[chiahead]

I was curious if there is a good time to test for the tank values-No3, Po4, KH, GH, ETC. Meaning night or day, when lights are off. Just curious what the rest of you do?

 

[gnatster]

There really is not optimal time since a test is only a snapshot at a point. Whats more important then the time is consistancy. Testing at night or or at noon all time. This way your snapshots are comparable.

 

[JLudwig]

I was curious if there is a good time to test for the tank values-No3, Po4, KH, GH, ETC. Meaning night or day, when lights are off. Just curious what the rest of you do?

Don't go overboard with testing... hobby kits are not very accurate at all, you will not be able to resolve any real differences day or night, except pH as CO2 levels should change over the day... rule there is you want 20-30ppm at lights out. As for other stuff, I occasionally test nitrates, maybe once every few months, nothing else... kits are good for telling if you're way off in one area, but its often times easier to looks at the plants for signs of deficiency.

Jeff

 

[TWood]

I test NO3 and PO4 after the weekly water change, then use The Fertilator

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forum/fertilator.php

to adjust. I'll test pH and KH during the week after the tank is initially set up, but no more after that unless I see a problem. Once set, a bubble counter on the CO2 is all that's really needed to keep those in the right range.

Regarding test accuracy, I suppose they might be off but I really like the el cheapo $7 Aquarium Pharmaceuticals (AP) NO3 and PO4 test kits. I keep a log so even if the tests are off, they are always off by the same amount, so it works out over the long haul. Besides, the AP NO3 kit reported a value similar to the LaMotte, so I threw my LaMotte away when it ran out. :shock:

TW