nitrite nitrate

[fishmanuk]

im wanting to test my tank for nitrite and nitrate what product should i use and what are the correct readings is this more inportant than ph levelsand when i buy new fish should i put the water from the pet shop in the tank as well or just the fish

 

[barbiya]

I'm going to guess that you're in the UK, by your name, (astute observation, huh?) so I don't know what's available to you there, but I use Jungle Labs "Quick Dip" strips, which test for ph, NitrAte, NitrIte, Hardness & Alkalinity. I have a separate test kit for ammonia. (Tetra Test).

Have you cycled your tank? What size is it, do you have any fish already?

You can read on here a few opinions about ph, my thought is to not mess with it.

Hope this helps!

 

[Cheese Specialist]

I use Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Inc. test kits for everything except for oxygen which I have a Tetra kit for.

 

[gixer]

i use the api liquid kits for everything too. there pretty good.

 

[heresmike]

I also use Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, and like them just fine. Beware however that you can get some outdated ones, like I did with my nitrate test kit. Next time, I'll check for an expiration date on the package! Also a good tip would be to have your lfs test the water periodically and compare to your results.

As far as pH, IMO, that's not nearly as important as ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. My pH is very stable however, due to the hardness and high alkalinity of my water. But it's a good idea to test it now and then.

 

[waterwatereverywhere]

I use the Nutrafin liquid tests and find them very easy to use. As others have said, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are the most important things to be testing. In a cycled tank, ammonia and nitrite should be at 0 and nitrate should be kept at a reasonably low level by water changes. Most fish are okay with nitrates up to 40-50 but for some you want it lower than 20.

How long have you had the tank, have you cycled it and do you have any fish in there now?

 

[Ricey]

i use the tetratest laborette kit.
It has PH, GH, KH and Nitrite. you can also use the chart to roughly work out the CO2.
I also use a separate tetra Amonia test kit.

 

[dcraveiro]

Tetra Test is what I use. It's reliable and accurate!

 

[Mesome]

No, Don't ever put the fish store water in your tank!!!!!! You can float then to get them acclimated to the temp. but you want to net them out and put them in your tank that way.