How Important Is Testing Your Water

[jarcher1390]

Hi i have now been working in my lfs (local fish shop) for almost a year now and as you can imagine, people come in with problems all the time.
They explain what happen, which fish has died and size of the filter and tank if they know, i come to ask the question what are your water parameters 75% of people say erm and arrrs (they just don't know), some people will give us a rough ball park figure, In other words they don't know and they don't want to look stupid so they say around 7 to be safe, please don't say around 7, say i don't know what my water parameters are and what can i do to find out. That can really lighten up my day. so i tell them to either bring in the water in a container (please not a coke bottle, coke cola is acidic and if some is left in with your tank water the pH changes and give an inaccurate reading). So we figure out the problem and tell them what to do, all is well, weeks later they are back with another problem you ask them what their water parameters are guess what they repeat the same reading as you gave them last time. further questioning you find out they did not take your advice and buy a water test kit.

I have fallen into this trap myself after 5 years of tropical fish keeping i've only just feel like i've got to control over my tanks.

the pit fall that finally woke me up was wen i set up my tanks got past cycling with some difficulties (as was expected with new comers) the water was clear all was well, thats what i thought, but during this time the levels of pH where adjusting ever so slightly this gave the fish time to adjust to to the water (so they did not change their behavior) , all was looking well until 1 week my fish start dropping dead i have no idea what was the caused i took some water to my lfs and they tested the water and my o my was the pH levels far off they were around pH 4 i luckily only lost a few fish but any longer it would of been a lot worse.

1, Buy a test kit it is worth the money, it cost to buy the kits
You need pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate those are the 4 most recommended ones i would also recommend KH and GH (Ask if you do not know what these are for)and if you have lots of problems with algae test for phosphate.

2, When testing your water and your not sure about your readings ring up a fish keeping friend or even your local fish shop or even post a thread on here

3, Take reading every week this will tell you if your pH is dropping or rising weekly, and if your tank is over stocked your levels of nitrite and nitrate will rise.

4, if you have a bad memory about your readings like me, make a fish tank diary, these are very useful to people at your lfs. What else you need or can put in these diaries, what day you did a water change, how much water did you change, did you add any new bog wood or a stone, what type of stone, any new fish, what fish you already have in your tank and more the more information the more you'll be able to see what effects your water parameters and what you did to solve it last time.

5, Ok you been testing your tank water for a while know you know what effects what, you do a weekly water change of about 20% and day later your fish don't look too well and maybe unfortunately 1 or more of your fish has died to. Did u test your tap water? Tap water can dramatically change your tank water especially after you've done a 20% water change on your tank, and for that reason when you do a water test before or after You choose (do it constantly at the same time other wise your result will be unfair and wont mean a great lot) make sure you test your tap water before the water change as the pH in your tap can change to. ask if your not sure about testing tap water at your Lfs. write your tap water reading down in the diary along with your tank water parameter.

Testing you water should be apart of your weekly maintenance. Its more of a way of stopping a problem before it happens rather than a way of finding out what the problem is.

This is what help me, i hope it does for some of you lot as well
Jonny

 

[rdd1952]

It's odd that you would start this thread as this one is in the Chit Chat section and led to some rather hot arguing as to the need for testing. Personally, I think a liquid master test kit is the first thing a newbie should buy after the equipment. In my opinion, it is just as crucial as the filter or heater to a newbie. I have had my tanks set up and running for 2+ years now and really haven't tested much at all for the last year. The tanks were cycled and established and there were no problems. I think you will find that most of the experienced people do the same.

Did you figure out what was making your pH drop to such a low level?

 

[jarcher1390]

no i did not see that thread in the chit chat section and to be honest i did not think this would apply for every 1 just in my area the tap-water is unpredictable that i have to test it every week other wise i have no idea what i'm adding into my tank which is y the water pH was so low the KH in the tap had dropped cause there was little rain for where my water come from.
The reason y i posted this in the newbi section was because more experience people in the chit chat probably have the experience and they already know how to solve the problems are more secure in this hobby, i did not want to upset anyone with this thread i just thought id post what i found that would maybe help others.
Yes i agree every one should buy a master test kit when they first start but not every 1 wants to spend £40 on a test kit and don't bother thinking they will save money in somit which they think is uneeded

 

[rdd1952]

I know test kits are priced differently in different places. Over here, you can get an API master kit from Petsmart for $20.69 which to me is not a great deal of money to pay for something that will last a year or more and gives you peace of mind. That is their online price but they do match in in the store if you print the page and take it in.

Don't get me wrong, I agree with everything you said in your original post. For newbies, it is extremely important to know what your water parameters are. And even $40 for a test kit could end up saving you more than that in lost fish and medications that are needed to treat diseases that could have possibly been avoided by keeping the water parameters here they should be.

Testing you water should be apart of your weekly maintenance. Its more of a way of stopping a problem before it happens rather than a way of finding out what the problem is.

And this is probably the most important thing. As the old adage goes, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

 

[GRJ]

I have had my tank up and running now for nearly 4 months, and for the first 6 weeks i was testing up to 4 times a day as i had fish in(didnt know about fishless cycling!) Now my tank has cycled and everything is running smoothly, apart from an outbreak of ich which is now sorted, but i still test weekly religiously! I wouldnt have been able to complete my cycle without the API test kits, they are good value for money and an essential part of kit IMO! GRJ

 

[Musho3210]

although i dont test, i dont lie to my lfs. If they ask me my water params i would say, "i dont know, the last time i checked was when you checked my water, but i havent done anything different in the tank so it should be the same. Here, i have another water sample, do you mind testing it?"

 

[rdd1952]

Things can change without doing anything or changing anything in the tank. If you have no buffering capacity, the pH will drop over time, especially if you don't have a good regular water change schedule. The longer betwen water changes, the more likely the pH is to drop if there isn't any buffering capacity.

 

[Tobigara]

I'm still new to the hobby too but i've learned that the test strips are the worst thing base your information from. Deffinitely get the liquid type.

i started a 20 gallon tank without cycling first because i didn't know anything other than fish live in water and eat little orange flakes. since then i've learned a lot, not enough to be called an expert by a long shot but still a lot and mostly from this site.

i bought a strip test kit when i set up the tank and checked it everyday. when the water params didn't change at all for 2 weeks i bought an API liquid test kit. that test kit told me scary things about my water. i've only lost one fish so far and it's because i test daily and react accordingly with water changes etc. point being is you can't fix a problem if you don't know you have one.

ps i think my fish are doing quite well now.

 

[gowing238]

You can buy an api master test kit in the uk for £13.99 in pets at home