test for nitrates

[impur]

just wondering how many of you test for NitrAtes NO3. I am having a hard time finding a test kit locally and will probably just get it at bigalsonline.com. But i was curious about how many others do this test.

 

[pebbles]

hi there , i do tests for nitrates along with my other water tests, ammonia and nitrites, on aregular basis , the water that comes out of the tap here has a fair amount of nitrate so i have to keep an eye and do an extra water change every now and thenas well as the routine ones.i also check my water just before adding any new fish . test kits are readily available so its easy for me .would be interested to see what others think pebbles

 

[CFC]

Nitrate is pretty much the only thing i test for these days,i only test for ammonia and nitrite if the fish start looking a bit off and i do a PH test once a month,i test for nitrate twice a week as the fish i keep produce quite a lot of waste,i do a water change if i get a reading above 40ppm.

 

[Tanked]

I'm with CFC on that one. I test weekly for nitrate and PH and only test for ammonia and nitrite about once a month or as soon as I notice something not right like fish all of a sudden acting very differently.

 

[Jamnog]

i am pretty rare i dont test at all unless i see something that looks wrong.

 

[pebbles]

i guess i'm still being rather careful with my tank, i'm still doing routine test as it hasn't been running all that long, 6 weeks,and cos its a bigger tank i'm still adding fish. still worried about getting a ammonia spike pebbles

 

[CFC]

It is wise to test new tanks for everything on a weekly basis until they have been running smoothly with no problems for six months and then once a fortnight until a year has past.Also those new to fishkeeping may not recognise the signs that fish give off when there is a increase of ammonia or nitrite so a test is the only way they would know.

 

[pebbles]

thanks for that cat fishcrazy , i'll follow your advice on tests,this is my second tank and i have run the first without too many probs for 2 years,but have only been on the forum for a short while and am learning fast. its great being able to draw on other peoples experiences, maybe i can ease up on testing the older tank so often now pebbles

 

[impur]

yeah tnx CFC, i ended up ordering a nitrate test from bigalsonline. I went ahead and got the nitrite as well cuz mine is almost out and they cost upwards of $12 here compared to around $4 on the site. I save money even WITH the s/h.

But one question for you, what is a fortnight?

 

[CFC]

But one question for you, what is a fortnight?

Two weeks

 

[impur]

how come they call it a fortnight over there? I'm just curious, its kinda funny to me. I know this is off the subject. lol

 

[Jamnog]

wow it never occoured to me that the word wasnt in use over on the other side of the pond.. im not shure where the word comes from. perhaps a night in a fort will last two weeks

 

[gadazobe]

Somewhere in the past I read that it comes from 2 words - fourteen and night and got shortened to fortnight. I don't know if that's true or not, but it sounds logical.

 

[gadazobe]

Now back to the original question. I'm with cfc here - I check for nitrates regularly and only for ammonia and nitrite after doing a major clean of the tanks and filtersl. But, when I first started out, I checked practically daily, especially during the cycle, then weekly, monthly and once the tanks were up and running for over 6 months, only rarely.

 

[bluefrog]

Just wondering- is there a product that brings NitrAte down, or do you just do water changes?