There are many reasons to own your own test kits, first it helps to understand what the test mean if you do them yourself, if a problem does arise the valuable time wasted till you can get to the store to have your water tested could cost you a tank full of your favorite fish! Being able to test at the first sign of a problem gives you the time to fix the problem before it gets out of hand and stresses the whole tank and results in a disease out break which is costly to treat and sometimes it's too late.
When you take your water to the local fish store for a water test do you really understand what the testing is for? if you use several different stores for testing do they all use the same testing kits ? If they don't , does it really matter? If the local shop does free water testing should I waste my money on buying m own test kits? These are all important questions and here are a few answers...
Does testing with different kits make a difference ?
YES!.
Test kits range in cost ,quality and accuracy.
As would be expected the better more accurate test kits are more expensive Buy the best one that you can afford it's worth it!
An inaccurate test could give you a reading that is higher than it really it resulting in a water change that really wasn't needed or raising the ph when it really was ok to begin with and so on
What Test should I have on hand ?
When you go to the local fish store they generally test for 4 basic things Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Ph These are basic tests they do not test for or register any poisons, toxins, oxengen levels, phosphates, calcium levels, alkalinity,co2 levels etc. But the basic test are important they are a place to start if everything is great in the tank and these tests are ok then everything else is problably ok too. If there is a problem in the tank and these tests are ok then it's time to look for a different problem. so it's a starting point at least. Most times these 4 test will indicate the problem and get you on your way to fixing it. if regular testing indicates and intermittent problem such as ph drops or low levels of ammonia or nitrites then it gives you an idea that something is amiss in your care of the tank and maintance procedures should be reviewed and changed to fix the problem Regular testing in a newly established tank is more important than in a mature well balanced tank
The 4 basic tests
Ammonia
Important in a newly established tank to tell you when your tank is finished cycling or where you are in the cycling process
Important in a mature tank to alert that your filter might not be functioning properly or you are over feeding of may have dead fish in the tank that you haven't missed
Ammonia is toxic high levels are life threatening, high levels should be fixed quickly to prevent loss of tank inhabitants This doesn't apply to new cycling tanks where the ammonia levels do reach high levels and that is normal they should be left alone to complete the cycling process. mature tanks with high levels need to have a quick water change to reduce levels the higher the level the larger the water change needed
NOTE If you are using certain products such as Cycle, Marc Weiss coral vital, or any product that adds bacteria to the tank false ammonia readings can be seen in mature tanks if this happens and you have used these products recently there should be no reason for alarm.
Nitrite
Nitrite is also a toxin and can be life threating at high levels in a mature tank. Indicting filtration problems, over feeding, fish death,Bacteria die off , Newly cycling tanks will have high nitrites during part of the cycle and this is normal do nothing. mature tanks will need a water change to reduce high levels the higher the level the more of a change needed. again certain products can give false readings so keep this in mind
Nitrates
Nitrates are the measurement of the colonies of good bacteria which work as the biological filtration in your tank. However they should not get out of hand. they should be kept at 10 ppm or below for a reef tank and 20 ppm for a fish only tank. very high levels will need to be reduced either by water changes or in extreme cases nitrate removers or removal of bio media may be needed. this is an important test for both mature tanks and newly established tanks as well indicating when a tank is cycled or when routine maintance should be done in a mature tank
Ph
ph testing is important for the life of the tank. ph levels should be at 8.3 or higher during the day time and not below 7.8 at night. All tank life depends on it and ph swings and dips can cause fish deaths, fish stress and disease outbreaks that are stress related such as ick and fungus
Other tests
Phosphates
Very important for reef tanks and for fish only tanks with algae problems or where tap water is used for aquarium water. Phosphates promote problem algae growth and hamper coral growth and should be removed
Calcium
very important for reef tanks or tanks trying to grow macro algae indicates if enough calcium is present in the water to support coral and plant growth calcium levels in those tanks should be at 450ppm or higher
Iodine
Important for reef tanks with high numbers of soft corals and mushrooms
important for shrimp development
Alkalinity
important for reef tanks, tanks with ph problems or problem algae or problem calcium levels Alkalinity is the hardness of the water and water that is too hard or to soft can cause problems.
people who have water softeners on their home water filters and use this water for their aquariums might need to test for this.
These are not the only test for salt water but are the most common ones more complex tests are available for the extreme reefers and are beneficial if very high tech equipment is used such as calcium reactors, co2 injection, etc. Digital meters are also available but are pricey and not for the average
