Do you test your water?
- Thread starter shelbyzman
- Start date
I check mine maybe twice a year ussually when the spring thaw happens and fall freezup cause they use more Chlorine at those times of year. I have never had any issues though so I haven't had to. if I get more than 1 sick fish I may test but that has only happened twice. regular water changes and dosing of cycle and conditioner and no issues
(knock on wood)
(knock on wood)
and i'm guessing someone here that says they don't test also allows their new water to rest until the chlorine/chloramine dissipates so they don't need to use a conditioner? cmon fess up!
I used to do that...swede;3073173; said:
With my goldfish bowl
Oh and chlorine dissipates I don't believe chloramine does. Since chloramine is chlorine and ammonia maybe the chlorine would seperate out and dissipate but Ammonia does not dissipate to my knowledge.
chloramine doesnt dissipate. it stays as a stable molecule in the water for longer. it breaks down to its base components eventually but not in a practical timeframe for us to use. i think its safer for water companies to handle so its a double bonus for them.
i dont test my water regularly. on new setups until the waters/filters ready for fish and if i have disease i give it a quick check but ive ever had any disease after introducing a new fish so if i forget to test its no big deal for me because i know the cause. If i was getting problems on an established setup with no new introductions then that would warrant a full range of tests but only in that situation.
i dont test my water regularly. on new setups until the waters/filters ready for fish and if i have disease i give it a quick check but ive ever had any disease after introducing a new fish so if i forget to test its no big deal for me because i know the cause. If i was getting problems on an established setup with no new introductions then that would warrant a full range of tests but only in that situation.
I dont test as much as I should on my tank's but on other's tank's I take care of I do regularly I guess I slack sometime's with my tank's. I know no excuse lol
mr.reef24
P.S. I have not lost any fish in a long time over 1 and a half year's
mr.reef24
P.S. I have not lost any fish in a long time over 1 and a half year's
honestly I used to test my water on a regular basis without fail, but, after watching and listening to many other fish keepers I found one constant variable amongst many of them if not almost all.
Why bother with the whole water testing thing because there is actually only one solution to bad water quality so revealed by a test and that is the water change.
So, if the only way to fix bad water quality is to do water changes, why not just do the regular water changes on a total constant regular regime and forgo the tests altogether. And, voila the truth set me free from this foolish thing called water testing which basically is just a whole waste of time on a tank that is well established do the weekly wc and all is well. Yet, skip a few of them and see what happens.
For new tanks yes I will test due to my own personal method that I use to gutload a new tank to super cycle it but after a week or so no need.
As an aside note, when I did do regular testing I always used my nose to smell the water to see if indeed I could use my chef trained olfactory as a guide and low and behold I can actually tell the quality of my water by the way it smells. I also swear by SEACHEM PRIME OR ANY SEACHEM PRODUCTS.
If there seems to be an issue with a tank I do test sometimes but most of the time just pump up the water change regime to double time for a couple of weeks and issues solve themselves out, but thankfully issues dont really happen much with my tanks.
Though I did do a strong battery of testing on the museum set up I took over as per the curator's request to have it documented and man that water was randy, but, as I said earlier constant water changes in the range of 50% totally brought the tank back to where it was suppose to be. So the conlusion of the matter for me is be like sam the toucan and follow your nose and don't get so familiar with your tank that you let contempt take shape in the skip a water change here or there move. Do the water change regularly and consistantly and no probs.
FISH KEEPING IS NOT FOR LAZY PEOPLE, CAUSE LAZY PEOPLE KILL THEIR FISH.
Why bother with the whole water testing thing because there is actually only one solution to bad water quality so revealed by a test and that is the water change.
So, if the only way to fix bad water quality is to do water changes, why not just do the regular water changes on a total constant regular regime and forgo the tests altogether. And, voila the truth set me free from this foolish thing called water testing which basically is just a whole waste of time on a tank that is well established do the weekly wc and all is well. Yet, skip a few of them and see what happens.
For new tanks yes I will test due to my own personal method that I use to gutload a new tank to super cycle it but after a week or so no need.
As an aside note, when I did do regular testing I always used my nose to smell the water to see if indeed I could use my chef trained olfactory as a guide and low and behold I can actually tell the quality of my water by the way it smells. I also swear by SEACHEM PRIME OR ANY SEACHEM PRODUCTS.
If there seems to be an issue with a tank I do test sometimes but most of the time just pump up the water change regime to double time for a couple of weeks and issues solve themselves out, but thankfully issues dont really happen much with my tanks.
Though I did do a strong battery of testing on the museum set up I took over as per the curator's request to have it documented and man that water was randy, but, as I said earlier constant water changes in the range of 50% totally brought the tank back to where it was suppose to be. So the conlusion of the matter for me is be like sam the toucan and follow your nose and don't get so familiar with your tank that you let contempt take shape in the skip a water change here or there move. Do the water change regularly and consistantly and no probs.
FISH KEEPING IS NOT FOR LAZY PEOPLE, CAUSE LAZY PEOPLE KILL THEIR FISH.
Never used to test at all. Got "shamed" into it from posts. The levels never changed much at all. Am now testing once a month, at canister cleaning time, still not much change going on.
Weekly 45-50% WC and maintenance and I never have a problem. I was testing but there was never a change. I felt like I was just wasting chemicals and I got bored with same results.
Now only test if I think something is up.
Now only test if I think something is up.
