Water Test Kit

Can anyone recommend an affordable test kit, which covers all the bases.

And what sort of pricing would I be looking at?

Where to buy?

 

all in one tetra R190 or you can just put in a neon to test

 

I'll also recommend the Tetra 6-in-1 test kit. Consists of 25 test strips, stir 1 around in the water for a bit and measure the colors against the indication on the housing tube.

 

Just put a neon in to test?? Please explain Shakester?

These test kits are also pretty good value for monty because you can cut them in half, and literally get double the test for your buck. HOWEVER, the test kits where you use the chemical drops into the vials give you more accurate reading.

Just please make sure that whatever you buy has not expired, or been open at all. Test strips react with the moisture in the air, and then become completely useless. Expired test kits are also useless and give false information.

 

apperently to see if you water is up to scratch throw one in

 

Works better with a rummy nose tetra.

 

Naughty naughty, using tetras to test your water.

 

thats why we get test kits nowadays.

 

All in one Sera test kit- R790.00
Rummy nose tetra R15.00

All in one Sear test kit- 12 monts
Rummy nose tetra- 3 years

Watching rummy nose stay happy--- PRICELESS

 

This reminds me of when Neons were R2.00 and not R10.00...

Cheapest fish I've come across nowadays is the White Cloud Mountain Minnow at R3.50, but those guys will survive a wide range of conditions, making them unreliable test kits.

Not that I'm advocating that method at all.

 

hey white clouds are cool, and so are neons and rummies, as for test kits, yeah pricing....... but i would rather buy a test kit, have used a few tried the daro one recently, lets just say it is worth the money, then the tetra 6 in 1 that would definately do, as for the sera, hmmmmm R800 bucks, i dont think so, maybe if i had marines, is there a big difference between the tetra and the sera?

 

The sera one is perfect for people who are hectic into their plants where you need to test Calcium, Magnesium, GH, KH and all the other stuff in between.

I'm considering getting one... just really need to speak to the bank manager about this one first. (and for those who aren't married... you won't understand this)

 

I think you guys are doing to much testing.
The most important test kit you need is a Nitrite Test,any brand.
Second most important is PH kit,any brand.
You'll be using the Nitrite test from the first week of a new tank setup,and then at least once a month for the rest of the setup's "life".
The PH kit you'll be using with every water change,to make sure your tank water and "new" water is the same ph.
The only other kit worth buying is a KH test but you'll use it so infrequently,it will expire long before you even did ten tests.
Get the first two and save yourself alot of money.

 

Rudi.. don't you mean NitrATE test kit? I don't even bother with Amonia or Nitrite. I test for Nitrate... if it's higher than 15ppm... I do water change.

 

Rudi, why would you want to test for nitrite once a month ? if a tank is fully cycled NO2 should always be 0 from that point forward, rather test for nitrate as this is what builds up in tanks between water changes.

 

Dude,if a fish died ,but you don't see it to take it out immediately,you'll have a Nitrite spike with in a day.Next to Ammonia,Nitrite is the most toxic,Nitrate doesn't even come close.
By testing for Nitrite regularly you make sure your filter is working correctly.
Your tank could only be fully cycled in 6 months to a year,in that time all manner of things can go wrong.
If you do regular water changes,i.e. every 2 weeks,Nitrate can never become a isue.
I personally never test for Nitrate because the test kits are notoriously inacurate.You can never get a true reading, even when using 2 different brand test kits.

It's interesting that you would not test for the two most toxic substances in your tank.If either Ammonia or Nitrite test's above zero ,even 0.1,it can be fatal to all your fish.
Nitrate only starts getting toxic above 50ppm.I think you even add some Nitrate with your plant ferts,I know I do ,upto 30ppm per week.Nitrate is the least of your worries.

 

Rudi.. if you worried about a fish dying and causing a nitrite spike... then I would be testing for ammonia rather than nitrite. From my studying on the Notrigen Cycle 101, the ammonia spike occurs first, then the nitrite spike... and as far as I know, the ammonia spike would kill your fish before the nitrite spike even got a chance to get to critical levels.

Besides that... if your tank is well matured, I do not believe a dead fish would cause such a "deadly" spike in either ammonia nor nitrites because your bacteria would have been colonized suitably in the filter to deal with the ammonia and nitrites

 

Well, i usually know exactly what fish is in what tank and can usually spot a dead fish on morning and evening inspections, so let me get this straight, you are testing for nitrite to make sure your filter is doing its job ? I promise you that your filter is working if you have nitrate, you will be able to see stress from the fish long before you eventually test for nitrite(and its not as if boom a fish dies and boom your nitrite is 1+, it actually takes time for the fish to decay), why dont you then test for NH3 aswell, same argument ? In a stable tank there should be no need to test for NH3 or NO2 as they should always be 0 and they will be 0 in a stable tank. I would only monitor Nh3 and NO2 in a cycling tank and when adding new livestock (as you increase the bio-load, just to make sure the filter can keep up)

I like to keep my tanks NO3 below 5ppm, thats why i like to test it regularly and make sure that it is there.

 

Both of you,Zoom and George, assume alot from a man made enviroment wich is always threatining to go off balance.There is so many things that can go wrong in a minute,from a filter mal function,a natural fish death in a heavily stocked tank with alot of hiding places to a systematic acidification of the filtration system and the eventual ph crash.
I have seen to many aquarist running into a LFS to have their water tested because "something" is wrong with their fish.And it is always either Nitrite or PH.It never fails.

 

But then again, wont you pick up the ammonia spike before nitrite ? You do agree that NH3 is the first stage of the nitrification cycle ? And again, if you do your regular water changes and regular maintenance there should not be an issue with ph, i cant remember when last i tested ph, messing around with ph is a no no.