API test kit results don't seem accurate!

[PheonixKingZ]

What about tetra test kit? Is anyone here using it?

I would not trust the Tetra test kit, especially if you speak of the test strips. They are not highly accurate...

 

[Alis]

I tried the chlorine test strips. I have two types, so I've got two results. I'm not even sure what like half of these things are, so....
It looks like my ph was accurate :

FCI: 0
Alk: 120
pH: 8.2 ?

Free Chlorine: 0 ppm
Total Alkalinity: 120 ppm
Total Hardness: 200 ppm
Cyanuric Acid: 0 ppm


WHAT DO THESE THINGS MEAN? Help?

 

[Essjay]

Chlorine is the amount of chlorine in the water. If you test tap water and your water supplier uses chloramine, that will also show as chlorine. In a tank, you want zero chlorine.

Alkalinity is KH, or carbonate hardness. Your strips agree on the level. KH is a buffer - it stops the pH changing. When KH is high it is impossible to change pH. When it is very low (below about 50 ppm), pH can change. Yours is lowish, but high enough that pH will be stable.

pH is a measure of the amount of hydrogen ions in the water. 7.0 is neutral, below 7.0 is acidic and above 7.0 is basic. pH does affect fish but not as much as general hardness or GH. Some fish prefer a low pH, some prefer high pH. You'll find the preferred pH range for any species in their profiles. Fish can live in a pH slightly outside their quoted ranges as long as GH is within their range.

Total hardness is GH. This is the measure of the amount of calcium and magnesium in the water as is the most important parameter for fish. Hard water fish kept in soft water, or soft water fish kept in hard water won't live as long as they should. Fish profiles give GH as either ppm or dH. Yours is 200 ppm which converts to 11.2 dH. Ideally you should keep fish which have your hardness around the middle of their range.

Cyanuric acid is not usually measured in fish tanks, though it is measured in swimming pools. Fish tanks should not have any chlorine in them, but swimming pools need to have chlorine in them so cyanuric acid is added to keep the chlorine in the water and a 'swimming pool keeper' needs to measure it to keep it within the guideline levels.

 

[Alis]

Chlorine is the amount of chlorine in the water. If you test tap water and your water supplier uses chloramine, that will also show as chlorine. In a tank, you want zero chlorine.

Alkalinity is KH, or carbonate hardness. Your strips agree on the level. KH is a buffer - it stops the pH changing. When KH is high it is impossible to change pH. When it is very low (below about 50 ppm), pH can change. Yours is lowish, but high enough that pH will be stable.

pH is a measure of the amount of hydrogen ions in the water. 7.0 is neutral, below 7.0 is acidic and above 7.0 is basic. pH does affect fish but not as much as general hardness or GH. Some fish prefer a low pH, some prefer high pH. You'll find the preferred pH range for any species in their profiles. Fish can live in a pH slightly outside their quoted ranges as long as GH is within their range.

Total hardness is GH. This is the measure of the amount of calcium and magnesium in the water as is the most important parameter for fish. Hard water fish kept in soft water, or soft water fish kept in hard water won't live as long as they should. Fish profiles give GH as either ppm or dH. Yours is 200 ppm which converts to 11.2 dH. Ideally you should keep fish which have your hardness around the middle of their range.

Cyanuric acid is not usually measured in fish tanks, though it is measured in swimming pools. Fish tanks should not have any chlorine in them, but swimming pools need to have chlorine in them so cyanuric acid is added to keep the chlorine in the water and a 'swimming pool keeper' needs to measure it to keep it within the guideline levels.

Thank you, that was helpful! I was wondering if the total hardness was the same thong as general hardness! Everyone keeps telling me it is important to test! Although those test strips are the only thing I have to test it. So probably not the most accurate, but it seems like it gives the general idea.

 

[Essjay]

I sometimes think we concentrate too much on the actual number. If you think of yours as 'middling' this means avoid fish which must have very soft water or hard water. Checking on a site like Seriously Fish will say if fish need hard, soft or middling water.