New To Reefing

Nachoman

Member
Apr 10, 2018
8
4
Testing
Hi all. About to get back into marine for the first time in 10 years. Job and kids got in the way for a while but im ready to go again now. Will be starting with an all in one Aqua one Mini reef 160 which i'll hopefully pick up next week. I'm in no rush to do things at the moment as we go to fiji at the end of may so i will probably just be putting it all together and might start playing around with powerheads and stuff but it wont actually go salty till after Fiji.

Question is what are peoples recommendations for testing kits to have ready to. I think i had an API set last time but from my research now that was probably a waste of time. Any help is appreciate.
 

ryan1986

Member
Sep 6, 2014
237
48
Glad to see you back.
Red sea is my choice, not overly expensive but very reliable.
With my old nano I had a heap of trouble with api kits being off.
 

Buddy

Member
Mar 13, 2012
3,142
1,526
Welcome back!
API kits are fine for the cycle to get a general idea of whats happening. Once you want to get things dialed in I would use something like Salifert or Red Sea.
My personal choice is Salifert for Alk, Calc and Mag. Red Sea Pro for nitrate and then a Hanna phosphorus checker.
 

jart

Member
Apr 10, 2015
207
106
Welcome Back. If possible, I would suggest getting it cycling before you head overseas. The longer you can bear to wait for the tank to cycle and mature, the better off you are likely to be in the long run. If it is doing part of that process while you are in Fiji having fun, even better. Best thing I ever did for the long term success of my tank is to let it cycle and mature for 3+ months at the start. Waiting was hard, but complete lack of nuisance algae ever since has more than made up for the frustration of waiting at the start. Looking forward to hearing about more of your tank. Enjoy your holiday.
 

Nachoman

Member
Apr 10, 2018
8
4
I would love to get the cycle up and running while i'm away but i've already learnt from past experience that things are only ever going to go wrong with the tank when i'm away and I don't want to live it to my mother who is house sitting to have to fix any issues. Plus i'm in no hurry for things to happen, i'm just happy to be able to get another tank up and running.

Thanks for the responses I think I will pick up some Red Sea kits in the coming weeks. So for the initial round of purchases i should get Nitrite, Nitrate, Phos & PH or would you go a different route?
 

Sam Parker

Moderator
May 6, 2013
4,802
2,397
Geelong
Just to add to the mix, these are what I use:

alk,cal and mag - aquaforest
nitrate - red sea pro
phospate - hanna checker

Don't bother with nitrite, ammonia or ph kits if you are going to be patient with the cycle.
 

parrdog

Member
Sep 19, 2011
349
127
Engadine
Like the others, I use a Hanna Checker for Phosphate. I'm sure everyone will agree that the Hanna Checker for Phosphate is a must.

I use Salifert for Alk, Cal, Mag and Nitrate.

I also have a Hanna Digital Seawater Refractometer for Salinity. It's expensive but it's my favourite parameter toy, it's a ripper.

All the best with your tank :).
 

parrdog

Member
Sep 19, 2011
349
127
Engadine
I just saw online the Serenity Digtal Refractometer. That thing looks better than the Hanna one as it's so quick to use and much cheaper too.
 

NiCd

Lead Moderator
Jul 29, 2011
4,296
1,586
Sydney
I also have a Hanna Digital Seawater Refractometer for Salinity. It's expensive but it's my favourite parameter toy, it's a ripper.
.
This is an amazing bit of kit and I have felt like a peasant using my traditional one ever since (it also showed me mine was out by .03)
 

jart

Member
Apr 10, 2015
207
106
Wow, had seen the various Hanna eggs and knew they produced some cool kit, but that refracto is over the top cool.
 

NiCd

Lead Moderator
Jul 29, 2011
4,296
1,586
Sydney
It gets down to a much finer resolution than any of the others out there and if you do 5 tests in a row you actually do get the same result 5 times in a row, so it is a lot more consistent than some.

I may be the only idiot this has happened to, but you just need to remember to shake the crap out of the reagents before use.

When they first launched this range I was given the whole range of their products to try out before the release and I was giving a normal 1-2 shake before each use and was thinking I was the man with 0 readings.

About three months into use the silver stuff that is meant to be suspended through it, came loose from where it was compacted at the bottom and the readings were all over the place.

I replaced it and got that "suspension" loose the first time around and found out my readings were not 0.0 and needed some work.

Again I may be the only idiot that has done this or it may have been something to do with them being first batch but something to be mindful of.
 

Nachoman

Member
Apr 10, 2018
8
4
I'll keep my questions in here instead of starting a new thread each time.

Thoughts on using eggcrate on the bottom of the tank? Pointless?? I was thinking of putting the rocks in first and then put sand substrate in after. Theory being if fish/inverts start to dig down in the sand they wont cause the rocks to become unstable. Thought the eggcrate might just give added protection should rocks move etc to not damage the glass. Is this stupid??
 

ryan1986

Member
Sep 6, 2014
237
48
I'll keep my questions in here instead of starting a new thread each time.

Thoughts on using eggcrate on the bottom of the tank? Pointless?? I was thinking of putting the rocks in first and then put sand substrate in after. Theory being if fish/inverts start to dig down in the sand they wont cause the rocks to become unstable. Thought the eggcrate might just give added protection should rocks move etc to not damage the glass. Is this stupid??
I've seen alot of people do the egg crate thing. I personally made my scape, dirtied it together so it can't fall apart.