Testing Aquarium Water Quality

[jerboux]

Testing Aquarium Water
Quality with Your Eyes, Nose and Finger Tips

http/aquariumfish.net/information/test_w...r_eyes.htm#top2

2. Test Your Water with Your Finger Tips.

First wash your hands with soap and water, then carefully rinse all the soap off your hands. Put the tips of your fingers in your fish's water and move your fingers quickly back and forth to produce bubbles on the surface. Do the bubbles sit on the surface of the water and not pop quickly?


If you said yes to any of these questions, your fish are living in water that is not good for them, and you should click here for a list of what to do. Or if the water is green, click here for a list of what to do.

In our facilities we rarely test the water with test kits or chemicals. We used to test for ammonia and nitrite and do other tests too. But most of us working here can spot poor water by looking at it. If in doubt we stir the water with our finger tips to see how quickly the bubbles pop.

If we see an aquarium with cloudy water or bubbles or foam on the water's surface, and the bubbles don't quickly pop, we take immediate action to clean the aquarium, the filter, and change some of the water. Click here for more about cleaning your fish's home.

3. How to Test Water with Your Nose.
Good water in your fish's home has a characteristic smell. It smells very much like good garden soil.

But Cloudy or Foamy water often does not smell good. Rather it smells like garlic or cigar smoke. I've been smelling fishy water for many years, and the smell is often an important clue in helping to decide whether the water is good for fish or not good.

If in doubt, clean your fish's home and change 20% of the water each day, until the water quality looks and smells good again.


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i just wonder, is this true? coz' i'm relying on it. when ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are at their tolerable level does it really smells like a good garden soil? when the water is foamy or cloudy or the bubbles don't pop quickly, how bad is the ammonia level? nitrate, nitrate level? i never tried using water test kits before. im doing this method for about 2 mos now. as an expert can you recommend this?

right now, I can't afford to buy test kit coz i got myself a new 5 gal tank (with airpump, airstone, light, gravel, corner filter for 10 gal. tank) to house my fantail temporarily. and i'm like a blind woman doing a fishless cycling. it's up and running for a week now.

 

[glolite]

Interesting article and probably could be used with an established, well planted tank. However, it doesn't tell you how to test for the minute quantities of ammonia or nitrite that could be harmful to fish in a cycling tank.

You don't have to buy a whole kit, the most important tests are for ammonia and nitrite when starting a new aquarium set-up.

If you can't afford these then do 50% water changes twice daily, add some mature media to your filter from another tank (or your lfs may give you some for free). Using this method the filter should be cycled in 4 to 6 weeks.
Good luck.

 

[rabbut]

It can help access water quality, it should be clear, not collecting foam at the top and should smell as described, but you will not notice a water quality issue going on by that alone. The biggest clue to if the tank is healthy if fish behaviour. Is it normal, if no, something is wrong. If I see something unusual, I usually start with a scan of the fish involved for any disease. If nothing jumps out, I'll run a water test with liquid drop test kits to try confirm that water is the issue. Regardless of if the test shows anything, I'll water changes there and then, before then trying to whittle down the cause

All the best
Rabbut

 

[waterdrop]

Agree with glolite and rabbut. The anecdote of the garden soil smell is true because the bacterial processes involved are the same. Nitrification goes on in soil just like it does in filters! In my opinion the only problem is reliability and sensitivity. Your senses may just not pick these things up the same way all the time and they're fairly subtle in my experience. The liquid tests are more sensitive and reliable with respect to the conditions of concern.

~~waterdrop~~