Reef Chemistry

Tenji is pleased to present a series of exclusive articles for Reef2Reef members. We will be delving into the various aspects of reef keeping, focusing on tried and true methods that can be implemented by aquarists of all levels. Our first installments will be concentrating on the most basic...

I’ve been waiting for Aquaforest tests for a long time, and I very excited that the new Aquaforest tests are out now. One of the things I like about these tests is that they are laboratory certified. My confidence level with these tests are higher than most. I wanted to see how the Aquaforest...

Understanding Colorimetry and Your Hanna Checker® HC By: Kevin Costa, Hanna Instruments Intro Maintaining water quality and critical parameters is the single most important aspect of having a successful aquarium. Knowing your water's parameters is usually the first troubleshooting step to...

Hey guys! The time has come to reveal the results of the Marine Pure test! As the thread title alludes to, we ran into some speed bumps during this test, but we still walked away with some eye opening results. :) Let us know what you think!

Here we go with another compelling episode of 52FAQ! Today, Ryan sheds some light on possible causes for imbalanced nutrients in your tank, as well as briefly touches on the Redfield Ratio. So, don your reefer thinking caps and enjoy today's episode! See you in the discussion below! ;)

Making testing easy with a magnetic stirrer As we all know testing our system can be time consuming and challenging. Did I time the test, right? Did I count the drops, right? Did I shake the vile long enough? After some thought, I started looking around for a way to simplify the...

How Much Two Part Do I Need? I'm a two part doser for alkalinity and calcium (and magnesium), and have been repeatedly asked about how to figure out how much of each a new two-parter needs to dose to their tank. This subject has been thoroughly covered, so this article will predominantly be...

This article is sponsored by I occasionally run across threads/posts inquiring about alternatives to chemical filtration with Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) and other such products, and I find myself spouting off about Seachem Purigen and how to maintain it. I originally heard about the...

Will be starting threads on the various "method's" in advance reef keeping so hobbyist can understand each method better. As with anything in this hobby there is no one way or wrong way to keep a Reef tank. Here is the FAQ from the Zeovit forum so that you can understand the basic's of the...

Salinity is one of the most important parameters measured in reef aquaria. It controls not only the salt balance between an organism and its surrounding environment, but also the levels of a host of ions in seawater that aquarists neither measure nor control independently. Consequently...

For many aquarists, pH is not something that they have much experience with aside from their aquarium. For many, pH is almost a black box measurement: something to be considered, but whose physical meaning makes little sense to them. This article will describe pH in an intuitive way (as...

Most reefkeepers know they need to measure alkalinity, and most know it has something to do with carbonate. But what is alkalinity exactly? Why is it important? How is it measured? This article will answer those questions and give you all of the information that you need to fully understand one...

The phosphorus atom is one of living matter’s basic building blocks. It is present in every living creature and in the water of every reef aquarium. Unfortunately, it is often present in excess in reef aquaria and that excess has the potential to cause at least two substantial problems for...

Introduction Nitrate is an ion that has long dogged aquarists. It is typically formed in aquaria through the digestion of foods, and in many aquaria it builds up and can be difficult to keep at natural levels. In the past, many aquarists performed water changes with nitrate reduction as one of...

There are many different ions in seawater, and as reef aquarists we generally only test for a small number of these. Calcium, magnesium, “alkalinity”, nitrate, phosphate, and ammonia, for example, are relatively easy for hobbyists to test at home using kits. Other ions, however, are more...

Alkalinity is one of the most important measurements that a reef aquarist can make. It can become rapidly depleted in many aquaria, requiring frequent measurement in order to maintain stable levels. While hobby test kits for alkalinity can be simple to use, some aquarists find them either...

There is no aspect of reef aquarium chemistry more important than calcium and alkalinity. Many of my previous articles have described various aspects of these systems in detail. In reading those articles, aquarists will note one pervasive theme: that maintaining appropriate levels of each are...

[note: edited on 5/29/2022 to update the nitrate and phosphate sections with higher recommended levels.] One of the main roles of an aquarist with a coral reef aquarium is to ensure that the conditions are right for their tank inhabitants. There are many different attributes of the aquarium...

auto doser Aquarium Dosing: Brand new Reef Salt comes packed with good stuff, most of which precipitates or gets used up over time. There are many ways to replenish these things, the easiest of which is with regular water changes. Some tanks just consume far to quickly or require things that...

beautiful reef of @swannyson7 BAKING SODA: NOT POWDER! Sodium Bicarbonate is an amazingly versatile powder of goodness. How many things in your life has someone said that baking soda was the answer to your problems, or at least one of the ingredients? It is obviously used for baking, but it is...