Testing

[the biffster]

testing your tanks for ammonia
nitrate nitrite pH is necessary
why do i get the feeling that
newcomers to the hobby are been
told that they don't need to test
any body else get the same feeling

 

[markandhisfish]

i agree testing for ammonia and nitrite is important , nitrate however imo is a bit of a waste of time as nitrate kits are notoriously inaccurate. as for ph imo the importrance of ph is dramaticly overhyped. as long as extremes are avoided and acclimatisationis done properly ph shouldnt cause an issue. the best ph for any fish is a stable ph . people seem to be put off from keeping certain fish cos they have been told their ph is too high , when in reality with a bit of careful aclimatisation there should be no issues.

also waterchanges temoparily affect ph , as the ph coming out of the tap will not be the same as the ph in the tank. so i advise people not to get too hung up on ph .

 

[star4]

I have to agree and disagree. Testing a new tank is essential, where as a more mature tank is not quite so necessary providing the maintenance on the tank is good. When I set up a new tank with a mature filter, I test the water conditions making sure that the amount of water changed on wc day is sufficient to keep the tank healthy, once the readings are constant I tend not to worry about testing and just do the wc.

 

[Skins]

I was misguided by my LFS when purchasing my first aquarium not that long ago. Me being a newbie hung on to every word he said as you would expext, so when being told you will not require test kits i took that as ok. Then of course i found this forum which is a good job because knowing me i would of give up if fish had start to die on me. It makes you wonder how many people have started this hobby then given up because of bad advice given by there LFS.

Skins.

 

[Littlemonkey]

I agree with Star4 on this. On a mature and well maintained tank or tanks I feel the same. Test kits are essential for new tank's and newbies to the wonderful world of fishkeeping.

 

[markandhisfish]

agreed star i failed to mention that altho i keep an ammonia and nitrite kits i only use them if the fish show signs of a problem .

 

[star4]

agreed star i failed to mention that altho i keep an ammonia and nitrite kits i only use them if the fish show signs of a problem .

Good point Mark I forgot to mention testing if there appears to be a problem

 

[the biffster]

believe it or not i used to
go around checking fish tanks
and maintaining them for people
just as part of the hobby i didn't
charge for it i used to look after quite
a few tanks from new ones that i set up
to ones that had been set up for 25+ years
i also used to rescue fish i once went to
a tank that had never been touched in over
two years the only thing that had been done to
it was it had the water topped and the fish
been fed so i decided that i would take this
tank strip it re home the fish and move the
rest of the stuff on so i thought i would
do a test on the tank i wanted to know were
i stood in the way of water conditions and believe
it or not the only thing i could find wrong were
high nitrate and a very low pH of 5 and that tank
hadn't had any major maintenance in two years

agreed star i failed to mention that altho i keep an ammonia and nitrite kits i only use them if the fish show signs of a problem .

Good point Mark I forgot to mention testing if there appears to be a problem

i agree with you both on that

 

[raptorrex]

only if i perceive a problem. there is little point in a stable and mature tank.

 

[Twinklecaz]

Yeah I only test every now and then now or if I think something's wrong.

It is important to start with though. Though I think I was lucky coz I found this forum before I even bought my tank so I never suffered from bad LFS advice.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

I never (read very rarely) test my tanks.

Even when I setup my current tanks initially, I just took a cautious approach with water-changes and slow fish in cycling. Now, they are established and planted, maintenance is at a minimum, and all my fish are healthy

When I originally started the hobby a long time ago, I got a testing kit, but soon found it gathering dust when I had a routine established, and the parameters were stable.

 

[james_fish]

as for ph imo the importrance of ph is dramaticly overhyped. as long as extremes are avoided and acclimatisationis done properly ph shouldnt cause an issue.

Couldn't agree more Mark.

James.

 

[Carlovel1]

as for ph imo the importrance of ph is dramaticly overhyped. as long as extremes are avoided and acclimatisationis done properly ph shouldnt cause an issue.

Kinda disagree, take the German Blue Ram and any type of snail as examples , the chance of survival for the GBR is very low in a high pH wheres a snail shell in a low pH will dissolve

 

[james_fish]

as for ph imo the importrance of ph is dramaticly overhyped. as long as extremes are avoided and acclimatisationis done properly ph shouldnt cause an issue.

Kinda disagree, take the German Blue Ram and any type of snail as examples , the chance of survival for the GBR is very low in a high pH wheres a snail shell in a low pH will dissolve

If you keep a BGR in a neutral pH for example. Acclimatise is properly and make sure no swings either way happen suddenly it will more than definately survive and more importantly thrive.

James.

 

[Carlovel1]

as for ph imo the importrance of ph is dramaticly overhyped. as long as extremes are avoided and acclimatisationis done properly ph shouldnt cause an issue.

Kinda disagree, take the German Blue Ram and any type of snail as examples , the chance of survival for the GBR is very low in a high pH wheres a snail shell in a low pH will dissolve

If you keep a BGR in a neutral pH for example. Acclimatise is properly and make sure no swings either way happen suddenly it will more than definately survive and more importantly thrive.

James.

I'm talking a high pH, for example pH 7.6