How Often Do You Test Your Tanks?

[stanleo]

Hi guys!
 
I test my tanks every Tuesday. I test for pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and phosphates. API master kit. The results are pretty consistent. 6.4, 0ppm, 0ppm, 40ppm and 0.5ppm respectively on the 29gl and 6.6, 0ppm, 0ppm, 5ppm, and 0ppm respectively on the 10gl shrimp tank. No matter what the results say, on Wednesday I do a 30% water change on both.
 
Am I doing the right thing?
 
I would also like to know what you all test for and how often on your tanks?
 
thanks

 

[DrRob]

I test tds mainly, and the rest if I'm bothered about anything, or once in a while. Not a lot of point in testing nitrate as I add it anyway and ammonia/nitrite have been 0 for so long that it's not really anything I worry about, so I test on demand, or for curiosity.

 

[coolie]

I think you will get a million different opinions, but I think you are testing too much. If you are running planted tanks as the picture suggests, they are going to be eating a lot of your Ammonia and Nitrate up. I tested recently and my Nitrate is below what I would like for my plants, and they are still fairly dormant (only recently added co2)

 

[David J]

I test each Sunday for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Ammonia and nitrite are always 0 and nitrate usually between 40-60ppm. I test pH once in a while but it's always been 7.6 since I started. Like you, regardless of the results I do a 30-40% water change.

I don't check phosphates. What are they? I also have the API kit but phosphates isn't one of the tests.

David

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I have 21 tanks running at the moment (down from 18, its a specialized method of downsizing I invented). I have only tested two of them in the past five or more years. And these were tanks for wild altum angels where I needed to have the TDS under 50 ppm and the initial pH at 4.2. I mostly tested these for TDS and pH and in both case I use a digital meter not a test kit. I actually used up my ammonia kit on these two tanks and had to replace it. It was more curiosity than anything since at under a pH of 6 the ammonia is not a worry at low levels. It never went over .5 ppm so I was able to ignore it.
 
I have twice replaced my master test kit because most of the bottles expired unopened or mostly unused. The last time I used the GH and KH kits was to estimate what parts of my TDS came from each of these when I first got my TDS meter. I do not remember the last time I tested for nitrate- my best guess is over 10 years ago.
 
I religiously do weekly water changes of 35-50% on all tanks and rinse the bio-media on all but canister filters at the same time. I also replace the filter floss pad as well. For the most part my fish tell me when I need to test.
 
On the rare occasion where I set up a new tank and don't instantly cycle it, I don't bother with ammonia testing, I will test to insure its cycled by dosing ammonia and then the next day I will test for nitrite. If its 0, I know I am good to go. If there is 0 nitrite in a tank that can process ammonia to nitrite, there should be no ammonia. So why bother testing for it?
 
stan- you do not need to test so often. As you noted yourself, your numbers stay pretty constant. That should tell you that your routine is pretty solid. At the very least cut back to every other week and save yourself 50%. I would go even further, but that is up to you. But the longer you have the tanks, the more familiar you will become with them and the inhabitants. You will one day find yourself walking by a tank, barely glancing at it, and know when something is amiss.
 
Trust me when I say that your fish will "tell" you when something is going wrong. One, some or all will behave differently and you will see that right away. Then is the time to test. You want to eliminate ammonia/nitrite/nitrate as causes first before moving on to diagnosing diseases etc. But also check that the equipment is all working- fish may be gasping at the surface because they need air not because there is ammonia or nitrite

 

[TallTree01]

I test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, kh, gh and ph.
I test whenever I feel something is wrong, a fish dies Or when I'm curious or have just added new fish or plants.
I barely test 3 times a year tbh.

 

[toshapetriji]

Eventually you get to know your fish and their ways. I probably test water two or three times a year these days, though my tank has been stable for many years.  

 

[DrRob]

My testing, like TTA's, changed considerably once I got my hands on the digital meter (the TDS ones are actually quite cheap, probably cheaper than a lot of liquid test kits). Means that I can get a result with no waffle in seconds with something that isn't likely to expire on me in the near future, or to run out all that quickly.

 

[snazy]

I use the TDS meter myself for when it comes to how the water quality is doing, and observing the fish which is the most reliable.  As TTA says, in time you just learn to know when something isn't right by looking at your tank.
If you change the routine, or something in the tank, then maybe test again until sure it's going the way you want it. But yes, a TDS meter is highly recommended as TDS increases in time if the water changes aren't enough for example, and the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate/ph test won't tell you that.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

I test if I am worried or if it is a day or two passed my weekly water change and I don't want to change it that day.