coral

i would like to get into some nice corals but i dont know much about there water quilitys what do i have to test for i know like ph amm no3 but i have been reading and they talk about other tests that have to be done like mag carbon hard. is there anything else :-/

 

I started with some ZOAs... mine are happy and I havent tested my parameters in a while.
HOWEVER/WORD OF CAUTION... I do 5 gal water swap outs with natural reef water, so it might be giving me an edge.

I have zoas, a clam, two pipe organ colonies as well as a hairy mushroom and two leather toadstools.... they are all happy under T5 and MH... but I started with the zoas and they are quite resilient

 

A good word of advice is: anything you add, whether it be iodine, calcium, magnesium, pH or alkalinity buffers, I would test for.
The next thing is the amount and types of corals and other livestock you wish to maintain or already have. They will have an impact on the depletion time of many of these traces with your tank, through filtration, carbon additives, fish respiration and adsorption and absorption!
I would also have a phosphate and nitrate kit, more so than an ammonia and nitrite kit as once your tank has cycled completely, initially the testing of your water for ammonia and nitrites is very uncommon thereafter, atleast in my experiences. Yes, their are times when you will want to test for ammonia and nitrites, but not as common as with the others listed.