water test kits

[lee8040]

how often should you do the water tests? i couldnt see it in the instructions, should it be once a day, every week, month ?

 

[BigC]

I do my tests on a weekly basis (usually on a Sunday). Observe your fish and if you feel something is wrong the the first task you should perform is a water test.
Regards
BigC

 

[fatguppy]

I agree with BigC. We have a Tiger Barb whose stripes fade if there is a problem with the water, so we use her as an indicator in between times.

A good tip I learnt from this site is only to use half the suggested quantities of water/testing solution as this makes the kit last longer.

 

[pseud]

A good tip I learnt from this site is only to use half the suggested quantities of water/testing solution as this makes the kit last longer.

[snapback]896602[/snapback]​

Where did you learn that? I think that's bad advice.

 

[Griz]

That's a tough question to answer. There is no hard and fast rule. With a new setup or cycling tank, you could be testing every day. In an established tank, hardly at all. I don't test much at all any more. I find that my firehead tetras are the best indicators of water quality as the red fades if they aren't happy. If I were to notice that happening or any unusual behavior in any of my fish I would test right away. I guess you could say that you should test any time you are unsure and as time goes on that will tend to be less often.

 

[Mo_loves_fish]

once a week is good unless you got some problems with the tank then about every day then every other day as it is "healing" then go back to weekly

 

[Vivid-Dawn]

A good tip I learnt from this site is only to use half the suggested quantities of water/testing solution as this makes the kit last longer.

[snapback]896602[/snapback]​

Where did you learn that? I think that's bad advice.

[snapback]896646[/snapback]​

I agree. Besides, some of the drip/vial tests use odd numbers of drops. Like my pH one says 3... how are you supposed to only add one and a half drop?
Personally, I think anybody who is serious about fish keeping, won't mind buying maintenance things on a regular basis and it would be a good investment. If you really love this hobby, you'll be willing to spend the money to ensure good health of your pets. (fish are NOT, as some might think, just decorations )

Anyhoo, for the question that started this all.
I do my testing every Saturday, before I do the 10% water change. If fish seem sick during the middle of the week, I'll do one when symptoms are noticed.
And if I'm cycling a tank, or running a hospital one, I test every other day.

 

[IMCL85]

once a monthes or so for me. Unless I add new fish or new plants etc then I do once a week when during water change. The test kits is very expansive .

 

[Ava_Banana]

As has previously been said:

I rarely do water tests these days.......only if something has alerted me to a problem. Fish colouring, behaviour or anything "odd" about the tank and I start straight away doing tests.

As a matter of course, I do a test every couple of months I suppose, just to ensure that there is nothing untoward happening, but I do have a good look in the tanks every day.

 

[Clairel]

Can i just ask.( i am new here) I have purchased the TetraTest kit, (strips) and cant make head nor tail of them really, i took it along to a Tropical centre, and they advised me that these are not accurate, and they use the test tube ones...

I knew i had a problem, so i took along a water sample, and my ammonia is high but yet these strips didnt pick up on this?? Why? I have lost 2 fish due to this

Claire x

 

[mattbeau]

I used to use the mardel test strips when i first started but I had so many issues at first. I was testing all the time and burning through the tests really fast, for a little more I bought the aquatic pharmacuticles master test kit, which uses test tubes and provides al the tests I'll need for a long time, I picked one up at petco for 25 dollars.

As far as how often, if things dont look good, i'll test every day while i do water changes, other than that usually once or twice a week, but I'm fairly new so I like to keep a sharp eye on the water.

Generally I only test Nitrite, Nitrate and ammonia. If the PH is off, there isn't alot I could do and i fear that by changing it back to where it was I could do some harm to the fish. but others might disagree.