why test ur water

[reeferlover]

i have a friend who never tests his water just drips kalk once in a while his tank is amazing sps grow like crazy colors are amazing and honestly this is my first tank that i really test idk if anyone will admit it but does anyone not really test their water and just go with how their tank looks instead

[bnumair]

testing is important due to simple fact u need to know ur water parameters. once u start using kalk or cal reactor or 2 part u need to test to figure the daily consumption so u can dose accordingly. once set then u can leave testing alone if u are confident in ur setup.
i run cal reactor on my setup and after several weeks of testing i knew my parameters were right on spot each time i checked so i went to monthly testing and now i check every 3-4 months.

[Yedgy]

Keeping a reef without testing the water is analogous to driving a car with no instrument panel. It'll get you to work and back, but you might get the occasional speeding ticket and you never really know how much gas is in the tank or whether anything under the hood needs your attention.

[reeferlover]

Lol i totally test now tht i use a kalk reactor and running sps dominated it just amazes me how many people dont test anything but salinty and r successful

[mattyp54]

Testing is the key to a successful tank

[mattyp54]

I only started out testing sparingly but when I started testing regularly my tank really took off !!!

[tmz]

Some get by without testing at all.

For me,personally, it would be like joining the NFL ,not for long, league. I don't trust my personal observation skills without testing enough to get by without it.

I test frequently, probably to excess, but I'm always looking for clues to improve the aquariums or head off an undesireable event early on.

Besides if I didn't test ,I'd have nothing to worry about and my aquariums would run fine until they didn't.

[reefgeezer]

People with well established systems can learn how to "read signs" in the tank. For example: Loss of color may mean an alk swing to them so they know to add kalk or something; a spot of algae might indicate the need for GFO change; or a slowing of growth might mean a water change is needed. Unfortunately, for the rest of us, testing is required.

[bertoni]

There are lots of tanks out there, and some people are going to be lucky with their setups. In addition, I agree that watching the animals is a good substitute for a fair number of tests, if you have experience with your setup.

[reeferlover]

Yeah I have been testing a lot with my new tank. I had a sps develope stn and was trying to figure it out. Weird. I have no idea why. Everything is rocking out. It just slowly started to look like the tissue was getting thinner and thinner. Even my sensitive deep water sps are doing awesome. I just figure it's a artifical system and sometimes it happens.

[mattyp54]

I can read the signs of what my rank needs but it's still a good idea to back it up with testing

[scarface70706]

Originally Posted by mattyp54

I can read the signs of what my rank needs but it's still a good idea to back it up with testing

yup this is what i do with my tank. but i only test maybe once a month if that. i set mine up to where i really dont have to do anything but little things like change filter socks, ato w/ kalk, and media (gfo/carbon) the bio pellets lets me go on for awhile w/o a water change. the longest was about 2 months i did a w/c because i was bored lol. (normally i do bi weekly w/c) its all in the set up

[s_luark]

Some awesome metaphors here lol, testing for me is insurance that I'm doing everything I can not to lose those 120$ sps mini colonies!

[Mussin]

When I first started out I tested weekly, then monthly, then bi monthly, then... I do test for salinity about once a week. I just watch my fish corals if stuff starts looking funny I get the test kits out.

Jeremy

[bertoni]

That's what I did, too. Eventually, it was once a month or so for alkalinity, temperature, and SG, and less often for magnesium and calcium.

[markaren]

Side note: Jeremy, Do you race that Mustang?

[Gary Majchrzak]

Originally Posted by reeferlover

i have a friend who never tests his water just drips kalk once in a while his tank is amazing sps grow like crazy colors are amazing and honestly this is my first tank that i really test idk if anyone will admit it but does anyone not really test their water and just go with how their tank looks instead

I used to not test. In fact, my reef aquarium at that point was featured as a TOTM online.
I used kalkwasser for topoff and did regular water changes.
Too bad I wasn't testing back then because my reef aquarium could have been a LOT better!

[tmz]

I used to test very infrequently and when I felt like it or thought I observed a problem with the animals nuisance algae,etc.
I had healthy corals for a year or two at a time but something would always set them back .
It can be tedious to test. Some kits are inaccurate. Why spend $ on test kits and testing equipment instead of live stock and other more fun stuff anyway;I reasoned.

Now , I test: alk 2x per week, calcium once every 2 weeks ,mag once a month, PO4 every day(a habit and probably 2x per week would be more reasonable) , NO3 once every 2 weeks . I monitor,temp sg,ph and orp ; read and log them daily. Potassium, iron and iodide are pretty steady and checked every 6 weeks or so.
Since testing more and tweaking things now and then based on the test results,I've enjoyed a 4 year + run including tank of the month honors without significant issues with corals ,other invertebrates or fish.
I can tell when reef animals are unhappy and watch mine closely ; but, I'd rather head off any stress events related to parameters by keeping things steady and continue to not see them unhappy.

My rationale in my earlier working life (I'm retired) and now in my hobby is that there are many things that can't be quantified ;but, many can with at least some degree of accuracy . Objective quantifiable measures won't lie to you unless you make them. Quantifiable data can have a useful clearing reality check effect on views through rose colored glasses. Data can be very useful in managing water quality and chemistry to advantage the live stock significantly,imo.
Of course ,interpretting the data and extrapolating from it are another set of skills that come with time and experience ; not unlike "reading the signs" from the animals,reading the signs in the numbers and reacting in a measured appropriate way can be very helpful before rather than after something goes awry.

[rtparty]

I'm the super lazy one for sure. I have tested my tank once since last April sometime. I never even check salinity when doing a water change either. If something looks off, I usually figure out pretty quick. My system loves alkalinity so I dose that pretty regularly.

If I tested my tank right now, alk would be between 7.5-8.5; calcium between 400-430; mag around 1400 and salinity at about 1.025.

I would love to be better about testing but I know this tank so well that often I don't need to. My new setup will be tested weekly for the first three months while I dial all the new equipment in.

[Mussin]

Originally Posted by markaren

Side note: Jeremy, Do you race that Mustang?

Sure do.. I race 1/4 mile.


Jeremy

[vitz]

Originally Posted by reefgeezer

People with well established systems can learn how to "read signs" in the tank. For example: Loss of color may mean an alk swing to them so they know to add kalk or something; a spot of algae might indicate the need for GFO change; or a slowing of growth might mean a water change is needed. Unfortunately, for the rest of us, testing is required.

this

i haven't tested my own tanks' water(s) for yrs

i do recommend to all beginners/noobs to test religiously

long term experience and keen observation can sometimes catch a developing issue even before testing does. however, testing NEVER hurts, and is a great way to confirm an 'educated hunch'

i worked for awhile at a large wholesaler in socal and i was more obssesive about testing than the owners were -all they could do was moan about the cost of reagents, regardless of how many thousands of fish i might be saving because of it, heh

[vitz]

Originally Posted by reeferlover

Yeah I have been testing a lot with my new tank. I had a sps develope stn and was trying to figure it out. Weird. I have no idea why. Everything is rocking out. It just slowly started to look like the tissue was getting thinner and thinner. Even my sensitive deep water sps are doing awesome. I just figure it's a artifical system and sometimes it happens.

there's a reason for everything that happens in any closed system-nothing 'just happens'

although, from most of your posts i've read, it doesn't surprise me you'd say something like that