Providing a superior environment for the marine fish and
invertebrates in our care is our primary objective. High water quality and optimal
equipment function are, therefore, the highest priorities for us as keepers of our reef.
Weekly water changes of 8 to 10 gallons are performed
along with other routine maintenance - without fail! A pH probe constantly monitors pH in
the reef, and kalkwasser is dripped nightly. Quality marine foods are fed to fish and,
subsequently, to invertebrates, twice daily.
With this strict maintenance regime in continual practice,
we seldom performed water tests. That is, until KH was tested one day ten months after
setup. dKH in October 2000 was only 5! Yikes!!
At this point, we brought out the slough of test kits we'd
purchase while setting up our reef and began using them regularly in an exerted effort to
adjust both KH and calcium levels.
We were almost lulled into a mistaken belief that all was
well in our reef without testing. No more! Since water chemistry issues greatly affect the
lives of the corals and fish in our care, we strive to understand the
dynamic environment
in our reef by vigilant testing and recordkeeping.
