water testing

[tttnjfttt]

How often should I be testing my water chemistry? After adding fish, I know I know I need to watch out for an ammonia and nitrite spike, how long should I closely monitor it?

Nicole

 

[daudy_dojo]

i test every sunday unless something seems wrong in my tank then i make and emergency test...

 

[sarah-j]

I usually test my water twice a week, if I add new fish I test it everyday as the tank does a mini cycle and need vigilance incase a water change needs done quickly.

 

[Tolak]

I don't do tests unless the the fish tell me to. I have quite a few tanks I haven't tested in more than a year. I add fish & subtract fish, and switch around the filters accordingly. All the tanks have multiple & spare filters running.

Tolak

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I test my water once a week in my fry tank and once every 1-2weeks in my main tanks just on a general basis even if there is nothing wrong with the fish, i find its best to just a make a routine of these things like water changes for example .

 

[FishLuvr]

I test my water weekly (every saturday) before i do my weekly water change, if i add new fish, etc i test again a couple hours after adding the fish,

I don't do tests unless the the fish tell me to. I have quite a few tanks I haven't tested in more than a year. I add fish & subtract fish, and switch around the filters accordingly. All the tanks have multiple & spare filters running

Im sorry with no offense intended - that is very poor practice, first off not all fish will show signs immediately of a problem, some fish are more hardier than others second of all, Tanks almost always go thru mini cycles when new fish are inrtoduced, a death has occured, plants are added or removed etc, even if your tank has a mini cycle of high ammonia and your fish dont show signs of being poisoined you are taking time off thier life expectancy, think of it as smoking, i smoke, i dont have cancer, i am able to breathe fine, i dont cough, but my lungs are getting dirtier and deterorating at a rapid rate taking yrs off of my life. Thats the same with ammonia and nitites. Please please test your tanks regularly, what does it take a couple of minutes, to save a couple of lives and yrs on those lives

(why do you go to a doctor for a checkup when your not feeling ill, why take your car to get a checkup when its not showing signs of problems)

Remember you are taking care of a Living creature with that comes great responsibility.

kevin

 

[Tolak]

No offense taken FishLuvr, most all of my tanks are dedicated to breeding & growing out angelfish, I think I have a handle on it as far as water tests are concerned.

A 10 gallon hatching & grow out tank that houses fish for the first 3 weeks & gets 50% water changes daily isn't going to need testing unless you see something wrong. If somehow the water is bad, you will see it, trust me.

On week 4 the 300 or so fry go into a 20 gallon, getting 50% water changes twice weekly. Again, you will see any problems.

On week 6 the fry get split up, half go into a 2nd 20, 50%-75% water changes weekly.

This continues on until they reach at least dime size, then they begin to get sold. All along you have the occasional deadie, anyone who tells you they breed fish & never lose a single fry is lying. Any time during this growing & transfering process anything seems out of line, water tests ARE done. No problems, no tests, angel fry are quite sensitive to water conditions. If every death, addition, or transfer of filters on tanks created an ammo spike, I would have a lot of dead little fish. All my tanks are seriously overfiltered, like a 55 with an Eheim 2222, 2224, AC 300, & a homemade 250 gal/hr filter, all on 1 tank.

All other tanks get 50% to 75% wc's weekly. All have similar filtration.

I think if you get sensitive enough testing equipment you will find trace amounts of ammo in any tank. It just means it hasn't gotten to the filter yet to be converted into NO2 & NO3.

I get to the doctor at least once a year, thanks to my screwy back, he does a good checkup then, and tells me to quit smoking. Anything beyond that, I call the doctor. Much of my truck maintainance I do myself, any problems I talk to the gearheads I work with at the shop. Anything beyond that, I call the mechanic.

My body and my vehicle have a good maintainance schedule, as does my breeding setup. Anything has me stumped with my tanks, I have half a dozen other angel breeders to call for advice who are members of the local aquatics club.

Don't be too worried FishLuvr, my fish are well cared for. The ones I sell only go to auctions & a couple of shops I trust, they ask for water samples before they sell fish, & won't sell them to you if they don't think it's a good situation. Folks bidding at auction have to know their fish, have yet to see someone there who doesn't. I worry more about the fish after they leave than when they are here.

Tolak

 

[FishLuvr]

Thats great to hear you have eased my worries, i was not aware that you were breeding fish, and i also see that your in the states, (another forumn that i belong to is mostly UK ) Im looking for one of two perticular bristlenose the l183 or the l107 if you happen to know of a place that will ship, or maybe even yourself, (though) i think they are hard to breed in captivity, i may be wrong, let me know as none of the LFS here sell them (most sell commons) and i dont have a tank big enough for those "tank busters".

I've never kept angels either, though they are beautiful fish, i dont like "TALL" tanks, i prefer long tanks, and i believe that angels prefer verticle movement as oppose to horizontal movement. If i were to ever get a species only tank it would be a salty with a Picaso trigger (huma huma) so beautiful =)

 

[Bloo]

Thats great to hear you have eased my worries, i was not aware that you were breeding fish, and i also see that your in the states, (another forumn that i belong to is mostly UK ) Im looking for one of two perticular bristlenose the l183 or the l107 if you happen to know of a place that will ship, or maybe even yourself, (though) i think they are hard to breed in captivity, i may be wrong, let me know as none of the LFS here sell them (most sell commons) and i dont have a tank big enough for those "tank busters".

I've never kept angels either, though they are beautiful fish, i dont like "TALL" tanks, i prefer long tanks, and i believe that angels prefer verticle movement as oppose to horizontal movement. If i were to ever get a species only tank it would be a salty with a Picaso trigger (huma huma) so beautiful =)

You could always try Trimar. They do not have any on their list at the moment, but if you call or email them to enquire if they can get them in for you - they are pretty quick to respond within 24 hours by email.
They do however have some L255's in at the moment and they are very similar to what you are after. The price tag is quite hefty though and depending on size between £33 - £40. Do be aware that they are very delicate fish and require a very well established tank with loads of fast flowing water and very stable conditions.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

There's no need to test all the time. Tolak has the best idea for when a tank is established.

Unless you see signs of a problem, there's really no point testing all the time. Test kits can be very expensive and fish keeping is expensive enough as it is.

 

[FishLuvr]

sorry i should have mentioned i was looking for a retailer for the l107 or the l183 plecos in the USA. im in the US on the east coast thanks

 

[Bloo]

Ah apologies - well in that case I can't help I'm afraid.
Good luck in finding them - they are beautiful plecs.

Edit: and just to add to the topic - I don't test my well established tanks often at all. Unless I make any changes and keep up with regular maintenance regime it all remains stable. I'll test once in a while on a completely random basis, but it's always the same.

Testing is far more important in new setup's or those less than 6 months old. Or if major changes have been made.

That's all in my opinion of course, and it seems to work.