Testing Your Tank - When??

[mynd]

Hello all,

I was wondering when people tested their tank parameters. Do you do it in the morning, noon or night? Do you do it WHEN YOUR LIGHTS determine the tanks time of day or based on OUR normal time of day? I have to assume that corals and fish still know what time it is even though we have our actinics come on at 11 am and whites at 12. Do you think that corals know some how what the real time is?

Curious when people feel is the best time to test the tank and if you could give an exact time that would be great..

 

[Subliminal]

I'm not the most experienced guy around, but other than pH, params should stay relatively stable throughout.

I test when i have time....for ca,alk,mg that's about once a week, and for the others...well, i quit testing for nitrates and the like..i just watch my xenia. It lets me know well ahead of time if I need to do an emergency water change.

For the little tank, i just try to use as little food as possible...with minimal rotting food, and nobody dying, things seem pretty stable for me.

Sorry, that doesn't really answer your questions...but i'm bored and figured I'd chat.

 

[Phyl]

I test my tank in the evening when the kids are in bed, usually around 10pm. The parameters I'm testing (Ca, Alk, Mg) don't care what time it is. The PH will shift slightly based on your light schedule. Your Nitrate shouldn't shift by time of day either. I think testing when it is most convenient for you is fine.

If you're testing your PH you'll want to establish a baseline around the clock so you can see how your light schedule affects your PH, but otherwise testing at the same time of day (whatever that is you choose) is the best for spotting trends with your tank.