Water testing Question

[pearsont74]

I was looking at the all different types of water testing and was wanting to get suggestions on the pros and cons of the dip test or using the liquid tests - Any suggestions on a brand?

Also can someone list all the important things to test for on a reef tank?

Thanks

 

[malkore]

Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Phosphate, pH (high range), Alkalinity. If this is a reef setup, you also want calcium and magnesium kits.

I'd go with SeaChem, or Salifert. Skip the dip strips...they can be accurate enough for a freshwater, non-planted setup, but for anything else you need better accuracy. Plus the strips will go bad if they are stored improperly.

 

[revhtree]

For starters you could go with a simple liquid test kit that contains the 4 basics for sw. Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, and PH. The others you coudl add down the road. You need at last these 4 test at bare minimum, and if possible, go ahead and get the test that malkore suggested.