What ICP tests cost in the UK
| Service | Checked price | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Fauna Marin Reef ICP Test Set S | £20.99 | An affordable mail-in test; check which elements it covers before you order |
| Reef Zlements ICP Advanced | £35.99 | Covers more trace elements; check what the lab tests and how quickly it reports |
| ATI ICP OES/MS seawater + RO | £54.99 | The premium option; tests both your tank water and your RO water |
What ICP is good for
It’s worth it when a wide panel of elements could explain a problem that won’t go away, when you suspect something has contaminated the tank, or when you want a before-and-after picture of a change of salt, additive or water source. It can also tell you when a home test result deserves a second look.
What ICP can’t tell you
A result is one sample from one moment, not a trend. It can’t tell you why an element changed, whether your corals need a trace element at a particular level, or what you should dose next. An odd number can come from how the sample was taken or posted, contamination, or the limits of the lab’s method. Don’t start dosing several things on the strength of one result.
How to take a good sample
- Use the lab’s own container and follow its instructions for filling and posting it.
- Rinse your hands and tools, and don’t touch the inside of the bottle or lid.
- Note the date, salinity, temperature, and any recent water changes or dosing.
- When the results come back, compare them with your own home test trends and notes on your source water.
When it’s worth the money
For a stable, straightforward tank, regular home testing usually answers the questions you can act on, and for less. ICP earns its place when something’s wrong and you can’t explain it, when contamination is a real possibility, or when you’re checking a new salt or dosing routine. Treat the report as a lead to follow up, not a shopping list.
Sources and limits
The difference between ICP and routine testing follows the practical advice in Charterhouse Aquatics’ ICP guide. We checked current UK services at UK Aquatics, Stockport Marine and Koi and Finest Aquatics. We haven’t used these services ourselves or checked how quickly the labs return results.
THE SHORT ANSWER
Use ICP to answer a question, not to replace your regular tests
An ICP lab test gives you a wide snapshot of major and trace elements that home kits don’t cover. It’s most useful for problems you can’t explain, suspected contamination, checking your source water or spotting slow drift over time. It doesn’t measure every form of every element equally well, and the sample only reflects one moment, after it’s been taken, posted and prepared by the lab.
Read the report alongside your salinity, alkalinity and nutrient trends, what your livestock are doing, and any recent dosing or water changes. Big trace element corrections based on one result can do more harm than the problem itself. Check the method, units, reference range and a likely cause before you act.
STEP BY STEP
How to do it
- 01
Decide what you want to know
Are you looking for contamination, an unexplained decline, a source water problem or long-term drift? That decides which results matter.
- 02
Take a careful sample
Follow the lab’s instructions, use their container, avoid contamination, and note any water changes or dosing around the time you took it.
- 03
Separate major and trace results
Check the major elements that track salinity first, and focus on clear, believable changes. Be extra careful with trace results close to what the lab can detect.
- 04
Respond cautiously
Remove any cause you’ve found, check with your regular tests or a repeat ICP, and don’t try to correct lots of elements at once without a proper plan.
YOUR SITUATION
What to do in your situation
Your regular results and livestock are steady
ICP is optional, not something you need on a schedule.
Home tests look normal but problems continue
Use ICP as one part of the investigation, along with checking equipment, pests and your routine.
You’ve seen rust, a damaged magnet or have doubts about your source water
Test the tank (and perhaps your source water), remove the likely cause and watch the trend.
COMMON MISTAKES
Mistakes to avoid
Treating reference ranges as targets
A lab’s range doesn’t mean nudging every result to the middle will make your tank better.
Correcting dozens of trace elements
Adding lots of things at once hides what’s actually working and raises the risk of a dosing mistake.
Ignoring what happened around the sample
A recent water change, a dose or a dirty container can all change the report.
WORKED EXAMPLE
Investigating corals that keep declining
A tank’s salinity, alkalinity, nitrate and phosphate are all stable, but several corals go downhill after a pump is serviced. A closer look finds corrosion near a damaged magnet, which makes contamination a real possibility. The reefer takes an ICP sample before a big water change, and notes exactly what happened.
If the report shows raised levels of the relevant metals, the first step is to remove the source and rely on careful water changes and filtration, not to dose other elements. A follow-up sample shows whether that worked, while livestock and regular readings are watched closely.
BEFORE YOU CHANGE ANYTHING
Write down where you’re starting from
Note the date, the equipment or product you’re using, how you measured and the conditions behind every important number. Say whether a volume is the tank’s label figure or your real net water; whether a flow is the box rating or what actually comes out; and, for test results, the salinity, test kit and time of day. A precise-looking number is useless once you’ve forgotten where it came from.
Change one thing at a time, and decide in advance what improvement will look like: a steady test trend, less detritus, a more stable temperature, a quieter tank or a lower running cost. One reading, or one good day, isn’t a trend, and a setting copied from someone else’s tank isn’t proof it suits yours. The free Reef Companion keeps your tests, maintenance and changes in one dated log, so you can see cause and effect.
MAKING CHANGES SAFELY
Protect your tank while you make the change
Take a baseline
Measure before you install equipment, change your chemistry or alter your routine. Take photos if placement matters, and note how your livestock behaves. Without a starting point, you can’t be sure what caused any difference later.
Start small
Begin with a cautious setting or dose, and keep a way back. Hang on to the old equipment until the new one has proved itself, keep your previous schedule, and don’t add livestock at the same time as a big lighting, flow or chemistry change.
Give it the right amount of time
Mechanical problems show up straight away; nutrient and coral responses can take days or weeks. Judge the change over a sensible period, but stop immediately if you see animals in distress, a leak, overheating or an electrical risk.
Afterwards, note the result and decide whether to keep, adjust or undo the change. If the result is unclear, go back to your last stable setup and measure better, rather than piling on another change.
SIX MONTHS ON
Check it’s still the right decision
What made sense on day one can stop working as livestock grows, the room warms up, equipment gets dirty or a routine turns out to be unrealistic. Set a reminder to review it in six months, comparing what you assumed with the reality: water volume, electricity, consumables, noise, cleaning time and test trends.
Test trends, real flow, temperature, light coverage or whatever the change was for
Is it still doing its job, with room to spare?
How often you clean it, how hard it is to reach, calibration drift and missed tasks
Can you keep this up without cutting corners?
Electricity, reagents, filters, spare parts, warranty and downtime
Would you make the same choice knowing the real cost?
If it’s working, you don’t need to replace it; the review simply gives you a reason to keep it, tune it or plan an upgrade before something fails.
KNOW THE LIMITS
When to get expert help
Get product-specific or professional help for anything involving floor loading, household electrics, unsafe plumbing, damaged glass, unexplained livestock deaths, or chemistry you can’t measure reliably. Use a qualified electrician for fixed wiring, and always follow the current safety instructions for your tank, equipment and additives. Never work around damaged cables, swollen batteries, leaking seals or equipment that keeps tripping the electrics.
Your livestock’s needs can also outweigh general equipment advice. Check adult size, behaviour, disease risk and each species’ light, flow and feeding needs with reputable care guides before you buy. This guide explains the equipment decision; it can’t guarantee the result for every animal or tank.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
How often should I ICP test my reef tank?
There’s no set interval. Use it when the result could change what you do, or as a deliberate occasional check-up.
Is ICP more accurate than home test kits?
It uses lab equipment for particular elements, but how the sample is handled, the lab’s method and how you read the results still matter.
Can ICP detect every contaminant?
No. Different methods pick up different elements and forms, so check what the lab covers and its limits.