Has my API GH test kit gone wonky - no change from orange to green?

[brommer]

I got an aquarium (2nd hand) in very good shape from a friend (nearly new; his kids lost interest) and with a multitude of API test kits.

I've set up my tank with Seiryu stones and driftwood, volcanic Malang sand substrate (all cleaned properly, boiled the driftwood etc.), and added some live plants last weekend (no fish yet). The water is pretty clear, if anything it's got a slight yellowish/brownish hue. To get a base line of what's in my water i tried out all the test. Everything works. All tests change color and the numbers i get from that make sense. Well almost.... the one that throws me off is the API GH test. It's supposed to go from orange to green, but that never happens.... A note on the solution bottle. Out of all of them, this one is the only one that looked like it may have been compromised... So no matter how many drops I add it never goes green (>40 drops; I know way off scale, but I figured if it is compromised might as well be sure).

So is it compromised OR could it be that my tank water has so little Ca/Mg that i can't see the change? The latter I find a bit odd as the other tests, no matter how minute, shows any change quite clearly........ AND my tap water should have those components (see below).

background:

- My tap water hardness is listed by the local company as having a mean of 26 ppm. According to their documentation this should represent Ca2+ and Mg2+ only
- the KH test shows my tank water is 161 ppm
- my TDS sensor (hooked up to an arduino and measured constantly along with Temperature and turbidity; pH to come) initially showed about 30 ppm for tap water. As my tank pH was too low (6.4) i added some Seachem Neutral Regulator to get my pH to about 7. After this the TDS is stable at about 165 ppm.

So does anybody have any suggestions what's happening to the API GH test ?

 

[Byron]

It is possible for test kit regents to lose their effectiveness. I had a API GH/KH test that was very faint when the colour changed. When I got a new kit, the change was incredible. There may be a shelf life date/"best before" type date on the bottle, I think API do this now. However, the GH result is the drop that changes to green even if very faint. A GH of 26 ppm would mean one or possibly two drops.

As my tank pH was too low (6.4) i added some Seachem Neutral Regulator to get my pH to about 7. After this the TDS is stable at about 165 ppm.

Why are you doing this? If you intend soft water fish, the lower pH is ideal (even lower) and the lower TDS is very good. However, if you intend keeping fish requiring much harder water, that is another issue.

 

[brommer]

Ok fair enough. And no i can't make out any "best before" type of date. But i will say this unlike the other test solution bottles, this particular one doesn't exactly look new.

I figured yes, one or 2 drops, hence my comment - however i do NOT see any notable change ( i repeated the test 4 times !). Seems like getting a new test kit is the way to go.

As far as the pH goes - yes you're quite right - i know what fish I want to get (did my research and ensured compatibility in every way) and hence i had to move the pH.

 

[Essjay]

At one time API did not have a use by date; the bottle had a lot number, and this contained the date of manufacture. They changed a few years ago to add an expiry date. If your bottle has a lot number but no expiry date it suggests it is pretty old.
The last 4 digits of the lot number are the month and year. The GH tester lasts for 3 years after the date of manufacture, but like all testers, it should be replaced just one year after opening regardless of use by date. (Information from API when I emailed them to ask)

 

[Byron]

As far as the pH goes - yes you're quite right - i know what fish I want to get (did my research and ensured compatibility in every way) and hence i had to move the pH.

The GH and pH go together, so this is not likely the answer, though you haven't said which fish species. GH is more crucial to fish than pH (provided the latter is stable, fish have more leniency to pH than to GH). You seem to have very soft water, and fish from such water will expect a low (acidic) pH. Raising the pH is not going to benefit, and a pH in the low 6's is ideal anyway for such fish. On the other hand, if you intend livebearers for example, the GH must be raised considerably; the pH will naturally rise with it. But it is the GH you should be dealing with, not pH. If you can provide the intended fish species I may be able to offer more.

 

[seangee]

Just to clarify on what @Byron said. Low pH and GH usually go together but this is not guaranteed. Many fish shops and web sites (who should know better) rely on this relationship and recommend a pH range because pH is so much easier to test. In most cases they get away with this because of the usual relationship.

Once you start adding chemicals to alter the pH you lose the link between pH and hardness - so in the case of Neutral Regulator (which claims not to affect GH or KH) you could end up with the "perfect" pH but still have water that is inappropriate for your fish (i.e. it will still be soft).

As suggested you would be far better regulating the GH and not worrying about the pH. This is actually from experience, I have 2 tanks where dGH=0 and the pH is around 6. For the third tank I use a mineral salt mix to raise the dGH to 6. In this tank the pH is 7, although I have done nothing to change this. I happen to use a mix intended for shrimp, but you can also use rift lake salts depending on how much you want to shift the hardness. Another benefit is you only need to add a single product in a fixed ratio. Seachem like you to use multiple products because its better for sales.

 

[brommer]

Thx guys for the input !

@essjay - you make an even better case to get a new kit !

@seangee - i like the idea of using a single product for sure, i'm not having this hobby to sustain those big companies of steady income ! Any more info/particular product on that mineral salt mix (i'll need something that's available here in Australia), as i'm most likely will have to raise my GH?

@Byron - the fish i had in mind are the following (nothing fancy): 6 tetras, 2 cory catfish & 2 dwarf gouramis (1 male, 1 female; not for breeding just to keep the peace). As mentioned according to my local water service provider i should have a GH of about 26 ppm (mean), which i like to confirm with a test obviously. With the above mentioned fish (based on the info i've gathered) i would need to raise the GH (gouramis apparently need > 4 dGH, catfish < 20 dGH & tetras < 10 dGH). Maybe even lower the KH of 161 ppm (catfish < 180 ppm & the others < 140 ppm) ?

 

[seangee]

Your water is just fine. Mine has 0dGH, 0dKH and pH <6. In this I keep tetras and corys. I know @Byron has similar water and keeps both tetras and corys too. Just FWIW corys are social fish and should be kept in groups of at least 6 (more is better). The same applies to tetras, more is better.

Dwarf Gourami are considered high risk for disease in Australia (and most of the rest of the world) so I would avoid those. Regular honey gourami are fine and so are pearl gourami, which are peaceful and striking.

 

[Byron]

Thx guys for the input !

@essjay - you make an even better case to get a new kit !

@seangee - i like the idea of using a single product for sure, i'm not having this hobby to sustain those big companies of steady income ! Any more info/particular product on that mineral salt mix (i'll need something that's available here in Australia), as i'm most likely will have to raise my GH?

@Byron - the fish i had in mind are the following (nothing fancy): 6 tetras, 2 cory catfish & 2 dwarf gouramis (1 male, 1 female; not for breeding just to keep the peace). As mentioned according to my local water service provider i should have a GH of about 26 ppm (mean), which i like to confirm with a test obviously. With the above mentioned fish (based on the info i've gathered) i would need to raise the GH (gouramis apparently need > 4 dGH, catfish < 20 dGH & tetras < 10 dGH). Maybe even lower the KH of 161 ppm (catfish < 180 ppm & the others < 140 ppm) ?

As seangee already mentioned, the soft water fish species you intend will be much healthier with your source water as it is. There is certainly no reason nor benefit to raisng pH or GH. My tap water is zero GH and KH, and I do nothing to increase this other than using plant fertilizers which obviously do have some minerals (calcium and magnesium) but not sufficient to raise the GH. And the pH varies depending upon the tank (each tank's biology can be different regardless of the same source water, maintenance, fish load, etc), some remain in the low 6's, others at 5 or likely below as my test kit only goes down to 5. The fish are all from such waters so there is no issue. A GH of 26 ppm is fine. You will see that in the figures you cite, all have "less than" (>) except for the gourami, but I wold not fuss over that as they are soft water fish too.

Seangeee is also correct that you must have a group of any shoaling species, such as the Corydoras, all tetras, and others like rasboras, barbs, danios, loaches which are not mentioned but they too are shoaling fish. Minimum numbers are just that, minimum, but having more of the species will always mean better fish health provided you do not overload the tank's biological capacity.

 

[brommer]

@ Byron/essjay: got a new GH test and it turns only 3 drops did the trick (i.e. ~54 ppm). So i'm OK with that. pH has dropped slightly to 6.8.

At the moment i'm doing a fishless cycle of the tank, and i'm happy the way things are going. Except i've noticed 2 little snails that came with my live plants (which are doing amazingly well)- they can be pests, so should i remove those ? Any suggestions?

@seangee/Byron: that dwarf gourami problem i wasn't aware off. That's good to know so i'm rethinking the way i'm wanting to populate the tank: maybe 8 tetras (i like the neons, but because of the GH maybe go for Ember ones?), 6 dwarf cory catfish and 1 female betta ( a bit of color in there for my kids). Does that sound OK?

 

[Essjay]

Snails are an important part of a tank's ecosystem. Let them stay. Snails only become a problem when there are too many of them. If you are careful not to over feed the fish, they won't get out of control. It's when there is uneaten fish food that snail populations explode.

 

[Byron]

@ Byron/essjay: got a new GH test and it turns only 3 drops did the trick (i.e. ~54 ppm). So i'm OK with that. pH has dropped slightly to 6.8.

At the moment i'm doing a fishless cycle of the tank, and i'm happy the way things are going. Except i've noticed 2 little snails that came with my live plants (which are doing amazingly well)- they can be pests, so should i remove those ? Any suggestions?

@seangee/Byron: that dwarf gourami problem i wasn't aware off. That's good to know so i'm rethinking the way i'm wanting to populate the tank: maybe 8 tetras (i like the neons, but because of the GH maybe go for Ember ones?), 6 dwarf cory catfish and 1 female betta ( a bit of color in there for my kids). Does that sound OK?

As essjay noted, the small snails are not a problem; they get everywhere in the tank, eating all the organics (fish excrement, dead plant matter, etc) and achieve benefits you could not otherwise have.

If you have live plants, you are better not to "cycle" using ammonia as it can kill the plants. I can explain this more once I know the plant species and numbers.

On the fish mentioned, while female bettas are certainly usually less aggressive than a male, it is not a particularly good community fish and you will have lots of colourful tetras and/or rasboras to provide colour. Ember tetras and neon tetras can live together if you want both. As for the cories, the "dwarf" species are better with a lareger group, say 9-12. I don't think the tank size has been mentioned yet, so it will help us to know the volume and the dimensions. The latter is important as some fish need more space to swim aside from the water volume.

 

[brommer]

that's good to hear about the snails - so far i've only seen 2 - so i'll leave them alone !

additional info
1. tank: 20 gallon
2. plants: pink rotala / green hygrophila / some grassy plant (forgot the name) / anubias / sword-like plant with longer stems (maybe something like a stricta). All look very healthy and vibrant.
3. Fish: I don't want overpopulate and get them small so they can grow , but i want them to be happy too. So i was thinking some sort of cleanup crew at the bottom and then 2 species on top of that: some tetras & somethings else colorful (this got me interested in dwarf gouramis as well + they stay relatively small, before i knew about them being desease prone). Maybe some Zebra or leopard Danios instead of tetras? Also my local store only has 2 types of rasbora: harlequin & galaxy. The latter is very striking, but pricey. Anyway i'm very much open to suggestions !

 

[Byron]

Responding on the fish species mentioned in post #13. Danios are not suited to this small a tank. All danios are relatively fast swimmers, and this means they need space (tank length and width is more important than volume here). Barbs are much the same so I would not consider danios or barbs (just mention this to save you possible time). Tetras and rasbora generally are what you want to look at. Some tetras can be quite active, some get a bit fin nippy, others are very sedate (non-active swimmers), and it is the latter you want to be considering. All of these are shoaling species, so that means a group of as many as you can accommodate. I already earlier referred to the "dwarf" cory species needing 9-12, and generally the smaller fish ("nano" type) are best with more than fewer whereas some larger species might manage with less, but it depends upon the species.

This is a 20g, but is it a standard ("high") 20g which is 24 inches (60 cm) in length, or a "long" 20g which would be 30 inches (75 cm) length? This makes quite a difference when it comes to fish species and numbers.

 

[seangee]

You should also be aware that many of the more sedate nano fish are rather timid and don't compete well for food. Remember in the wild they are food for pretty much everyone else in the water. I have a group of around 30 celestial pearl danios (the fish you saw being sold as galaxy rasbora). I would not try to keep these with any other fish in the tank other than perhaps dwarf corys. Mine have no other fish in with them. They are indeed beautiful, but even the red cherry shrimp i have in the same tank are capable of chasing them off their food.