Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Test kits

[born2lovefish]

I test my water the first couple months sometimes when I set up a tank. After that my wet/drys keep the tank parameters where they belong.

 

[fishmaven]

I'm thinking about purchasing one because I just want to know how the bioload is in my tank and if I'm doing enough water changes.

After you've kept fish for awhile you'll notice changes in the way the fish behave (deportment) when the water conditions are bad. If you've only got a few tanks waiting for a problem before testing may work for you. (Yes, you need to continue the water changes) But if you've got a lot of tanks and don't have the time to watch each of them daily, testing the tank would be a good idea.

If you live down the street from a GOOD fish store you can get it tested regularly. Do it too often, eventually they'll get tired of it AND you.

Even people that don't work on their cars normally own a set of wrenches.

 

[amesbien]

Do not buy that test kit,
they are the worst things ever.

My tank is relatively new, but its been about month now and the stupid thing said the ammonia was like 2.0 ppm so i was like omg my poor fish. i get all this **** and test frequently still no change. i get a live NH3 test reader and it says my ammonia is at .0 and the water is safe.

the whole time the fish acted fine, i dont know why i was so worried.

 

[DiXoN]

TEST KITS!!!!Who's the pussy that's needs test kits..!?!?!?!If that's the case, taste the freakin water...WARNING:Tongue may turn green(Algea problem), Yellow(High Ammonia), black(your fish are dead).....For real....(To me)Test kits are like undergravel filter plating, money schemes...Fine, buy one, but after the first month you'll slap yourself in the face and wished you would of rather spent the $20 on something more important like food....To avoid the thought of even needing a test kit, simply stick to a basic routine....Weekly 25-40% water changes and gravel cleaning....Geez, gravel is pretty much for decorations, try "lightly dusting" gravel throughout the tank....Just enough to cover the bottom, less than 1/2inch deep....This makes less space for crap to hide in, making weekly cleaning much easier...Ah yes, the slightly gravel-almost bare tank look....I feel clean everytime I look at mine....BTW, I do (3)25% water changes every week...On Sundays, it's not uncommon for me to sneek in another 25-40% water change....

i did not have a test kit too when i had my red belly piranha its a little different now.


its all well and good noticing sublte differences in how your fish are but what happens when you see something wrong how do find out what is up.
my test kit helped me with my near miss ph crashes i would be lost without it.