Why Not To Trust The Fish Store To Do Your Water Testing

[Corleone]

"I had the store test my water and they said everything was fine."

Common words on the forum, and the answer is always that "fine" can mean a lot of things without numbers, and we tell people to buy a test kit, or at the very least have the LFS write down test numbers to report back.

But how good is "fine"? I took a sample of water from a fishless cycle to one particular store (The one in driving distance with the worst reputation, to get the clearest result) and had it tested. Didn't ask for numbers, just their opinion.

I tested one set of samples at home:

Ammonia: ~2 ppm
Nitrite: >10ppm
Nitrate: Off the chart
pH: 7.4 (My established tank is 7.6)

Really, really bad water. Obviously not safe for any fish.


Here's what the store told me:

Ammonia: Safe, watch for any more buildup and add Ammo-Lock.
Nitrite: Stressful, avoid sensitive fish like discus.
Nitrate: Somewhat high, add Cycle or Stability to boost your bacteria.
pH: High, use a pH decreaser.

So they didn't tell me it was fine, but they told me it would be fine if I just added some chemicals, and they were perfectly willing to sell me fish for it. Ironically, the only stat that was ok was the one they told me needed the most drastic action.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

good topic Corleone, nice to see some examples!

 

[waterdrop]

Excellent little experiment there! Hope lots of newbies will read this!

The other thing that a personal test kit does is let you see the *trends* in what is happening with your water. Often it is valuable to look at multiple test results over time, to follow them in your aquarium log. For example that was how I got a feel for how much and when I should add baking powder to my fishless cycling to help keep the pH up at 8.0 where the bacteria reproduce most quickly.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Colin_T]

that's why you should always ask your LFS to write the results down on a bit of paper and put the date on it. It helps the shop workers too when the customer comes back and hands the paper over. You can see what the results were before and put the new results under it. Then you can explain the difference and what is happening to the water in their tank. There is nothing worse than having a customer come in and say they had the water tested last week but can't remember what the results are.

 

[orange shark]

nice thread

 

[Bblou]

I listened to my lfs, before I had found this forum and knew no better.

Now my fish are dying off and I dont have the knowledge to save them. I made a post called illness outbreak in emergencies, if anyone can help.


but heres a newbie agreeing... don't listen to lfs.

they said my water was fine and when i bought my own kit (after finding this forum and having added 18 fish) my levels weren't fine at all.

now my fish are suffering/dying because of me.