Water testing kit
- Thread starter jade71301
- Start date
VERY important. If a tank is new they're especially important. On a cycling tank you usually want to do all three tests every other day or so...then on a newly setup/stocked tank you want to at least test all three once every week or so...then after awhile you can stop testing for ammonia/nitrite assuming you always get a 0ppm. I still test my tanks once a month or so...sometimes with all three, sometimes just nitrates to make sure everything is good. Then of course they're handy to have because the first thing you want to do at a sign of anything wrong in the tank is to test all three. The first question you'll get on here is "What are your ammonia,nitrite,nitrate levels?" because your water quality is everything.
Well I went to the pet store and the guy checked my water and he said my ph was fine what does the ph do if too high? I asked him if I should get a test kit and he said its not important really cause I do water changes every week and keep it clean. plus it was almost 40 bucks for the kit thats too expensive for my budget. I also asked him about my guppies and the only med he had was 30 bucks. Its cheaper just to buy new fish if they die. However I did buy a algae remover that u put in your filter so hope it gets rid of some of the algae.
I'm sorry...that sounds like a pretty typical pet store answer.
Did you only have him test the pH? If you didn't ask them to test the rest and didn't get a test kit, then I'd suggest taking a sample back and asking them to test your Ammonia level, your nitrite level and your nitrate level. Ask them to give you the results in numbers...not "they all look good" or "you need this product to help this one because its high". I'd suggest writing the results down and posting them here and we can help you interpret. The other thing you could do is look at their test kits...the master one has some stuff you dont necessarily need...so you can buy those three seperately. They're usually like 6 or 7 bucks each I think.
btw where your pH is on the scale really doesn't matter. If its naturally right in the middle at like 7 then thats awesome...but if its not, its ok. Fish will adapt to pretty much whatever pH you put them in, as long as its relatively stable. Of course the only way to know if its stable is to have the kit and test it on a regular basis...but at least you know that its somewhere in the middle if he told you its not too high.
Algae remover is usually also a waste of money. Its like putting a bandaid on...because even if it treats it now and it works...you didn't take care of the cause of the algae, so it'll be back! You need to do some reading on the boards (use the search function) if you have an issue with algae and see if you can figure out what the cause is. (sunlight, overfeeding, ammonia, too high level of nitrates etc)
Did you only have him test the pH? If you didn't ask them to test the rest and didn't get a test kit, then I'd suggest taking a sample back and asking them to test your Ammonia level, your nitrite level and your nitrate level. Ask them to give you the results in numbers...not "they all look good" or "you need this product to help this one because its high". I'd suggest writing the results down and posting them here and we can help you interpret. The other thing you could do is look at their test kits...the master one has some stuff you dont necessarily need...so you can buy those three seperately. They're usually like 6 or 7 bucks each I think.
btw where your pH is on the scale really doesn't matter. If its naturally right in the middle at like 7 then thats awesome...but if its not, its ok. Fish will adapt to pretty much whatever pH you put them in, as long as its relatively stable. Of course the only way to know if its stable is to have the kit and test it on a regular basis...but at least you know that its somewhere in the middle if he told you its not too high.
Algae remover is usually also a waste of money. Its like putting a bandaid on...because even if it treats it now and it works...you didn't take care of the cause of the algae, so it'll be back! You need to do some reading on the boards (use the search function) if you have an issue with algae and see if you can figure out what the cause is. (sunlight, overfeeding, ammonia, too high level of nitrates etc)
For people on a budget (and isn't that most of us!), don't forget you can buy things like test kits online. There are some good specials going on right now with the aquarium pharm. master test kits. For example, you can get all the tests you need from Petsmart for $13.95. I think this link will work:
http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...kit&In=Fish&previousText=master+kit&N=2023693
I've also ordered fish supplies from Dr. Fosters and Smith. Good luck with your tank!
http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...kit&In=Fish&previousText=master+kit&N=2023693
I've also ordered fish supplies from Dr. Fosters and Smith. Good luck with your tank!
