Nitrites, nitrates, blah, blah, blah...
- Thread starter ReverendShmoove
- Start date
I think the best and most cost effective way to test your water is to watch plant growth, provided you have live plants. I have stopped testing water for a little over a month and everything looks fine. Of course 2 weeks of that I was away. I am tempted to not test the water, but I am preparing to move, so I really want to make sure everything is in good shape.
I wouldn't trust those ammonia alert testers. A well established tank shouldn't have ammonia swings, that being said I always test every parameter of my water once a month.
In this hobby you get what you pay for. If you buy cheap test kits, then I would question their reliability. Don't skimp out on something that could save you money, and fish in the long run.
In this hobby you get what you pay for. If you buy cheap test kits, then I would question their reliability. Don't skimp out on something that could save you money, and fish in the long run.
I think in general the cheapest way to watch water parameters (as long as your tank is established and cycled) is to keep up with tank maintenance, have a well put together tank (ie adequete filtration and not overstocked) and not worry about it. You fish (and plants if you have them...as Delta said) are good indicators. (their colors, changes in appearance, growth rate or activity etc)
I think a lot of people spend insane amounts of money on testers etc and almost do too much testing. Honestly, I rarely if ever test my tanks for anything. From time to time out of curiousity I'll test nitrates to make sure they're still under 20....or when a tank is freshly cycled I'll run them all once a week for a couple weeks to make sure everything is stable...or if there's problems (fish dying, algae, cloudy etc). When I'm cycling a new tank I'll test the other tanks for nitrites to make sure my test kits are still working...but thats about it.
If you're a chronic tester (some people are just control freaks and think they need to monitor EVERYTHING all the time...thats ok
) then I think I'd probably look into an electronic monitoring system...over time buying new test kits constantly can be quite the expense...as well as if you're that interested in your water parameters getting a digital reading would be more accurate. Sooner or later it would pay for itself...although I've never seen a cheap one.
I think a lot of people spend insane amounts of money on testers etc and almost do too much testing. Honestly, I rarely if ever test my tanks for anything. From time to time out of curiousity I'll test nitrates to make sure they're still under 20....or when a tank is freshly cycled I'll run them all once a week for a couple weeks to make sure everything is stable...or if there's problems (fish dying, algae, cloudy etc). When I'm cycling a new tank I'll test the other tanks for nitrites to make sure my test kits are still working...but thats about it.
If you're a chronic tester (some people are just control freaks and think they need to monitor EVERYTHING all the time...thats ok
) then I think I'd probably look into an electronic monitoring system...over time buying new test kits constantly can be quite the expense...as well as if you're that interested in your water parameters getting a digital reading would be more accurate. Sooner or later it would pay for itself...although I've never seen a cheap one.
My trick is to watch the fish. I do not have the tester kit as well. But I do 25 % water change every week. Neon tetra are pretty sensitive to the water quality. So, if you see them scrub their body, you know the time. So far, I only saw once one day after I fed them live food. Don't delay water change if you see them showing strange behaviour.
Watch your fish. They will tell you. I test pH, alk and Ca in my salt tank about once a month, but look at the overall health every day
On the only independant testing I've seen the cost of a test kit was no guide at all to it's accuracy. The cheap ones can be just as good as th expensive ones until you get to the 70 dollars per single test kit price range.
On the only independant testing I've seen the cost of a test kit was no guide at all to it's accuracy. The cheap ones can be just as good as th expensive ones until you get to the 70 dollars per single test kit price range.
Thought I'd chime in with some additional info. When setting up a new tank, or moving to a new place, etc., it's important to establish a "baseline" of how your water looks from one week to the next & from one water change to the next. I will assume this is after you've cycled your tank. After that, testing is pointless, and is a waste of time, effort, and money.
The foundation of good fishkeeping is keeping things the same and routine (after optimizing conditions). If something changes, such as a water supply, nutrient supply (for planted tanks), feeding habits, etc., then such change should warrant a testing. I never test regularly once I've "set" something. However, I do randomly test once in a while just to make sure nothing strange occurs. It never does. I guess I want to use my test solutions up before they expire...
Like many have mentioned, watching the fish is a good sign. Most fish are very vigorous and active under optimum conditions. When something is amiss, they become a bit sluggish.
The foundation of good fishkeeping is keeping things the same and routine (after optimizing conditions). If something changes, such as a water supply, nutrient supply (for planted tanks), feeding habits, etc., then such change should warrant a testing. I never test regularly once I've "set" something. However, I do randomly test once in a while just to make sure nothing strange occurs. It never does. I guess I want to use my test solutions up before they expire...
Like many have mentioned, watching the fish is a good sign. Most fish are very vigorous and active under optimum conditions. When something is amiss, they become a bit sluggish.