bravery test. fess up. i know i'm not the only one.

[PaulM]

I was with you until the last sentence. I believe that testing your water routinely is preventative maintenance. If I see my Alk slipping, I will take action before my livestock is negatively affected.

Do I think you are a terrible person for not testing? No, but I do believe tragedies can be avoided by testing. I do understand that people develop the "reefer's eye" over time, I just think there is too much to gain by testing.

My view of preventative maintenance would be routine water changes.


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[dirtycontour]

My view of preventative maintenance would be routine water changes.


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I agree. I just do not understand how testing isn't?

 

[@marko@]

holy crap. i wish i was like that. i had a tank crash cuz kh shot through the roof a few years ago. now i dont add anything before testing it - so i test kh mg and ca every other day or so. but i only use cheap test kits.

 

[Cdiggy]

I use the force.... I also think a lot of these test kits are hit and miss. I have had a lot of bad test results, either from me not doing it right or the test kit just sucked.

But really I don't use the force. The fish use that old Jedi mind trick and force me to do water changes

 

[PaulM]

I agree. I just do not understand how testing isn't?

Maintenance is the process of maintaining. Testing is taking measures to check the quality. A result of testing may be maintenance. Anyway, to each their own. I used to test, I just choose not to now the results are always the same for the test kits I have. I do not dose it run a calcium reactor. If I was, I would probably test alkalinity and calcium. Other than that I just look at my livestock to make sure they seem happy. I do check salinity every water change though.


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[JRWOHLER]

I use the force.... I also think a lot of these test kits are hit and miss. I have had a lot of bad test results, either from me not doing it right or the test kit just sucked.

But really I don't use the force. The fish use that old Jedi mind trick and force me to do water changes

I agree the test kits can cause you to chase a number that is messed up.

 

[dirtycontour]

Maintenance is the process of maintaining. Testing is taking measures to check the quality. A result of testing may be maintenance. Anyway, to each their own. I used to test, I just choose not to now the results are always the same for the test kits I have. I do not dose it run a calcium reactor. If I was, I would probably test alkalinity and calcium. Other than that I just look at my livestock to make sure they seem happy. I do check salinity every water change though.


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We are talking about preventative maintenance. Tests are a part of preventative maintenance.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preventive_maintenance

I agree the test kits can cause you to chase a number that is messed up.

This is also true. If I get a wacky reading, my first thought is to get a second opinion. I'm not testing and expecting to get a 100% accurate reading. If my Alk test shows 8 DKH and in reality it's at 9 or 10, I don't care. I'm only testing for stability, not the actual number.

 

[joe b]

I use the force.... I also think a lot of these test kits are hit and miss. I have had a lot of bad test results, either from me not doing it right or the test kit just sucked.

But really I don't use the force. The fish use that old Jedi mind trick and force me to do water changes

x2 but i'm no jedi yet....

Latley I only test for alk & salinty on my small tanks... If my alk is off or I notice negitave changes I test for more.

 

[Paul B]

i see this word test kit thrown around alot. am i the only one that doesn't own one? infact i haven't tested anything other than salinity for the past 5 years or more years. anyone else care to chime in?

You are not the only one, I also don't test as long as the corals are growing, the fish are living 15 or 20 years and spawning. If you are a Noob or if you are having some sort of problem that is different. But after decades of this, you just know if you should test.

 

[Rwc]

I can remember when I first started with reef tanks ,testing every other day hah! Years later I probably test once a month or if something isn't looking right. I also feel you shouldn't dose anything that you are not otherwise testing