How often do you test?

[WarDog]

Just finished testing.

No3 : 5 ppm Salifert... opps!

All other params in check and tank looks happy.

[sumpfinfishe]

I perform my water changes on the first of every month give or take a day or two, then in the the middle of the month I do test for ca/alk.
I would and have bumped up the testing if something out of the norm takes place.

[Myka]

I have a maintenance company, and on all my clients' tanks I do the following:

Tank salinity - every week before water change
W/C bucket salinity - every week before w/c
Tanks with dosers (med-high demand) - cal and alk every week before w/c, Mg every 2nd week
Tanks without dosers, but lots of coralline - alk every week before w/c, cal every 2nd week
All reef tanks - NO3 and PO4 monthly
TDS in RO tubs - monthly
Check calibration of probes and refractometers - monthly


Fish only tanks - alk, NO3, and PO4 monthly, cal and Mg once every couple months. Yes, I dose fish only tanks. The tanks do better.

[gobytron]

ha ha...

It IS at least a LITTLE different when you are getting paid to test rather than paying to test on your own free time.

[Myka]

Originally Posted by gobytron

ha ha...

It IS at least a LITTLE different when you are getting paid to test rather than paying to test on your own free time.

I get paid by salary essentially as I charge a monthly fee, not hourly. So I do choose to test. The last thing I want is a Frogspawn getting brown jelly disease and I test the tank and alkalinity is at 6 dKH or something like that. I have to keep my bases covered.

My own tank I test cal, alk, mg bi-weekly. NO3 and PO4 monthly. Salinity before every w/c. It's low demand right now though, just kalk dosing.

[gobytron]

the stakes are higher for you to be sure.

Lots of us lose sleep over our own tanks but you might be one of the few who dies over someone elses...

[Dearth]

Until my partial tank crash due to fixation on the wrong problem 2 months ago I hadn't tested for months and now everything is back to normal all I check for is salinity during water changes

Each to their own