water testing

[aquamonsta]

How much do water testing kits cost nowadays?...what should i be looking for in kit?

 

[smb]

Depends on how much money you have. I would recommend a professional kit if you can afford it.

The cheaper kits that you can buy at LFS aren't as good. They are better than nothing though.

It's just that with the less expensive kits you can buy at LFS, the ammonia levels might show 0ppm even when there is still some ammonia in the tank but the pro kits will show the exact ppm.


It all depends on how precise you want to be, imo.

Edit: man, my spelling is bad tonight.

 

[aquamonsta]

well whats the differnce between the cheap and the costly.....how do both of them work exactly? How much would they cost?

 

[smb]

I'm not sure. I'm only replying to let you know that I'm not ignoring you and to let others jump in here.

I don't use test kits. I just go by the way the water looks and the way the fish act.

Not to sound like I know it all, but I can just tell what's wrong by looking at the water, knowing how each cichlid is supposed to act, and how they act in each situation and how much filtration and feeding I do and come up with what's wrong by adding them all together.

I hope you don't think I'm blowing you off by saying I don't use test kits and just know by looks. If I had to guess, I'd say that pro kits are 3-4 times more expensive than a personal test kit. But am not sure.

Others more experienced, will be here soon to let you know tho.

 

[Mollymomma]

Cheapie tests run about $15.00 US ( have no clue about elsewhere) These will usually come with ammonia test, phtest, 1bottle of ph up, 1 bottle of ph down ( which most will tell you not to worry too much about unless you have strict ph guidelines for certian fish) nitrite test & nitrate test. Each individual test costs about $5.-$8. I believe the pro tests run about $ 40-$50. online (never used a pro test I can't afford it ) You can also get all-in-one test strips ( I have used these and have never had a problem with them)

The all-in-one test strips are great for kids( which is why I bought them) and just really handy when you need to know quickly what is going on in your tank at any given moment.

HTH, other's will add their agreements/disagreements soon

 

[aquamonsta]

i run a 30 gallon cichild tank for about 5 months or so and have never used any kits yet. When the water conditions change and the fish act different i know something's a bit wrong and i do a water change. but the thing is i wana test my water to see how high or how low the levels are..but takin into consideration that i have never touched a kit puts me in the question.what should i go for..i was thinkin of a cheap one so i can get an idea of what's wrong with my water..but idk..still deciding

 

[Mollymomma]

If you plan not to test all the time I'd say go the cheaper route. The cheaper tests now are pretty accurate. Good Luck deciding

 

[Liz05]

My tank has been up and running for nearly two years now, and the only test kits ive ever used is an ammonia, which I only recently bought (less than 1 month ago) It was relatively cheap, and other than that, I know nothing about them. I have seen pH test kits that run about $12-15.

 

[impur]

You can get the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals ammonia and PH test kits at walmart for $2-$4. These do 90 tests. Cheapest I have seen them. The nitrates and nitrite kits are best at bigalsonline.com. I have seen them cheaper than there. But you can't beat the walmart price for ammonia and PH.