Water Test Strip Results.

[Lazerus]

Hi there,

This question is for any one who has a 5 in 1 API water test strip kit?

My friend tested the water in his goldfish tank today using this brand of test strip and he wrote down these numbers after comparing the test strip off the card:

60 0 7 0 80

I didn't understand what it meant, so I'm just curious to know what these numbers mean?

Thanks!

Edited: to add the product name.

 

[kj23502]

I'm assuming that the 60 is supposed to be
6.0 which is a ph of 6 and is acidic
7 is neutral
8 is alkaline

I have no idea why he put a 0 in between.

 

[Lazerus]

Thanks kj23502.

Ah right, its for PH. Fair enough.

I forgot to mention in my first post that the box said it was a API 5 in 1 Aquarium Test Strips so though this test strip might have been testing for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate also. I thought the results would be very high it that was the case!!!!

Ok so.

I just wondered.

 

[RedeyesUK]

IIRC, those 5 in 1 strips usually test:

GH (General Hardness)
KH (Carbonate Hardness)
pH
Nitrite
Nitrate

Although not necessarily in that order - I'm just going from a vague memory of the ones I used to have.

From the readings given, I would guess that you've got 60 and then zero of the two hardness levels, a pH of 7, zero nitrites and 80 nitrate. Even if that is right, I couldn't tell you what the hardness readings really mean (not sure on the scales), but that's a pretty good pH reading, fine on nitrite and a little high on nitrate (but not too bad yet).

That's assuming the strips are accurate in any way - we all know about that!

I don't think the strips test for ammonia.

 

[kj23502]

oh ok...those are for different #'s then.

Strips can be really inaccurate though. It would depend in which order the categories appear on the chart. I don't know so I can't tell you that...sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

[Lazerus]

Thanks RedeyesUk & KJ23502

I use the API Master kit with the test tubes so its a different method to what I'm used to. So I was wondering what it meant.

There reason I'm asking is, my friends two goldfish are dying for no apparent reason and we were trying to figure out why. They are floating around the bottom gasping on their sides...I thought it might be from toxic water.

The tank is up and running about 5 months now with a small filter (Fluval plus 1). I can't say if its cycled or not as its not my tank, but I have to assume it is by now?

They lost uncountable amounts of fish at the beginning, but these ones were hanging on fine for about 2 months, but now they are going belly up!

After my friend did that reading on the test strip he said the results were 'fine'.....when I asked what exactly the results were, he said they were 'low' which is an entirely different thing altogether if he's talking about Nitrite or Ammonia....seeing as they should be 0!!

I didn't feel in any way experienced to offer any advice or contradict, so I thought I'd ask here about it.

I felt he should have changed the water immediately, but he said there was no point as the results were fine. Again, I didn't feel equipped to argue with him about it.

The other thing is he scoffed at me when I said he should be using a de-chlorinator....he said boiling the water and letting it cool down is just as good and he's always done this. Is this true?

I just hate seeing these fish in trouble. I guess my hands are tied though.

Anyway...thanks for the info.

 

[Corleone]

If there's just chlorine in it, it might be enough, but its also raising the hardness (water boils off, everything else stays behind) and could effect the chemistry in other ways. Dechlorinator is cheap - my $4 bottle treats over 2000 gallons, which is most of a year in water changes for me currently. If I boiled 30 gallons of water every week, I'm pretty sure I'd be adding more than $4 to my gas bill.

If you can, I'd go over and test his water first-hand using your kit, and see what "fine" really is. If his fish are dying, "fine" may not be fine - explain to him (bring printouts from this site if you need to) that ammonia HAS to test 0 and nitrIte HAS to test 0, and that "low" or even "very low" is already too high. Also, there are many things happening in the tank that we can't test for without expensive equipment and some degree of technical skill.

Considering his resistance to a water change, I'm tempted to think he doesn't do them regularly? Do you know his maintenance routine? Water changes are done regularly to ensure that both what we can and can't test for don't go wrong, not as a reaction after they do go wrong, as some problems can kill fish in a matter of hours. An ammonia spike can kill fish and be processed down to 0 by the time you test to see what happened.

 

[Lazerus]

Yes, I kind of get the impression he doesn’t do many water changes at all…oh well.

He was very dismissive when I brought up any of these suggestions and the subject was being constantly changed like as if I hadn’t a clue what I was talking about. I don’t have the confidence of experience to back myself up yet.

It’s only a 5gal tank….and it’s full of brown algae.

I just felt frustrated today talking to him because was looking for suggestions, yet even though I offered some basic advice, he wasn't really willing to listen as 'he knew best' anyway.

How many more fish is he going to kill?

I didn’t want to offend or come off ‘all know it all-ish’ just because I now have a few fish of my own now. But he has access to the internet too, its not hard to find out stuff and get advice.

Anyway, that’s why I was curious about the results of that test kit….at least I’d have some hard facts to go on, rather than just ‘my inexperienced opinion’. Maybe that would push him to do the right thing.

Okay… thanks guys….I’ll have to let it go I suppose. It’s a pity though.

We can all make mistakes, but not learning from them and continue to do it anyway the same as before is the worst thing of all.

Although I feel quite surprised that he is being so blasé about it, there no point in falling out with him over it I guess.

Sorry...I think I'm beginning to rant now.

You see, I'm feeling rather raw today, as I lost my gorgeous little Betta yesterday after doing everything I could think of to help him.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

I know the situation you're in mate. Someone who was a very good friend of mine (actually fallen out now but for entirley unrelated reasons) decided he wanted a fish tank, got one, didn't know what he was doing, wouldn't listen to my advice or anything was all 'I know best'. I did my best not to be too preacy with him or anything but when he was getting discus and every week one or two would die and he just kept replacing them I felt I really had to sit him down and try to educate him. Unfortunatley he wouldn't take advice form me no matter how many books, websites, articles etc I showed him. He refused to even test for ammonia cos nitrate is apparently much more important

It can be very very frustrating, you just have to do the best you can do to help him in whatever way you think he'll be most receptive too. And if he just won't listen then you have to weigh up weather it's worth ruining a good friendship over...... no one would think badly of you for choosing to maintain a friendship.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, its a very delicate thing walking the fence of drawing someone out to realize they need the advice at all and then slowly and gently revealing to them, basically, the great distance away they are currently, from the reality of the skills they need to learn and the actions they need to take.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Lazerus]

Yes, its a very delicate thing walking the fence of drawing someone out to realize they need the advice at all and then slowly and gently revealing to them, basically, the great distance away they are currently, from the reality of the skills they need to learn and the actions they need to take.

~~waterdrop~~

Yes, I am that soldier.

Its blind leading the blind in this situation!! Oh, the irony of it all!!

Edited: cause my " " emoticon wasn't working.

 

[Corleone]

I know the situation you're in mate. Someone who was a very good friend of mine (actually fallen out now but for entirley unrelated reasons) decided he wanted a fish tank, got one, didn't know what he was doing, wouldn't listen to my advice or anything was all 'I know best'. I did my best not to be too preacy with him or anything but when he was getting discus and every week one or two would die and he just kept replacing them I felt I really had to sit him down and try to educate him. Unfortunatley he wouldn't take advice form me no matter how many books, websites, articles etc I showed him. He refused to even test for ammonia cos nitrate is apparently much more important

It can be very very frustrating, you just have to do the best you can do to help him in whatever way you think he'll be most receptive too. And if he just won't listen then you have to weigh up weather it's worth ruining a good friendship over...... no one would think badly of you for choosing to maintain a friendship.

Holy cow. I'm enough of a know-it-all that I can understand what he's thinking, but even the worst know-it-all knows deep down when somebody else really does know better, and I've never let pride lead me into ruin. How many discus did he go through? I can't really imagine the thought process that would make him throw money down a black hole in the face of somebody who could help, eventually you always hit the price of your pride and it's not worth it anymore.

I tend to agree, though: Don't push him too much. When he mentions losing fish, drop the hint that you could help him out. Don't push too much, but hopefully he'll swallow his pride. Better yet, you can refer him to this forum - he could sign up and not tell you his name, you'd never know he was getting help, and his pride is intact.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Holy cow. I'm enough of a know-it-all that I can understand what he's thinking, but even the worst know-it-all knows deep down when somebody else really does know better, and I've never let pride lead me into ruin. How many discus did he go through? I can't really imagine the thought process that would make him throw money down a black hole in the face of somebody who could help, eventually you always hit the price of your pride and it's not worth it anymore.

I don't even know, after a while he stopped telling me about the fish he'd lost, I got it 2nd hand from a mutual friend.

He still is attempting to keep fish as far as I know, had 3/4 tanks running at the last count. Every one of them loosing fish left right and centre.

I mean I know I'm not the pinnacle of all fishy knowledge, there's plenty that I don't know. But I do know enough to get someone off the ground sucessfully and get them looking in the right place for help.

 

[davefish]

For what they're worth, I am fairly sure the results are:
GH=60ppm <- OK. Maybe a little low for goldfish in an ideal world but no big issue.
KH=0ppm <- low low low: vulnerable to pH crash.
pH=7 <-fine
Nitrite=0ppm <- good, implies the tank is cycled
Nitrate=80ppm <- high.

Two things to say about the KH:

1. It is "used" over time by the nitrification process and he hasn't done a water change for a long time to replenish it, so it has "ran out".
2. Number 1 would be true if it wasn't for the fact that you remove KH by boiling the water!

Nitrate is high because he hasn't removed it by changing the water. It also explains the algae problem.

It's fairly obvious that the 2 things he needs to do are use dechlor instead of boiling, and do regular water changes.

The tank is probably cycled after this long, assuming he doesn't clean the filter media in tap water or anything like that. However, the goldfish were certainly damaged during the cycle if he wasn't doing regular water changes so they won't be very healthy fish and won't live as long as they should.

 

[Lazerus]

It's fairly obvious that the 2 things he needs to do are use dechlor instead of boiling, and do regular water changes.

Yes, I feel happier now as thats exactly what I suggested he should do...so at least I wasn't misguiding him.... but it fell on deaf ears anyway.

Thanks for finding that out for me!!!. I was so curious to know.

Unfortunately, its too late for one fish...its dead now and the other one will be joining him in the next day I imagine.

Thankfully, his wife said they are 'taking some time off' from fish keeping for the moment if this fish dies.

Halleluiah!