Tankerini

Oil_Fan

I do my testing weekly. Though I've had to test my Ph about 3 or 4 times a week as it keeps dropping on me.

I test SG, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, Ph and phosphates.

I know that there are other tests that are worthwhile that I should be doing. For now, I've been taking in a sample of water from time to time to have my LFS check it out for me.

Tankerini

Q for oil fan,

Do you have any snails, hermit crabs, cleaner shrimps,clams or soft coral?
As I originally wanted to get a royal gamma but have read it nips at the above, so I thought I would rather have a cleaner crew to benefit the tank than the royal gamma.

Oil_Fan

No crabs though I used to have emerald crabs but once I started adding corals, they went straight for my polyps. I also don't have any clams.

I do have a number of snails (astrea, mexican turbo and nastrius). I have a fire shrimp in there along with a number of corals. Off the top of my head, I have yellow polyps, green brain, green and blue mushrooms plus some other assorted mushrooms that my LFS gave me. And also some frogspawn. My clowns love the frogspawn!!

I also have a royal gramma and he's never touched any of the corals. My problem was with my emerald crabs. By the time I took them out, they had eaten well over half of my poyps and were starting to move in on my mushrooms and green brain.

varder

just wondering how do they test your water, I mean what type of test kit do they use, since I used to do the same and my lfs used dip strips which I found out later on that they were inaccurate. So I decided to buy a master test kit which It happened to be alot accurate and better.

Good luck!

varder

I suggest to always test for both since you never know when you might get a spike and you will be in need to do an emergency water change. Only by testing you can see if it happens.
Good luck!!

Oil_Fan

I agree with Varder on this.

And to answer your other question, I use the API master test kit for SW tanks. Plus I have the phosphate one as well.

Tankerini

Yeah them crabs do look a little big and mean to be roaming round a reef tank, good job he was evicted from the tank

tango

are the frogspawn bad to have cause they can sting the other corals?

Oil_Fan

Just keep the frogspawn away from other corals so it doesn't sting the other corals. My frogspawn stretches out about 3 or 4 inches from it's base.

fishrule101

I test my water every three days put they all are zero so I kinda do it weekly now. If you have many corals i think you have to check the calcuim daily to see if the need calcuim or anything

nemo addict

if your tank hasnt cycled then you should test every 2-3 days till cycled and keep a log then you can see how ya tank is going also if your tank hasnt cycled you shouldnt have a anemone these should only be put in a mature tank .
i keep a daily log to wot i have done tests water changes filter changes blahh blahhh ,,
so if anything is to go wrong then you can see when it started and maybe easier to find out wot happened ,, i have a digital ph meter which i test daily normally at night after lights gone out , (ph crash)

Oil_Fan

Hey Nemo..do you find the digital pH meters better than the strips or liquid test kits?