how often do you test?

dalbright82

New member
Title pretty much covers it. How often do you test your water? Daily? weekly? Only certain things unless something looks off? I know there will be personal preference and things specific to each tanks inhabitants as always. The tank of the months are going to need a little more precision than mine and a newer tank is more unstable too... thanks!
 
Since I am pretty satisfied with my system, I just test once a week to make sure nothing is out of whack, and usually only cal, alk, mg and phos.

And "Featured Tank" does not necessarily need to be some insane show-off quality system. Anyone with a passion for the hobby is eligible, as long as they submit their entry (which very few still have gotten around to doing)
 
Since I am pretty satisfied with my system, I just test once a week to make sure nothing is out of whack, and usually only cal, alk, mg and phos.

I'm with ya. Sometimes evey two weeks. I think it has to do on how well you know your tank and how comfortable you are with it. If you think you got problems check. Try and have a set routine every week or two i.e. Every other Saturday morning. Don't get me wrong but it is very important. Things can change in a matter of minutes even seconds. There is some more "careful" people about that, that have a set schedule to check every so often.
 
Exactly, once you get a "feel" for your tank, you will start noticing when things are out of place, or something doesnt look right, and then know its time to check whats going on. But being new to the hobby, its good to make a habit of testing before you get into a habit of not...
 
Pretty much never, my tanks is on cruise control now, I just do regular water changes and keep an eye on my corals and fish.
 
I used to test weekly. But, I have gotten lazy about it because the water parameters are always good. I am vigilant and do weekly water changes bc I have smaller tanks.
 
I do every every week.. i have such a small tank that things may change here and there so i just have to check.... the longest i go without testing is probably 2 weeks but.. like other ppl said here.. it just depends on your tank and the size and how well you knw your tank.. You just gotta knw your tank basically.. hope this helps

jeff
 
Right now I'm testing everyday, but just my alk as I just moved all of my SPS to a different size tank and still tuning my 2 Part auto doser to fine tune my alk and my vinegar dosing to keep my alk stable and my nitrates/phos low with the vinegar.
 
since i don't do any kind of dosing or supplementing, i dont really every do tests aside from nitrates once in a while.
 
since i don't do any kind of dosing or supplementing, i dont really every do tests aside from nitrates once in a while.

Not dosing or adding supplements is reason enough to test more often to make sure parameters are in spec. A tank can very quickly and easily "crash" from poor parameters and lack of proper husbandry like missing water changes for a few weeks.
 
In the beginning, I tested everything almost daily. Then it went to a few times a week and now I only test Ca & Alk on Saturdays. I run Kalk so my Ca & Alk stay pretty stable but they do need to be tweaked every once in a while. I'm also running biopellets and GFO and haven't seen then slightest trace of NO3's or PO4's in over a year, but I still check them once a month for the hellovit.

There is no "best" routine. You know your tank better than anyone and will eventually settle into what is best for you. However, I know your tank is still pretty new so I'd keep testing fairly regularly.
 
I used to test every week when my tank was new.With time it become more stable and I started to test less frequently.Right now I just look at my tank closely for few minutes and see how is everything doing.Haven't tested anything for 4 months now.I would not recommend this until your tank become stable and you have good feel about it.If everything looks good I would test for ALK and Ca only couple of times a month.If no algae in your tank ,there is no need to test PO4 or NO3 until you see more growing then usual,especially on front glass.
 
Water changes

I have a 150 that I never check. It has been years since my last water test, but it is almost 7 years old now. My tank is super stable. I just do a 25 gallon water change every couple of weeks.

I used to spent major money on test kits. All it did was keep me awake at night and make me think that there was something wrong with my tank. Once I let go, I started to enjoy my tank a lot more.

Something I have learned over the last 10-12 years.......a big water change will solve most problems.

Ed
 
We do 30 gallon water changes on our 150 every two weeks and dose alk between. As such, we test about once a week to make sure our dosing is keeping the alk up.

Saving up for a calcium reactor. Too many SPS and clams driving down alk and calcium.
 
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