i say they are crucial for when you just start establishing a tank. That way you can watch when it peaks, and then when ever thing breaks down and starts to become safe. I dont know what i would do without mine.
Test Kits
- Thread starter rook45
- Start date
Z Trip;1503035; said:
i dunno it's my first one. what brand do you use now?
i just tested my water and the nitrates where at 20ppm the actual color was lighter close to white which would be 0ppm but not white. i'm sure all you test kit users know what i'm talking about. the nitrites where 0 and the ph is 7.5. is there anything wrong. i don't think there is but input would be helpful
in the few years i have been keeping fish i have never used a test kit and have not lost a fish to anything other than a beating from a tankmate.(didnt know a lot about compatability when i started) i dont know if i have just been lucky or what but have never tested my water. i have only kept hardy cichlids so that could be the reason
i test my s/w tank often but i only really test my f/w if it smells,tastes,looks funny or if my fish breath hard
I have test kits for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, but once the cycling process is done, the only one I check often is nitrate.
I use API liquid reagent tests exclucivily along with a TDS (total desolved solids) meter. (9 types of tests although I only do a couple of them each week.) It's possible to keep fish for years without testing or even in some cases...without changing the water but that hardly makes it the responsable thing to do.
Without knowing exactly whats going on with your whater chemistry you have no way to anticipate problems and no way to properly cottect them.
Waiting until you already SEE a problem developing to test your water is almost as bad as not testing it at all. In most cases it's too late to save the fish. Problems are FAR FAR easier to prevent then they are to correct.
Without knowing exactly whats going on with your whater chemistry you have no way to anticipate problems and no way to properly cottect them.
Waiting until you already SEE a problem developing to test your water is almost as bad as not testing it at all. In most cases it's too late to save the fish. Problems are FAR FAR easier to prevent then they are to correct.
for those who dont test..............
what do you base your water changes on if not the nitrate level ???
what do you base your water changes on if not the nitrate level ???
Exactly.
My mother in law kept fish for 25 yrs, growing some to very large sizes and some living about 20 yrs without testing and using normal UGF filters and doing very little water changes.
Thing is, not EVERYONE can do that. That was the exeption back then rather than the rule. When you do something like that you largely rely on luck and the stability of your tapwater. The type of fish you keep will also be a large factor in your success.
Also think how large some of the fish would have grown with better filtration and water management.
I'd venture towards necessary rather than not even though like in the above example people have had success without it. When you have fish deaths (and I know she did despite the long life and apparent health of some of the fish) how are you to know that it's not a water quality issue you could have corrected through testing?
I do weekly water changes and observe my fish daily (of course). Every time I use a test kit, it always says the same thing. While I know it's a good thing, I haven't used a test kit in almost 2 years. The only time I've lost fish was due to sickness and all the other fish are fine in the tank. And when my fish are sick, I treat them.
