its the last step in the nitrogen cycle so if its near 0-1 ppm then the ammonia and nitrite are likely the same. Its also one of the test that the cheapo kits like API seem to be fairly accurate.

If your heading in more of a softy and lps I'd check alkalinity occasionally and assume that calcium and phosphate will be close enough with regular water changes. If your thinking SPS is in your future then I would start testing calcium and phosphate before adding them to the tank.

[Wade]

Ok that's what i thought. I only test Ca, PO4, Mg, dKH and salinity now. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't overlooking something by making assumptions. Thanks all.

[Sherita]

Nitrates yes. Ammonia and nitrites, probably not unless you have something die, stir up the sand bed, or add live rock that might have dead stuff on it.

[Timfish]

Yes on nitrates along with phosphates. I rarely test for ammonia but do periodcly just to maintain a benchmark. I don't remember how long it's been since I even had a nitrite test kit.

[+Grog]

I test when I'm suspicious. Honestly, I haven't tested since the sexual macro event and before that it was months. I eyeball it.

I did buy a calcium kit the other day. I want to see if water changes are maintaining my calcium levels between my w/c schedule. Haven't been bothered to open it up yet.

I'm a lazy reefer. LOL (been in the gardens a lot recently..... trying to whoop the yard into shape before it gets to be 110 degrees.)

[Bpb]

Still fairly new to the hobby myself, my tank is only 2 years old. I borrowed a nitrate test once and tested a few times. Never have tested phosphate. I test alkalinity and calcium 2-3 times a week. Salinity at water changes, and magnesium once a month. Ph is constantly monitored via apex

[Sascha D.]

In LPS < - > Softie tanks, I completely stop testing after the first year. Unless something is obviously wrong, then there isn't a reason to test anything but salinity. It's the SPS you have to worry about. The main tests for SPS are pH, Nitrate, Ca and Alk.

There is no reason to test PO4 unless you see an algae or cyano bloom. Even then your phosphate will come out lower than it is because the algae is eating it and phosphate testers are, supposedly, unreliable at best. I've tested phosphates twice in 13 years, with two different testers, and both came out 0 when there was an obvious problem.

There is no reason to test for Ammonia unless you have a major die off and want to check it. The bacteria do a good job of taking care of it in a normally running tank. For the same reason, there is no reason to test Nitrite.

Nitrates should be tested periodically because there is no decent Nitrate exporter in most tanks. If you run BP then you shouldn't need to test it at all.

Ca and Alk are tricky. Ty and his crew talked about the Ca testers being unreliable at the March Club Meeting. Since Alk and Ca run so closely together they were saying that if your Alk is good then you Ca will be good as well.

[Wade]

I'm guess for tanks not using BP (like me) the only Nitrate export is via macro algae and water changes. I tested it yesterday and it came back zero. I'll have to add it to my test regimen.

[Sascha D.]

You could get nitrate export if you have a DSB or extremely large and/or dense live rock as well.

[FarmerTy]

Once my system was stable, all I tested for were the big 3, alk, Ca, and Mg. I also tested PO4.

And once that was stable with the CaRX, all I did was test my PO4 and alk every month to see where I was at.

I must note that I am assuming you are keeping your eye on your temp, pH, and salinity.

To clarify, when we spoke of Ca readings being off at the March meeting, we were only referring to the Hanna Ca meter. There is actually a formula to correct the offset of the reading if you wanted.

[Wade]

Yeah I test regularly (every 10 days - 2 weeks) for alk, Ca, Mg, PO4, and salinity. The Apex gives me pH and temp. I keep it all in a log book. Now I'll start testing NO3 as well. I use the Ca test from the Red Sea kit. I need to buy some another kit as mine is most likely out of date, but the readings are still consistent. I know there have been many discussions on preferred test kits. My kits are as follows:

Ca: Red Sea

Mg: Red Sea

Alk: APi

PO4: Hanna low range and APi

Salinity: refractometer

NO3: APi

[Sascha D.]

Once my system was stable, all I tested for were the big 3, alk, Ca, and Mg. I also tested PO4.

And once that was stable with the CaRX, all I did was test my PO4 and alk every month to see where I was at.

I must note that I am assuming you are keeping your eye on your temp, pH, and salinity.

To clarify, when we spoke of Ca readings being off at the March meeting, we were only referring to the Hanna Ca meter. There is actually a formula to correct the offset of the reading if you wanted.

Yeah after that meeting I went looking for some Hanna testers. The cost is what held me back before, but if I'm going to be serious about dosing then I need them. I bought an Alk meter but the reviews on the Ca were so bad that I decided not to buy one. I remember you guys saying the API Ca and PO4 tests were unreliable and hard to read so I avoided those as well.

The main reason to check PO4 is to see if your GFO is running out because the biggest concern with elevated PO4 is algae growth. Granted if you have an extremely high organic phosphate level then you're also likely to have elevated Nitrate, DOC's and possibly Ammonia. However, if things are out of wack then a PO4 test won't be the first sign something is wrong. If you don't run GFO then the phosphate readings will be murky every time you test. Phosphate should fluctuate up and down all day depening on a lot of factors like feedings, skimming and phosphate consumption.

I bought this Hanna Alk Checker on amazon for $38. It was cheaper than Ebay and still comes with free shipping.

[Clark]

What is "BP"?

[Planeden]

I think he means biopellets.

[Teresa]

I'm extremely lazy when it comes to testing my tank parameters. Quite simply, I don't. It's probably not best for my inhabitants, but I usually don't do water changes until I need to clean the algae off the side of the tank, my seahorse seems stressed, or I notice the macro algae growing out of control. I also don't have many corals in my tank. I have one seahorse, several photosynthetic sea fans, macro algae, and several types of snails. I only test alkalinity when I do a water change (which is once every few months). Other than that, I top off the tank when the water lowers to just above my pump.

[Robb in Austin]

I haven't tested in, probably, over a year.