Nitrate Tests

weezawoo · Jan 24, 2011

How important are they if i do weekly wc.my test is ph ammonia and nitrite only

SensesFail · Jan 24, 2011

weezawoo said:
How important are they if i do weekly wc.my test is ph ammonia and nitrite only

I'd say if you know the Nitrate of your tap water, and you change a lot of water then it should be ok not to test but it's always best to test now and again just in case! I mean with mine I tested the nitrate for a week or so changing 60L twice a week. It develops a pattern and now I just test now and then just to make sure I'm combating the nitrate. (if you don't change enough water you will be doing good reducing nitrate but with time it will be growing and growing slowly) if you are changing enough water then it should never grow.

So all in all I'd test in now and again but not too much spot check it! Just to be on the safe side. I know it's not as toxic to fish but in large amounts it does no good and can effect them. Always spot check just to make sure!

weezawoo · Jan 24, 2011

Can i buy just a nitrate test as i dont even know what is in the tap water!

SensesFail · Jan 24, 2011

weezawoo said:
Can i buy just a nitrate test as i dont even know what is in the tap water!

Yer you can buy the individual kits made by names such as API and Nutrafin. See how much they are though because sometimes it's cheaper to pay a little extra and get the whole lot which contains ammonia, nitrite, Ph and other tests! I'd go with the liquid tests as they are a lot more accurate than test stipulate ones etc.

API test kits go for around 18.00 - 20.00 for the master one which contains loads of different tests of eBay. So when you see a price for the nitrate on it's own something to weigh up