How often should i test?

[Sapper]

ive just set up my rio 180 tank and its been running for 48hrs before i added 4 golden barbs, 2 pearl danios and 2 common catfish.

i tested the water before the fish went in with my interpet easy test kit, and got clear water in the test tubes whilst tsting ammonia, nitrates and nitrites (im guessing this is ok as there shouldnt be any of the 3 found in clean water??). the ph turned green indicating around 7 neutral.

the fish have been in around an hour or so and seem to be settling alright.

how often should i be testing the water?

Thanx.

 

[val]

I test the water whenever I do water changes, which is once a week.

Valerie

 

[sandyd]

Sapper,

Since you just started this tank and it has not cycled, i would test every few days or sooner if you notice the fish having trouble. It will take a while for the tank to get cycled, so watch the fish carefully for any signs of distress. You will probably notice alot of changes in the water now that the fish are in there. I also would not add any more fish to that tank until cycling is done. Hope this helps.

Sandy

 

[dolphin]

Hi Sapper

As you tank is new, the ammonia will not start to rise for about a week. At this point you should test for ammonia every day. It is not worth testing for nitrite and nitrae until week 3. After the ammonia has started to drop, around the end of week two the nitrite will start to rise.

HTH