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Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the support! ❤️

We appreciate it very much!

We do too!

With Reef Crystals, my alkalinity has been around 10 and calcium a bit high too. With fewer water changes, I can keep it closer to 8.3 and 440

Reefs with a low Bioload can absolutely lead to fluctuating parameters as you are most likely not feeding enough to keep your bacterial populations stable. So you are doing the right thing by only doing water changes every two weeks.

Mag levels can be really dependent on your salt mix. What brand of salt mix are you using?

@@WorldWideCorals fritz blue box, which is the normal stuff

I'd question your mag tester. Hanna checker is very inaccurate and says my mag is super high too, but it's really not.@@CLOWNFISH69

jus search it up lol

Doesn't google work for you?

You running a Refugium

Many of the Hannah checkers have 2 options. Either hold the button to start a timer, then take the reading OR time it yourself, then tap the button once to take the reading. So yes, you’re likely doing it wrong and are getting false low readings unless you’re waiting for the specified time before tapping the button.

@@mattb2906 i add C1 then it calls for c2, then it reads for a few seconds and gives me my number. I am at .3 on my phosphates.

You’re supposed to wait for 3 minutes prior to pushing the button at C2 and waiting for a few seconds for your number. You can either wait for 3 minutes yourself, then tap the button OR you can hold the button like in this video. That starts a 3 minute timer, then gives you your number. Your tank is likely much higher than 0.3 if you’re not waiting 3 minutes before taking your reading.

If you hold down the button, it should show a 3 minute countdown, give that a try!

@@mattb2906 so i measure weekly and i have been around .3ppm. I did the 3 minute long press and got .33, not any different. 👍

2 water changes on the same tank every week seems like overkill no?? I just booted up my 15g and plan on doing 4 gallon water changes weekly after my tank settles in

You’re smart enough! You just follow the instructions such as add 3 drops, shake for 2 minutes etc. Then read the value and see if it’s within the normal range (which you can find online or in videos like this one).

​@@SilentBiscuit17 Most likely it would be but if I don't test my parameters I want my tank clean and I want to replace the nutrients that the coral need instead of figuring out the trouble of testing and adding extra chemicals. Simple is better if I don't really know what I'm doing. On my tank I went a month without water changes. Well maybe like 25% because I added coral and dipped during that time. The coral were looking super small but alive. I did a 50% water change and it made an instant noticeable change. After that I did 200% in a week due to an anemeone that died because I didn't have enough par. Since I don't test I assumed my parameters are close to 100% normal and I resumed normal water changes. 4 Gallons a week for a 15 gallon tank is on the higher end in my opinion. It depends how much you stock and feed. There are so many ways to start a tank. My simple advice for starting is pay a lot of attention so you can train your eyes to notice a difference. When you think you are ready start testing if you need to for a specific reason. Not just because this video told you.

For many, with SMALL ESTABLISHED REEF TANKS (even myself to be honest), I only test if there is a problem. That said this is not recommended for tanks larger than 20 gallons. On larger tanks, testing should occur on a weekly basis, whether you have smarts or not, lol.

Oh of course if I had a giant display you better believe I'm testing. I'd be like I dare you to try and convince me not to test.

No worries have a tank that’s 2 years old and doesn’t grow coralline algae. Everything even GMKs are thriving.

Lol what? Testing is of course important! Maintaining proper and stable parameters is key to success. How can you possibly do that if you don’t measure? I suppose you could luck out with the perfect live stock and maintenance combo.

@@mattb2906 "If you expect nothing and receive everything that's destiny." I bought a dying plate coral and it seems to be growing anthocauli. I have like a month progress video but the new babies are too small there's no point in doing an update atm. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ecWKqpty0p62moE.html I hate to seem like I'm advertising my channel but I'm that lucky.

Also I know what I'm doing when it comes to testing I just pretend I don't because if I tell you I intentionally don't test you might use it as an excuse for why you can't properly take care of your tank if you were to copy me. Someone saw my tank in person and I tried to persuade them I'm doing it wrong.

@@mattb2906 Can you tell me why it is important? Why do you chase numbers?