With Christmas coming up, I figured I'd treat myself to something for my sub-hobby of my main hobby of fish keeping!
Testing!
I got some testing strips off Amazon, tried to spend time looking at reviews, but it's probably a cr*p shoot. I could find no liquid testing for chlorine, it was all strips. I think I saw some different kinds of testers for swimming pools and jacuzzi's, but they equated to about £1 per test. I gave them a miss.
I am curious to know how much chlorine gets used in the tap water. I think I've wasted my time and money, although I knew that was probably always going to be the case.
I am surprised that I am getting zero reading for both free and total chlorine. The next colour up on the charts is 0.5ppm for both free and total chlorine, and my results are not budging from the colour that indicates ZERO. I don't think the test strips are complete duds because they are showing up nitrate, hardness and alkalinity at around the levels I would expect. I added a miniscule amount of bleach and the total and free chlorine results went up to the maximum of 10ppm, so the strips can obviously detect chlorine.
My water company uses chloramine, but I understand that TOTAL chlorine would still test positive, but free chlorine might test negative.
As far as I can see, there are no tests available for us amateurs (or obsessives) for chloramine.
Just wondering why my strips might not read for chlorine in my tap water? Although I think I have answered by own question here (see below) - I doubt any of you would know, but just putting it out there. On my most recent tap water quality report it has the chlorine levels measured as (first number is minimum, second is mean, and third is max) - maybe I've just tested on a day where it's closer to the minimum 0.08 mg/l (ppm)? That seems like a very low level of chlorine to fight bacteria? Not that I would know much on that, but I read somewhere you need measurable amounts of free chlorine to offer protection. Naturally, I care more about my fish than I care for my local population of tap water consumers (humans). Water quality report results
Also, I think some of us have fears of chlorine "pulses" or extra amounts of chlorine or chloramine being put into the system, maybe during pipe repairs. I thought if i ever have a mass extinction event in a tank after a water change, I'd at least be able to test for chlorine and see if that's the culprit. I wasn't necessarily planning to test for chlorine before each water change.
In hindsight, by the time you test for chlorine after a tank wipe out, some, or all the chlorine might be gone depending on other variables? But if you catch your fish breathing heavily or acting unwell soon after a water change, I know the active chlorine would still be present, at least mostly. However, I am not sure how this would work if it's chloramine that has been the killer? I am under the impression chloramine still gets detected in total chlorine ppm testing, as discussed above.
I think most tap water conditions aim to treat for about 4-5ppm chlorine and the same for chloramine (if the conditioner offers that).
Testing!
I got some testing strips off Amazon, tried to spend time looking at reviews, but it's probably a cr*p shoot. I could find no liquid testing for chlorine, it was all strips. I think I saw some different kinds of testers for swimming pools and jacuzzi's, but they equated to about £1 per test. I gave them a miss.
I am curious to know how much chlorine gets used in the tap water. I think I've wasted my time and money, although I knew that was probably always going to be the case.
I am surprised that I am getting zero reading for both free and total chlorine. The next colour up on the charts is 0.5ppm for both free and total chlorine, and my results are not budging from the colour that indicates ZERO. I don't think the test strips are complete duds because they are showing up nitrate, hardness and alkalinity at around the levels I would expect. I added a miniscule amount of bleach and the total and free chlorine results went up to the maximum of 10ppm, so the strips can obviously detect chlorine.
My water company uses chloramine, but I understand that TOTAL chlorine would still test positive, but free chlorine might test negative.
As far as I can see, there are no tests available for us amateurs (or obsessives) for chloramine.
Just wondering why my strips might not read for chlorine in my tap water? Although I think I have answered by own question here (see below) - I doubt any of you would know, but just putting it out there. On my most recent tap water quality report it has the chlorine levels measured as (first number is minimum, second is mean, and third is max) - maybe I've just tested on a day where it's closer to the minimum 0.08 mg/l (ppm)? That seems like a very low level of chlorine to fight bacteria? Not that I would know much on that, but I read somewhere you need measurable amounts of free chlorine to offer protection. Naturally, I care more about my fish than I care for my local population of tap water consumers (humans). Water quality report results
Also, I think some of us have fears of chlorine "pulses" or extra amounts of chlorine or chloramine being put into the system, maybe during pipe repairs. I thought if i ever have a mass extinction event in a tank after a water change, I'd at least be able to test for chlorine and see if that's the culprit. I wasn't necessarily planning to test for chlorine before each water change.
In hindsight, by the time you test for chlorine after a tank wipe out, some, or all the chlorine might be gone depending on other variables? But if you catch your fish breathing heavily or acting unwell soon after a water change, I know the active chlorine would still be present, at least mostly. However, I am not sure how this would work if it's chloramine that has been the killer? I am under the impression chloramine still gets detected in total chlorine ppm testing, as discussed above.
I think most tap water conditions aim to treat for about 4-5ppm chlorine and the same for chloramine (if the conditioner offers that).
Last edited:
