KurtG wrote:


There seems to be good consensus that ammonia, nitrites, nitrates,
phosphates, and silicates should all be near-zero, but then things seem
to diverge from there. There are hobbyist that just rely on frequent
water changes using a decent salt mix. This keeps the alkalinity from
moving out of acceptable parameters, and provides an export for nitrates
and toxic orgnanics/metals. And then there are chemistry buffs that
examine the water parameters in minute detail and tend to do water
changes much less frequently. (I'm in the 1x/month club).

For example, specific gravity on aquariums can range from 22 to 26 (or
higher) and most fish and inverts will adjust to these. However, what
is "best" is highly subjective depends on the species your keeping and
where they are from (red sea, reef, open ocean).

I've heard about some people tracking 16 different water parameters. I
currently track 8.

Agree with Wayne that you should read up on this and develop your own
working theory of what is best. If you're new or don't understand water
chemistry, then definitely rely on frequent water changes. Also,
investigate the environment where your species are from.

--Kurt


16 Parameters? Jeez. 16?!?!

lesse - alk, ph, nitrate, nitrate ,ammonia, calcium, phosphate,
silicates, specific gravity (incorrectly called slainity most often),
and temp are the most common. I am guessing these all include the 8 you
track? I track all those except phosphate and silicate. heh - never
realized i was tracking 8 different thigs - of course some of them I
don't check all that often - I have never amonia reading bove zero
since my tank cyled, so I only check that once in a blue moon... Same
for nitrate and nitrite. But mostly I just keep tracking alk and
calcium and PH - lotsa clams crammed into a 20 gal kinda forces ya to
have to do that ;-)

anyway - that's 10 things to track...lesee if I can think of another 6...

So what else is there? ORP for those with ozonizers... Some track
magnesium... lesse.. what else can one track? - dissolved oxygen of
course... total dissolved solids (not of much use in a marine system -
more usefull as a check for your RO/DI water BEFORE you mix it with
salt). Copper? (assuming one does not put copper in, why check for it?)
Some do sepreate tests for salinity AND specific gravity... One can do
more detailed tetsing in place of "alkalinity" and check borate and
carbonate hardness... Are there tests for organic load?


Yeah - I guess I can think of 16 things.