nitrate question

[pops]

this is true, we do not manage fish persay, we manage water, fish take care of them selves. The API test kit is plenty reliable enough for managing your water. nitrate does not drop your fish dead, it is a DMG over time killer. The big mistake is folks thinking my water is crystal clear it must be good, This is simply not true. do the tests, find out what your nitrate creep is, and adjust your water changing schedule/amount accordingly and your fish live a long healthy life.

 

[xraycer]

I once read that our hobby is nothing to do with keeping fish, more a case of keeping water. Get your water spot on and the rest looks after itself. There's a hell of a lot of truth in that unless you're keeping fish that have very unique requirements. So we've already deduced that test strips are useless in a lot of cases and now it seems we've all had problems with inaccurate readings with the API liquid test kits too. If the hobby is all about keeping water, and yet we can't rely on either test to assess our water then what chance have we got. Then we're told, well sod the tests, just look at your fish, if they're happy and showing no signs of stress then don't worry too much. But we're also told that nitrate stress is a creeper, your fish won't show no signs until it's too late. The question now is are there any test kits out there that are consistently reliable?

In regards to the API liquid test kit, there was actually only 1 member, on this thread, that chimed in with the test being unreliable. That is his opinion, and that's fine, but many members here do use these test and find it to be an accurate and valuable tool. Some of these members have actually worked in the chemistry field and concur that these tests do work......when used properly and as directed. I do believe you just found this out via this thread.
After a few decades of fish keeping, I have gained enough experience and confidence to utilize the KISS method.......Keep It Simple Stupid. I don't sweat my water parameters/conditions unless something seems wrong with my fish or if they don't live as long as they typically should. I feel the best to do to keep this hobby enjoyable and successful is preventative measurements. I have come to the conclusion that the best preventative measurement for healthy fish is clean water. The best way to achieve clean water, in an aquarium, is by adding clean water and removing foul water. It may be just my opinion, but your 20% weekly w/c is greatly inadequate. Poor water quality, such as high nitrate concentration, has a cumulative effect. You're fish may not die right away, but it will not be as healthy and/or live as long as it can potentially. I do 50% w/c every 3-4 days and I would do it even more often if my busy schedule would allow it. I rarely check my parameters and I rarely have issues with disease, and I can't even recall the last time I had an outbreak in any of my tanks. Like I said, I practice the KISS method. Happy fish keeping

 

[pops]

+1 on that!

 

[rodger]

That is unusual, because unless the API test kits have expired, they are usually a lot more accurate than strips. Have you tested your tap water? What nitrate level does it have?

Tap water reads zero with strips or API. That is also what the water plant says. Luckily the guy in charge of the water plant for my town keeps fish, so I can talk to them about my needs in laymans terms and get intelligent answers.