Saving Money On Test Kits

[backtotropical]

I just had a great idea. I dont know if anyone already practices it, but would be interested to find out.

When testing water, instead of adding, for example, 4 drops of indicator to 5ml of water, add 2 drops to 2.5ml.

Half the indicator used making test kits last twice as many tests. Genius!!!

Anyone thought of this before? Is there any reason why this would not be feasible?

 

[t1tanrush]

I save even more money by following the method below:
1. Aquire money for test kit.
2. Spend money elsewhere where its useful.
3. Watch my tanks the oldskool way and keep my fish healthy.
4.
5. Profit.

 

[backtotropical]

The "oldskool way"? How do you know how much ammonia is in your water, it being directly related to keeping your fish healthy?

 

[afishdude]

I save even more money by following the method below:
1. Aquire money for test kit.
2. Spend money elsewhere where its useful.
3. Watch my tanks the oldskool way and keep my fish healthy.
4.
5. Profit.

commonly called the unseccesful way. or the loose all your fish to a mysterious cause way.

 

[ICEEGRL]

I have one of those meters that stays in the tank. They don't cost much and last a long time. It is Seachem ammonia alert. They work pretty well. You don't get exact readings, but it keeps you from having to test all the time. You just test when it starts to change colors.

 

[t1tanrush]

The "oldskool way"? How do you know how much ammonia is in your water, it being directly related to keeping your fish healthy?

Oh snap, your saying fish can't be kept well without one? My fish are fine and ammonia isn't really as big of a factor as you may like to think it is.

I save even more money by following the method below:
1. Aquire money for test kit.
2. Spend money elsewhere where its useful.
3. Watch my tanks the oldskool way and keep my fish healthy.
4.
5. Profit.

commonly called the unseccesful way. or the loose all your fish to a mysterious cause way.

Been successful so far. I have lost very few fish, except a tank of female bettas because one of them was extremely aggressive and killed off the rest.. Other than that I've only lost 2 corys, one got stuck in the filter while I was gone, the other from old age.
Your points fail badly.

 

[Bignose]

back, there are some significant reasons to keep using the 5mL. Firstly, at least my tubes have a well-marked line. And, having access to equipment in a lab, I did test that 5mL mark using a laboratory grade pipette (its mark is supposed ot be +- 0.05mL) and it was right on. If you just eyeball half of that mark, you are not going to be +- 1% or so, but +- 10% or more.

But, the biggest one is that not every drop is the same size. They are pretty close, but not perfect. If you only use 2 drops, you increase the chance that you will get two off-sized drops. Two too small drops or two too large drops which will really throw the reading off. 4 drops (or some of my tests require 10) mean that if you have a much better chance of the drop size averaging out. The larger number of drops means that an errors on any one drop will be much less significant. If you only use 2 drops, if one is too big or too small, it's effects will be very, very large.

All that said, I haven't tested my water in over a year now. I haven't needed to -- the filters didn't break or anything, and the fish have been very healthy so maybe that's the ultimate money saver -- not using them at all. I do have a new kit still wrapped in its plastic ready to go of there is a problem, but I do hope I don't have to open it, ever.

 

[afishdude]

rember that just because your having good luck without testing your water doesnt meen everyone else will.

Your points fail badly.

i dont like how you can say that i failed just because all your fish lived??? that doesnt mean that they are living compleatly healthy and no one needs a test kit anymore.

 

[t1tanrush]

I don't like how everyone thinks " if you don't have a test kit your a bad keeper ". I express a different view then the ordinary and will continue to do so. thanks buh bye!

 

[backtotropical]

ammonia isn't really as big of a factor as you may like to think it is.

With ammonia being highly toxic to fish and that being a fact, could you explain please?

Bignose, having seen your posts i assume you are a scientist or such like. I am really surprised you dont test your water. Do you mind me asking your reasoning? I'm very interested that someone with your obviously scientific brain takes such a risk. Thanks for the advice on the test kits.

 

[afishdude]

I don't like how everyone thinks " if you don't have a test kit your a bad keeper ". I express a different view then the ordinary and will continue to do so. thanks buh bye!

oh yea your the one that got all mad because people were telling you that your not alwase right and you threatend to leave the forums like 20 times in the last month.

 

[t1tanrush]

I have never said I would leave this forums. I will remain forever.!

 

[Bignose]

ammonia isn't really as big of a factor as you may like to think it is.

With ammonia being highly toxic to fish and that being a fact, could you explain please?

Bignose, having seen your posts i assume you are a scientist or such like. I am really surprised you dont test your water. Do you mind me asking your reasoning? I'm very interested that someone with your obviously scientific brain takes such a risk. Thanks for the advice on the test kits.

Ammonia is a very big factor. But, the tanks have been cycled for a very, very long time now. There have been power outages, but nothing more than an hour or two -- and I always float the biowheel in the tank when the power goes out. When the tanks were cycling, I could smell the ammonia in the water, even as low as between 0.25 and 0,50 ppm. And, I've watched my fish a lot, and would notice if they were being irritated by ammonia. Between my nose and the fish's behavior, I am pretty sure that I would know. I am not 100% positive, but I am 99% sure that nothing has been wrong.

As far as the other tests. I do the weekly water changes, so the KH levels are replenished every time. The water changes also keep the nitrate levels low.

Basically, nothing has changed in terms of the fish's behavior, so I don't need to do a test every week. Like I said, I have the test kits ready. If something happens, I am ready, but I also know that nothing has changed so that there isn't much reason to keep testing for the zero result.

Edit: I also forget, both my tanks have some live plants (they aren't fully planted, but I have a combination of 'easy' live plants like java moss and java fern and silk plants), and aquatic plants take up ammonia as their preferred energy source. So, even if the filters completely conked out, the plants would still take up ammonia and keep the fish safe. I'm really not worried about the ammonia levels at all since the tank is so well established and there are measures to prevent immediate problems from occurring. I think that you will find that many other long-time fishkeepers don't test all that often, either. If you know that there are issues, then frequent testing is obviously advisable. But, when no problems presented themselves for over 6 months, I just stopped testing -- didn't see much point in continuing.

 

[Bignose]

My fish are fine and ammonia isn't really as big of a factor as you may like to think it is.

This phrase needs responding to (though not the other mindless banter back-and-forth). How big or little of a factor do you think ammonia is? Because any level of ammonia, anything measurable by our test kits, can be dangerous. Any level of ammonia can cause gill damage that can become permanent. And there is evidence that exposure to even low levels of ammonia can permanently damage a fish's immune systems. See "Low levels of environmental ammonia increase susceptibility to disease in Chinook salmon smolts " by Ackerman PA, Wicks BJ, Iwama GK, Randall DJ in PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL ZOOLOGY volume 79 JUL-AUG 2006). They showed that fish exposed to low levels of ammonia earlier in their life were significantly more susceptible to diseases throughout the remainder of their life.

Low level ammonia may not cause immediate death (see my old thread to see what levels of ammonia do cause immediate death http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=154313 ), but any level of ammonia is damaging to a fish's health.

 

[-germ-]

T1tan; do you happen to know your PH? What Dechlor do you use?