# Water Parameters and Testing



## lotus02 (Feb 16, 2005)

I know water testing is important , so what does everyone regularly test for? Also what should a healthy planted tank have for water parameters? There are a lot of different test kit out there, is there one or two that are better or one that should never be used? In my last post I stated I want to do things right. We all make mistakes but can be narrowed down if the error is caught before it becomes a problem like test kits not worth the box they're packaged in, or listening to what the LFS says (been there and done that with my reef) I come to the conclusion they know nothing.


----------



## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

A lot of us don't do much testing at all, but a lot of that is based on experience which will take time. The gold standards of test kits are the LaMotte and Hach brand kits. They are also the most expensive. The 2 kits I would suggest having are NO3 and PO4 kits. Iron is basically useless to test for. 

As long as you prepare known standards of your solutions you're testing for to verify a test kit's accuracy, most 'common' test kits will work for you. For example, if you're using a 'brand X' NO3 test kit (actually this should be done with ALL test kits), prepare a known 10ppm NO3 solution, and see how the color reads compared to the chart which comes with the kit. Preparing a couple of different concentrations, will let you know how accurate the kit and chart are, and you can judge your tank's water accordingly. You should do this with all kits and tests to verify. 

You can have a healthy planted tank in a wide variety of water params, from soft to hard. Hard water cuts down on a few species of plants, but you just don't try to grow those.  There is no one right way.


----------



## lotus02 (Feb 16, 2005)

Thanks Bert H. I've got another question for ya. Is there a proper way to dose ferts, lights on or out? I know with my reef there are certain things that are best dosed with lights out ,is it the same with planted tanks? I know I've got to separate the two ,but I've been reefing for so long somethings are drilled in my brain, so some of my questions my seem weird.
Would like to add you guys and gals are great here very friendly, Ive been on other forums where newbies are attacked after asking question that are common sense to those that have been around a while.


----------



## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

> Is there a proper way to dose ferts, lights on or out?


The answer is, imo, 'it depends'. I am currently running tanks using 2 different fert schemes. One tank is being run with 'PPS-Pro', and that is dosed daily before lights on. The other 2 tanks are being dosed with a modified EI type dosing and that is done after water changes (whatever time of day I do them) for the macros and micros are dosed usually in the AM. IMO, it's probably best to do it before lights on, so plants have all they need before the 'sun rises', so to speak.

If you're not familiar with EI and PPS, go to the fert forum or do a search. There's a wealth of info on them.



> Would like to add you guys and gals are great here very friendly, Ive been on other forums where newbies are attacked after asking question that are common sense to those that have been around a while.


Thanks! We try to be.  APC is a great community.


----------



## Tsquare (Feb 9, 2007)

"10ppm NO3 solution" I understand the why but how do you prepare the solution?
Gene


----------



## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

Tsquare said:


> "10ppm NO3 solution" I understand the why but how do you prepare the solution?
> Gene


Here's one way to make a 10 ppm NO3 reference solution:

Add 1.631 g of KNO3 to 1 L DI/RO water. This makes a 1000 ppm NO3 solution. (It's really a 1000.29 ppm solution.)

Add 1 mL of the 1000 ppm solution to 9 mL of DI/RO water. This makes 10 mL of a 100 ppm NO3 solution.

Add 5 mL of the 100 ppm solution to 5 mL of DI/RO water. This makes 10 mL of a 50 ppm NO3 solution.

Add 2 mL of the 50 ppm solution to 8 mL of DI/RO water. This makes 10 mL of a 10 ppm NO3 solution.

To make a 20 ppm NO3 solution:
Add 4 mL of the 50 ppm solution to 6 mL of DI/RO water. This makes 10 mL of a 20 ppm NO3 solution.

To make a 30 ppm NO3 solution:
Add 6 mL of the 50 ppm solution to 4 mL of DI/RO water. This makes 10 mL of a 30 ppm NO3 solution.

To make a 40 ppm NO3 solution:
Add 8 mL of the 50 ppm solution to 2 mL of DI/RO water. This makes 10 mL of a 40 ppm NO3 solution.

I hope that this helps you, Tsquare.


----------



## Tsquare (Feb 9, 2007)

Wow that's more than I thought. Thanks.
Gene


----------



## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

Tsquare said:


> Wow that's more than I thought. Thanks.
> Gene


You're welcome,Tsquare.

There's a zillion ways to make up the reference solutions. This is just one way. Also, you can buy 1000 ppm NO3 reference solutions made with KNO3 from many testing supply vendors.

If you are going to make several different reference solutions, you can increase the amout of the 50 ppm solution. That way you don't have to keep making up more. This is the step:
"Add 5 mL of the 100 ppm solution to 5 mL of DI/RO water. This makes 10 mL of a 50 ppm NO3 solution."

You can change it so that you make up 20 mL of the 50 ppm NO3 solution by making it this way:
Add 10 mL of the 100 ppm solution to 10 mL of DI/RO water. This makes 20 mL of a 50 ppm NO3 solution.

There's two flaws that I can think of:
-This is assuming that you are using 100% pure KNO3.
-Also, you are assuming that there is no moisture in it.
-Anyway, this method gets you in the ball park.

When I was writing this up, I went ahead and wrote up how to make a PO4 reference solution using KH2SO4. Let me know if you want it and I'll post it here.


----------

