water test kits

I was reading other threads on here and people are talking about things to test for in a reef tank . What should I be testing for and how often?

 

when tanks new test for these.
Ammonia
Nitrite

test these weekly.
Ph
Nitrate
dKH/alk
Phosphate
Salinity/Gravity
Temp
Calcium
Mag

 

+1 for magnesium. I mention this because when I was researching setting up my tank, I never really saw the importance of mg testing stressed in any of the books I read. None of the package reef testing kits I've seen in LFS include mg tests either. My API kit included calcium, but not mg, which is kind of silly once you understand the relationship between the two.

If I had it to do over again, I would have researched the best kits to use for testing each parameter and purchased each separately. If you do a search on here, you'll find threads which recommend the best brands for each parameter.

For example, I find my API tests for PH and Phosphate to be a pain because the results are hard to read.

 

Can you explain dkh and alk (and what they stand for)? I understand the other test you have talked about but have never tested for dkh ,alk or mag. I have had a fish only tank for 5 years and never had a problem keeping fish. I just started with corals and wanted to make sure I was testing for the right things.What is a good alk or dkH? How do I change them if they are off?

 

alk/dkh "carbonate hardness" needs to be 8-11 dkh "hardness of water"

it goes down naturally. kalkwasser mix will raise it as well as calcium. some PH/DKH buffers with raise PH and dkh. if alk is high usally PH is high 8.3 range.. so some people really dont test for ph as much with reefs because if alk/dkh is in line then usally ph is right there..

 

Once cycling is complete.. I test:

weekly:
Calcium (420)
Magnesium (1350)
Alkalinity (9-10)

monthly:
nitrate (<5)
Phosphate (0)

I have digital ph and temp monitors, so I see those every day. Otherwise ph at 8.1-8.3.

just my 2 cents

 

forgot salinity...weekly

 

I purchaced a test kit this morning and my dkh was at 12 . Which I think is a little high . How do I get it down to a better level

 

Your question is a bit loaded because many on here consider 12-14 to be a "better level" range (slows nuisance algae growth and increases coral growth).

If you do a search on the forum for dKH levels, you'll find lots of threads about this.