testing

[lilkey625]

i just bought one of those 5 test in one quick dip testing strip, dipped it in the water and all the pretty color came up but i have no clue what im doing. the niteate, nitrite i understand because it says safe and unsafe and im in the safe zone but i dont get the total hardness witch reads very hard-300, the total alkalinity which reads high-300 and the ph which reads alkaline-8.4. i have only cichlid(5) in a 40 gal tank with live plates and crush corral. are these reading fine?

 

[lilkey625]

oh yeah i just did a 20% water change if that makes a difference

 

[freddyk]

Excellent conditions for African Rift lake fish. The high alkalinity will keep your ph nice and stable. The GH is harder then we need for Malawi species, but it's still fine for them, and it's perfect for Tanganyikans.