Frequency Of Testing

[LineDropper]

Ok, so I am still new... I try to test Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate as much as I can (usually once a day).

I'm assuming most people do this as they go through the cycling process. But - after your tank has cycled - how often (and what) do you test your tanks???

 

[raptorrex]

honestly, well unless i am cycling a tank, i only ever test if i feel there is a problem!

 

[pauly]

With a cycled tank where everything seems normal, I test everything every time I do a water change / clean. If I notice strange behaviour or anything then I do them more often.

 

[Daveyg1969]

Hi Linedropper

I have been doing daily water tests since my tank was set up, cycling with fish, 6 weeks ago. I think the daily tests have been vital, as about a week ago the PH dropped a little from 6.5 to 6, which I was able to quickly resolve with the help of a little bag of coral gravel in my filter.
The PH rose back to 6.5 then to 7 within 2 days, and has held.
I am now going to just test every 2 to 3 days as my nitrite and PH are holding out, then drop down to around once a week in a few weeks.
I have also found that holding back a little on water changes i.e 10-15% every 2 weeks seems to have helped the PH hold out better than it was doing, and all my fish seem to be doing fine now, (will probably get loads of stick for this, but it seems to suit my tank better than doing weekly water changes).
Also make sure you are testing for PH along with the other tests you are doing, and you shouldn't go far wrong.

 

[Tolak]

I test when the fish tell me to.

 

[Musho3210]

I test when the fish tell me to.

yep same with me


Hobby test kits are suprisingly innacurate and normally just give false hope or paranoia. So after the cycle, i dont test at all.

 

[LineDropper]

I test when the fish tell me to.

yep same with me


Hobby test kits are suprisingly innacurate and normally just give false hope or paranoia. So after the cycle, i dont test at all.

Thanks for all of the responses... this is what I am getting from all of this:

1) Testing is extremely important during the cycling process.
2) Once a tank is setup, random tests might make you feel better but they are not necessary.
3) Testing before each water change sounds like a pretty good idea so at least you can check for any water problems before your fish tell you.
4) Definitely test if your fish are behaving abnormally in any way
5) Finally, it's a good idea to keep a log of any treatment or significant changes you make to your tank. Like, when you change filters or apply ich treatments or maybe even the date/time you add fish.

The last post (from Musho3210) scares me a bit... those test kits aren't inexpensive (paid like $32 for mine). I'm going to take some water samples to my LFS just to see how close my records are. I just noticed a "Master Test Kit" at my LFS the other day... it checks for a few things I have not been checking. Are those more accurate? Anyway -- thanks again everybody.

 

[Musho3210]

liquid test kits are more accurate than strips, thats for sure, for ammonia, nitrite and pH, most liquid tests for these are pretty accurate and they are accurate enough for you to know when and where problems occur etc. And these arent expensive.

I said hobby test kits, if you start getting scientific tests they get much more accurate but much more expensive and not needed.

 

[arvlyn]

When cycling, I test daily. Once the aquarium is established, I test every 3 to 4 weeks or if the fish seem "off" in some way. I have heard of people rarely testing once the tank is set up but I find for my tanks, I have to keep an eye on the pH and ammonia levels.

 

[rowdyburns21]

Hi Linedropper

I have been doing daily water tests since my tank was set up, cycling with fish, 6 weeks ago. I think the daily tests have been vital, as about a week ago the PH dropped a little from 6.5 to 6, which I was able to quickly resolve with the help of a little bag of coral gravel in my filter.
The PH rose back to 6.5 then to 7 within 2 days, and has held.
I am now going to just test every 2 to 3 days as my nitrite and PH are holding out, then drop down to around once a week in a few weeks.
I have also found that holding back a little on water changes i.e 10-15% every 2 weeks seems to have helped the PH hold out better than it was doing, and all my fish seem to be doing fine now, (will probably get loads of stick for this, but it seems to suit my tank better than doing weekly water changes).
Also make sure you are testing for PH along with the other tests you are doing, and you shouldn't go far wrong.

Youre right mate 2 week changes are fine for the bigger tanks, no stick from me lol, especially if your ph is fluctuating as it means there is a lack of buffers in the water

 

[MHunt]

A agree with most of the posters here. Once the tank has cycled, and you can only tell if it is by testing the water, I only test again if i think there's a problem.

Your fish are surpisingly good at telling you what's wrong.

 

[LineDropper]

Well, I took water from 3 of my tanks to my LFS.

My readings were basically (Ph = 8.3, Am = <.25, Nit = 0, Na = 7.5)

Their tests shows (Ph = 7.4, Am = 0, Nit = 0, Na = 10-12)

Good news/bad news. Good news is if their readings are correct my tanks have cycled. I've been reading Ammonia < .25 for a couple weeks now. Bad news is how in the world could my Ph readings be so off? I immediately went home and tested again and got low 8's. They use Tetra test kits so I am going to buy the Tetra Ph tester just to see for myself.

It's going to take a very long time for me to figure out this hobby!

 

[MHunt]

To be honest i wouldn't worry too much about details, i don't anymore. If the lowest your test kit can show for ammonia is less than .25 ppm, then that's as good as zero. The difference in pH registered is interesting, 8.4 is quite high for normal tropical tanks, but 7.4 is pretty good. A difference of 1 pH means the water is 10 times more alkaline or acid depending on what side of the scale you are looking at.

What fish are you keeping? Most popular community fish prefer soft acidic water, apart from some livebearers like molly's and south american cichlids which do prefer harder alkaline water.

Sorry if i'm throwing new terms at you but they do matter to the overall health of your fish. Once you get the hang of them though you'll almost forget about them and then you can just enjoy your fish knowing you are keeping them healthily.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

honestly, well unless i am cycling a tank, i only ever test if i feel there is a problem!

the same only if there is a problem do i test the water, however i do a test every 2 months just to check the ph

i used half my test kit on the start up of my tank to make sure everything was working. if you are cycling you need to test every day

 

[LineDropper]

Thanks for the help guys... I sort of figured out why my LFS got such a lower Ph reading than I do at home. I took my water back in again yesterday and watched them test this time -- they used a mid-range Ph test which maxed out at 7.4. The Ph color was a darker blue than the 7.4 so the guy doing the test just said "Ok, must be about 7.6". I'm not sure how accurate that is. He was understaffed due to the holiday here so I didn't want to give him a hard time or make him test again. You would think that if the color was out of range they would do a high-range Ph test. Anyway, I'm going to take my water to another LFS this week to compare. (Also picked up a different brand Ph liquid test kit just to compare myself at home).

This hobby is crazy - money can go quick!!! but I love it.