danilada Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 So, im finally going to invest in some test kits, I would like a little advice on what I need. So far I only have a Ammonia test strip kit, and no that it should read 0 What are the others I will need? ex. nitrate P.H My tanks are all freshwater, 320L community tank angels, neons, bristles etc 200L Electric Yellow and GBA tank 160L Guppy and GBA tank 10L Siamese Fighter tank. Also what should the the "correct" readings be for these? I only know E.Yellows should be around 8p.h. Hope you can help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naz_Nomad Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 Don't bother with test strips, they're inaccurate. Get the bottled test kits. Your readings should be... pH - 7.0 ish - this can vary and levels from 6.5 to 7.5 are generally ok for most community tanks. Specialist tanks for lake cichlids etc will need different pH levels. Ammonia - 0 Nitrite - 0 Nitrate - <10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danilada Posted January 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 Thanks Naz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jn Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 You'll probably get the best value from a freshwater master test kit that has many kits together. It usually has ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, high range ph (i think 7.8 upwards) and pH (basically the lower range of the scale.. up to 7.6-7.8). There are some good prices for these on trade me or through petplanet.co.nz (but of course check your local shops) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danilada Posted January 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 Thanks for the advice JN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danilada Posted January 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 Just had a nosey on Pet Planet, and wow, there prices are so cheap than my LFS thanks JN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JK Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 Picked up one of those master kits the other day for about $50. Seems to have most things I need but the fella at my LFS did mention it was missing one thing that may be useful but I cant remember what that was right now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naz_Nomad Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 Hardness? Phosphate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JK Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 Hardness? Phosphate? Phosphate! that was it, cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolliolli Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 phosphates not so important in a FW tank (used more in saltwater tanks). I wouldn't worry about checking for phosphates, whater changes will help keep them down and as long as you're not feeding large amounts of frozen foods they'll stay down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jn Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 I bought a phosphate test kit after I had an outbreak of cyanobacteria. I use it very infrequently but I test if I have any unusual algae outbreaks so I can help find the cause. I tested recently just to figure out the reason for the current bloom and it didn't show any real excess of phosphate...so I knew that it wasn't overfeeding .. I had just been leaving the lights on a bit longer But the phosphate kit was relatively expensive.. so perhaps leaving that test to your LFS would be good enough (ie: take in a sample) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsarmina Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 http://petplanet.co.nz/shopping/pgm-mor ... d=301&=SID that should cover what you need. i got one and have never looked back. so easy to use, and its the same kit the pet shop uses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael.qian Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 Nitrate - <10 Sometime that's hard to get, especially if the tank is not heavily planted, nitrate level under 40ppm is perfectly safe for most fish, some fish, i.e. discus, requires much lower nitrate levels though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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