if you could only....

[Rayne]

if you could only afford 1 type of test kit which would you buy first? amonia or nitrite (not sure if it's spelled right).

a friend of mine has just started fish keeping and has been using my kits but i really can't afford for her to keep using mine . so she is going to buy her own which should she get???

 

[ravekiss]

I think ammonia.

 

[thefishkeeper]

hi.
i think nitrite as you can usually tell if you have high ammonia cos the fish appear to gasp and go up to the surface

 

[sinistral]

I hate to put it this way, but I really don't think one is useful without the other.

When cycling, it is important to know both values. If you encounter problems later on (a sudden die off of bacteria and a minicycle with spiking of ammonia and nitrite, for example), you'll still want to know both values.

If your friend is dead set on getting only one test (or if she only has the resources for one), I would suggest actually waiting until she had the resources to buy both. I know it may not be what you had hoped to hear, but I hope it's helpful anyways~ Best of luck~

 

[gadazobe]

If I could only afford one - I'd get the "sticks" that you dip into the water and they give you results of ammonia and nitrate, plus a couple of other results. They might not be as accurate as the other specific tests, but they'll give you a pretty good idea as to the quality of your tank water.

 

[Rayne]

her tank is cycled and all she used my tests to monitor that but right now she wants to start buying her own things one at a time instead of forking out $25-$30 for both tests right now. Her mother was mad enough when she realized just how much her new 40 gal tank, fish to stock it and food cost now she wants to buy these kits.

p.s. her mother dosn't realize how important these test are. she thought she could get away with one of those tiny 2 gal tanks and a couple of GOLDFISH!!!! and call it fish keeping.

 

[sinistral]

I understand her situation better now. Gadazobe had an excellent suggestion, which is to purchase the cheaper test strips. I would imagine this would be a temporary solution, but they would give an idea of what your friend's water parameters are-- in this scenario, if she needed more precise measurements she could take a sample to the LFS for testing, if they offered that service.

Test strip kits can be as cheap as $15 from Petco (product link).

The freshwater master kit I use is available for $19 at Drs Foster Smith (product link). This kit uses liquid reagents and measures pH, GH, KH, Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate. Now that I'm looking at it, this kit is actually better and cheaper than the one I have

Disclosure: I don't have any financial interest in petco, drs foster smith, Jungle, or Aquarium Pharmaceudicals

HTH~

 

[Rayne]

where i live we don't have a petco, or anything. the cheepest place to buy the test kits is Walmart (i don't buy fish there) another store i buy from is critter's and things. for the nitriate test kit it is $15 and the amoina one is $13.99. so she has to decide one or the other. in a couple of weeks she will get the other one.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

walmart sells the test strips for ~$10. get those and then save money to get a master kit. or order online from somewhere (i know PetCo does e-business).

it really isn't useful to have just one or the other.

 

[foty89]

If I could only afford one - I'd get the "sticks" that you dip into the water and they give you results of ammonia and nitrate, plus a couple of other results. They might not be as accurate as the other specific tests, but they'll give you a pretty good idea as to the quality of your tank water.

I like that answer. And I hate to be rude, but if you can't afford to buy the proper tests kits, what are you going to do when you have to buy medications or water treatments? Perhaps, under these circumstances, keeping fish is not a good hobby.

 

[foty89]

her tank is cycled and all she used my tests to monitor that but right now she wants to start buying her own things one at a time instead of forking out $25-$30 for both tests right now. Her mother was mad enough when she realized just how much her new 40 gal tank, fish to stock it and food cost now she wants to buy these kits.

p.s. her mother dosn't realize how important these test are. she thought she could get away with one of those tiny 2 gal tanks and a couple of GOLDFISH!!!! and call it fish keeping.

Ok, that makes more sense. However, a good test kit does not have to cost $25-$35. Good test kits can be had for about $15. I hate to say this, but try Wal-Mart and see what they have. I hate to say it because I don't like to recommend to anyone to get fish or fish related supplies there.

 

[foty89]

Disclosure: I don't have any financial interest in petco, drs foster smith, Jungle, or Aquarium Pharmaceudicals

HTH~

I have a financial interest in all of these, it is the interest in how much money I spend at each.

 

[Rayne]

i meant $25-$30 total for both tests. and as far as medications go if she's really stuck i would loan her some until she could pay me back. but i think her mother would buy her meds if she needed them but hopefully she will have a happy healthy tank for a long time to come.

i know i personally have only had to use meds twice in my 5-6 years keeping fis. however i always have melfix (spelled?) on hand in case, and an ick med. however i've had ick 2-3 times and treated with water changes and temp control.