Water Quality

[StarfireGraves]

Ello,
 
I finally got test strips today and I am wondering about where should I keep the pH, Carbonate hardness, general hardness and nitrates and nitrite levels. I still need to pick up ammonia level strips too.

 

[EllieJellyEllie]

I hate to break it to ya but stips are no good. I would get a liquid test kit, the API Freshwater Master is a good one

 

[noobgamers]

ammonia nd nitrites should be 0-0.5 and nitrates 20 (basically the lower the better but these are good parameters) ph is dependant on fish but 7.5 is generally safe would need the tank stocking to give a good estimate general hardness and carbonate hardness yet again is dependant on fish know very little about it but from what i hav heard 20 - 50 is good but it is the least important out of those although it is still important

 

[StarfireGraves]

I hate to break it to ya but stips are no good. I would get a liquid test kit, the API Freshwater Master is a good one

I cant afford those.
 

ammonia nd nitrites should be 0-0.5 and nitrates 20 (basically the lower the better but these are good parameters) ph is dependant on fish but 7.5 is generally safe would need the tank stocking to give a good estimate general hardness and carbonate hardness yet again is dependant on fish know very little about it but from what i hav heard 20 - 50 is good but it is the least important out of those although it is still important

I have platys in it

 

[noobgamers]

 

I hate to break it to ya but stips are no good. I would get a liquid test kit, the API Freshwater Master is a good one

I cant afford those.
 

ammonia nd nitrites should be 0-0.5 and nitrates 20 (basically the lower the better but these are good parameters) ph is dependant on fish but 7.5 is generally safe would need the tank stocking to give a good estimate general hardness and carbonate hardness yet again is dependant on fish know very little about it but from what i hav heard 20 - 50 is good but it is the least important out of those although it is still important

I have platys in it

 

ph 5.5-7.8 hardness dosent really have a noticeable effect its only on some of the lest robust plants it has a effect

 

[Ninjouzata]

ammonia nd nitrites should be 0-0.5 and nitrates 20 (basically the lower the better but these are good parameters) ph is dependant on fish but 7.5 is generally safe would need the tank stocking to give a good estimate general hardness and carbonate hardness yet again is dependant on fish know very little about it but from what i hav heard 20 - 50 is good but it is the least important out of those although it is still important

In a cycled tank ammonia & nitrites should always be 0.

 

[Essjay]

Ammonia and nitrite should always be zero. Nitrate is variable because there could be some in the tap water. Generally speaking, nitrate should be no more than 20ppm above the level in your tapwater, and it should be kept below that level by water changes.
 
pH, general hardness and carbonate hardness do not need to 'kept' at any particular level. The readings for your tank are determined by your tapwater. Trying to alter these three is not something to attempt lightly as there is the potential for things to go drastically wrong and kill your fish. It is better to choose fish that suit your pH and hardness rather than try to alter the levels. Both pH and general hardness (GH) are the ones to look at when choosing fish. Carbonate hardness (KH) does not affect the fish directly but is a measure of the buffering capacity of the water. If KH is low, there is the potential for the pH to drop, which could be bad for the fish. But a medium to high KH indicates the pH will be stable.
 
You say you have platies - they like a pH over 7 and hard water.

 

[noobgamers]

 

ammonia nd nitrites should be 0-0.5 and nitrates 20 (basically the lower the better but these are good parameters) ph is dependant on fish but 7.5 is generally safe would need the tank stocking to give a good estimate general hardness and carbonate hardness yet again is dependant on fish know very little about it but from what i hav heard 20 - 50 is good but it is the least important out of those although it is still important

In a cycled tank ammonia & nitrites should always be 0.

 

hence why i said the lower the better but ammonia of 0.25 and nirtrites of roughly the same is ok

 

[StarfireGraves]

Thank you all. This helps a bit. 

 

[Lawalk]

So, I'm just curious about water testing methods.  In chemistry we always used strips to test pH and the like, why are the liquid test kits supposed to be so much better for aquarium use? I've had aquariums for a long time, but just recently discovered there's a lot more to it than I thought as a kid.  I'm still learning about the best way to test and correct parameter problems so any help is appreciated.

 

[coolie]

PH strips are quite good as it happens. Some of the others need to be fresh and go off quickly.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Like anything else in life, quality matters. Most of the test kits- whether they use strips, reagents either liquid or dry or fairly low quality. There are more accurate kits etc out there if one is willing to pay up. You can buy better quality test strips.
 
The biggest problem with test strips is moisture. While one can get a decent reseal on liquid bottles and dry reagents are often packaged in individual packets, inexpensive test strips are more at risk. If you leave the top off the container now and then during humid months ........
 
Hobby grade kits are useful to an extent and they are more affordable than lab grade tests. They are certainly better than no testing at all. but one needs to use common sense in accepting/interpreting some of the readings.