- I'm Thomas and these are ATI's
Professional ICP-OES Water Analysis tests.
And not only am I gonna give you a rundown on these tests
and how they work, why they're important,
but also we're going to look at the results
that I got using these tests of my own reef tank,
as well as my RODI water
because these tests actually do both.
So you can get a really good idea
of what you can expect when you use it for your reef tank.
So there's a lot to cover, better just get into it.
Let's do this.
The reefing community gaining access to ICP testing
has changed the way that we look
at our aquarium's water chemistry.
Not only can we regularly test
for the most critical water parameters ourselves,
but now, we can send our water away to a lab
and get a full workup on all of the major
and minor elements, of which there are many.
As well as various nutrients and impurities
giving us a much more in-depth look
at the health of our reefs through water chemistry.
So that way we can identify and correct
any otherwise invisible deficiencies
that might be causing a lack luster growth or coloration.
Or even more importantly, in some cases
any elevated impurities that are wreaking havoc
in our tanks causing those mystery losses.
When everything else that we have been able
to test for manually is coming up perfect.
ATI's ICP-OES testing covers
not only 43 different parameters
including major and minor elements,
nutrients, salinity and pollutants,
but they also run that gamut of testing
on your RODI water as well.
So you can not only get an in-depth look
at your aquarium's chemistry,
but also the source water that you're using
for mixing up salt and topping up for evaporation.
So you can ensure that it is pure and not the culprit
of any potential problems you're currently having
or might have later on,
whether you can see the symptoms yet or not.
Plus you'll also get a report with a total out of 100%
to summarize your aquarium's overall water chemistry health.
As well as scores out of 100 in four separate categories
to help you understand the results.
ATI also makes simple recommendations you can follow
to help improve your water chemistry as well,
which is a huge help, especially for reefers
new to this in-depth world of ICP water testing.
So let's get this pack opened up
and I'll show you how it works.
Inside of the re-shippable bubble mailer,
You'll find three test vials for aquarium water
one test vial for your RODI water,
the instructions, as well as a free return shipping label
because ATI's gonna pay the shipping for you.
Collecting water for these test vials is really simple
and the instructions walk you through
everything step-by-step.
Starting with creating an account
on the ATI Labs website so you can register your tank
and record the barcode from your ICP test.
Then it's as simple as rinsing out
and filling the vials for both your RODI
as well as your aquarium water.
Make sure you're tightly securing the caps
on each vial as you fill them up,
then place them back into the bubble mailer.
Remove the strip from the adhesive flap.
Close it up and stick the included shipping label
on the outside and drop it off at your local post office.
Once ATI Labs receives the samples,
they'll send you an email confirmation that they've arrived.
And then another email once the tests are completed.
You can then head back to the ATI Labs website,
log in and then scroll to the bottom of the dashboard page
and click on your aquarium to view the results.
You can see every parameter listed on the far left
followed by your result, the reference it's tested against
and the difference between your result and the reference
followed by an icon indicating
if you're higher, lower, or within range.
For example, you can see that my tank's manganese
is a little bit low while my iodine is quite high.
And under pollutants, near the bottom,
you can see that lanthanum is a bit high as well,
which is likely from when I dosed it to lower phosphates.
Okay, so I have all this information,
but what do I do with it now?
Well, that's where ATI Labs recommendations come in.
You can find that recommendations tab
at the top of the results page.
Click on it.
And not only will you get a summary of the parameters
that are outside of the optimal range,
whether that's high or low,
but at the top you'll also get recommendations from ATI
on what you can dose or what actions you can take
to help get your water chemistry back on track.
In my case, dosing a small amount of vanadium
and manganese, as well as running some carbon.
You can also access your RODI water results
by going back to the dashboard and clicking on RO water.
Ultimately, you're hoping for exactly what I've got here,
which is zeros across the board,
which means there's nothing but quality H20
inside of my RODI water.
But if you do notice something like copper, for example
you at least know about it now
and have the ability to take action to correct it
before it starts to wreaking havoc on your tank.
Now, while ICP testing isn't something that I do
nearly as often as manual testing
for things like alkalinity, calcium, nitrate and phosphate
a monthly ICP test is a fantastic way to keep tabs
on all of those elements and pollutants
that I don't test for on a regular basis,
while also keeping a very close eye on my source water
so that I'm never flying blind.
And if that sounds like it also matches your reefing mantra,
you can pick up some ATI ICP tests for yourself
by clicking right here.
(light music)