# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Test kits



## Zack (Apr 9, 2003)

I have a very low-tech planted aquarium (10 g) and nothing is doing all that great except algae









I bought some Fluorish last week, and I've decided I'll probably pick up some test kits.

At $20 a pop and so many to choose from I wanted to make sure I'm only buying ones that would really be useful, so I was just wondering what everyone in here tests for.

Thanks.

Zack Robertson


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## Zack (Apr 9, 2003)

I have a very low-tech planted aquarium (10 g) and nothing is doing all that great except algae









I bought some Fluorish last week, and I've decided I'll probably pick up some test kits.

At $20 a pop and so many to choose from I wanted to make sure I'm only buying ones that would really be useful, so I was just wondering what everyone in here tests for.

Thanks.

Zack Robertson


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## jpmtotoro (Feb 13, 2003)

20 bucks per test??? expensive... you must be getting some good ones. i just use the cheapo aquarium pharameutical ones. anyway, things to test for...

GH and KH... GH just so you know what your water is like, KH as well, also needed if you end up adding CO2...
ammonia... with plants ammonia will almost always be at 0, but i check out of habit for fishes' sake.
nitrates are a definite
potassium... most people don't, although i may soon...
iron... most don't, you can skip this at first as well.
PH test of course... more for fish than plants, also for CO2 addition.
phosphates (phosporous) might be tougher to find, but a good thing to check for to control algae. honestly... the phosphate is the only expensive one i have, the rest are from aquarium pharmaceutical and pretty cheap. they aren't wonderful, but they will let you know when something is off big time (sounds like it might help in your case)







hope this helps a bit... but you do NOT need to spend 80 bucks off the bat for test kits (unless you really really want to)

JP


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## tsunami06 (Feb 6, 2003)

The Tetra test kit for GH/KH is great. Knowing
the water hardness of your tank is pretty
important. You'll want to measure the KH. You'll also want a pH test kit (AP works fine for me), so you can use a pH/KH chart to measure CO2 levels in your tank (if you use CO2).

The test kit I use most regularly is the
AP NO3 test kit. I heartily recommend it, after
comparing it with my Lamotte. You'll definitely
want to measure nitrates.

The other test kit I use often is my Seachem
Phosphate test kit. I have an iron and an
ammonia test kit, but I use both very sparingly (almost never).

So to sum: KH/GH test kit, Nitrate test kit,
Phosphate test kit, pH test kit are the ones
I would buy.

Carlos


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## Bill D (Feb 7, 2003)

Hi, Zack,

At the risk of being ruled out of order in a fertilizer discussion, I would suggest that you check your lighting before you invest a lot of money in test kits and fertilizers.

Lighting is the most important factor in growing aquatic plants. Whatever number two is is quite a distance behind it in importance.

If your lighting isn't adequate, fertilizers will just make matters worse, and fast. 

Maybe you should post the specifics of your problem, with your lighting specs, to the General Forum.

Good luck!

Bill


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## Rex Grigg (Jan 22, 2004)

Bill,

You are correct. But light alone is not the answer. I see it all the time. People with tanks in the 3-5 wpg range wondering about their algae problems and all they are doing is adding some Flourish once a week. They read enough to figure out that high light is better than low light but then quit reading. Some of them don't even have a CO2 system.

Moderator










American by birth, Marine by the grace of God! This post spell checked with IESpell available at http://www.iespell.com

See my Profile for tank details.


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## jpmtotoro (Feb 13, 2003)

uh-oh, rex is talking about me again, no CO2... yes peeps, lighting is a main thing, but as you step up the lighting, you need to add the right amount of CO2 and nutrients, add more lighting, add more stuff. can't add lights and no nutrients, and can't add nutrients and no lights. you can do low-tech or high-tech, all works fine, you just can't be lopsidded. oh well, at least he knows not to spend 200 bucks on test kits now







i think i've spent... 40? never even use them now... so lazy. who knows where my levels are.

JP


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## Tenor1 (Mar 3, 2003)

Hi Zack,

There are a few things I would like to recommend. The first is using Flourish Excel as your carbon source. This works well as a carbon source and helps reduce algae problems. My brother uses it in his 55-gallon plant tank with great success.

A great on-line vendor is Big Al's On Line. They are a Canadian shop with great prices.

The other tip is reading test results. I recommend the AP kits. Let the test vial sit for 20 minutes, then take the reading looking from the top of the vial downwards. Place the colour card under the bottom portion of the vial. This is an easy way to distinguish the true colour compared to the card. Letting the water sample sit twenty minutes give the truest reading. This was shared by a bio-chemist.

Regards,
Carlos

==============================
I try to keep the tank plain and simple but it never stays that way!


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## jpmtotoro (Feb 13, 2003)

hey carlos, you sure you can look down through the vial? the color will be more concentrated and darker looking through more liquid than if you go straight through the front/side... then again i don't remember what the instructions say, although i am pretty sure you're just supposed to go through the side. honestly i have white walls near my tank, so i just hold the vial and color chart up against the wall. easy to tell color. a piece of printer paper should also make it easy to tell.

JP


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## Tenor1 (Mar 3, 2003)

Hi JP,

It sounds odd but that IS the recommendation for a more accurate reading. Let the vial sit for 20 minutes AND look from the top of the vial with the card placed at the bottom. 

Regards,
Carlos

==============================
I try to keep the tank plain and simple but it never stays that way!


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## Zack (Apr 9, 2003)

Well ladies and gentlemen, tonight I went out and picked up some test kits (Nitrate, Phosphate, GH/KH) and Fluorish Excel.

Is it best to test before or after a water change?

Thanks again.

Zack


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## jpmtotoro (Feb 13, 2003)

both







you wanna know how nasty your water was, and how nasty it will be. you'll be using the kits a lot trying to figure out how often to dose. after you figure it all out, you'll stop using them most of the time. just quick checks now and again.

JP


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## Tenor1 (Mar 3, 2003)

IMO, testing should be done just before a water change AND just after. It's good to establish a baseline (after water change test) to know the effect of the water change. It works well for Nitrate testing, especially if the tank is heavily stocked. Lightly stocked tanks obviously can go longer between changes and testing the Nitrate levels is a great indicator to gage water changes. 

Water stability is the important factor for fish. My practice is two water changes weekly even though testing shows it isn't necessary. But I find the fish to be more active, eat hardier and grow faster and larger with more water changes. I can share some interesting observations on this….but that is a different topic from this thread, lol.

Regards,
Carlos

==============================
I try to keep the tank plain and simple but it never stays that way!


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## Kathy (Feb 2, 2003)

Zack,

What they said! My ten gallon tank looks pretty good with Excel, 3.8 watts/gallon, traces and NPK. Before Excel there were a couple sieges with different algae.

Carlos, I am really diligent about changing water once a week but my fish are pretty unhappy with more than 25% water changes. How large are your changes? Takes me all of ten minutes to draw off water, rinse the sponge, draw fresh water and add back the Excel, NPK, trace and dechlorinator in that ten gallon tank. I could do more, love to have huge neons in there.


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## Zack (Apr 9, 2003)

Alright ladies and gentlemen, finally got around to trying out the new test kits last night. Here's the results, both before and after a 30% water change. Maybe you can help me with what they mean









KH - 107 ppm before > 107 ppm after
GH - 197 ppm > 179 ppm
PO4 - 0.2-0.5 (depends on whether you look sideways through the tube or down from the top)
after > 0.1-0.2
NO3 - 0 > 0-5 (same as above)
PH - 7.4

Also some more super exciting news I discovered after the water change. I have a baby Platy!!! It's a tiny little guy about a centimeter long, surviving with 2 ghost shrimp, 3 platies, 3 harlequin rasboras, 3 ottos, and a dwarf blue gourami. Another discovery -> one of the shrimp is carrying eggs!

I don't really know what to do about this new and future new addition to the aquarium.. as it's already pushing the limit for stocking. I'm thinking this will put it over the edge.

One other thing, last night I added the Flruorish Excel for the first time, and today I notice my water is quite cloudy. Not sure what this is about either.

Thanks again.

Zack Robertson


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## jpmtotoro (Feb 13, 2003)

hey zack, real quick... for KH and GH, people usually use the german degree things, not ppm. i could always go look up the conversion, but it's 1:30am for me and i'm tired (lazy) but i almost dropped my jaw when i saw your KH at 107!! then i realized ppm...







don't scare me like that!! anyway, someone else can tell you about your values, i'm crashing, just wanted to warn you about the ppm thing... also, i use excel... never had a cloudy precipitate of any sort... hope you didn't overdose! i doubt this is from the excel though.

JP


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