Am I good to go on tests?

[Tigerbarb]

I recently bought a Red sea marine starter kit that included 60 gallons of salt, a hydrometer, ph buff, Marine Gro pellet food, and three test kits: nitrite, ph, and alkalinity. I heard that in a well running tank these tests are mainly all you will need to test for but I was wondering if I really need nitrate, ammonia and calcium or not. I can't seem to find any specific tests available from Red sea, just the marine starter kit I bought and the full blown master test kit.

EDIT: I found these online http://redseafish.com/SubCategory.asp?ID=98&subID=39 . Am I good to go with nitrite, nitrate, ph, and alkalinity?

[unleashed]

you need the following:

ammonia
nitrite
nitrate
pH
alkalinity
magnesium (for corals & inverts)
calcium (for corals & inverts)

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

I would agree with all of those except the Magnesium. Magnesium is not really something you need to test for. If you are keeping up with your proper water changes and maybe even doing a little dosing with some Reef Essentials then you don't need to test for it at all. There are a ton of test kits out there that you can get but don't need. You can find test kits for Strontium, Molybdenum, Iodine, and even Copper as well, but none of those are really necessary unless you suspect you are lacking something. Also, all those test kits (except Copper) are generally very expensive. The cheapest Magnesium test kit I've seen is $30, not what I want to spend for something you won't really use much.

[Zangetsu]

EDIT: I found these online http://redseafish.com/SubCategory.asp?ID=98&subID=39 . Am I good to go with nitrite, nitrate, ph, and alkalinity?

I would also look into a calcium test kit. I use Salifert kits. A little more expensive, but more precise ime.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

I agree there. Definitely get a Ca kit and Salifert kits are really really good.

A little more expensive? LOL A lot more expensive, but you get what you pay for.

[Tigerbarb]

I guess I will get the nitrate and ammonia tests, and get calcium and magnesium tests when I upgrade to reef. Thanx alot for your help.

[Zangetsu]

I agree there. Definitely get a Ca kit and Salifert kits are really really good.

A little more expensive? LOL A lot more expensive, but you get what you pay for.

OK fine, A LOT more expensive :P. LOL