JazzyJeff Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 What brand is everyone using and trusting? Are some better than others? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinsonMassif Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 API Master Test Kit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 I've used the JBL ones but I prefer Aquarium Pharmaceuticals (API) for Ammonia and Nitrite. I use a digital pH meter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiplymouth Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 API Master Test Kit +1 quick, easy and reliable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PALUDARIUM PRINCE Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 I've used the JBL ones but I prefer Aquarium Pharmaceuticals (API) for Ammonia and Nitrite. I use a digital pH meter. Hi. I have been skeptical regarding digital pH meters. Is it simply the lure of poking a stick into your tank and getting an instant digital answer? Lots of Q's follow:- Does yours need calibration. If so, how often & what with??? I was turned off by the whole calibration thing when it had use by dates on the liquid or tablets required for the purpose although you'd buy the thing believing it would be instant. Don't misunderstand me I like the digital idea :)They have batteries from what I've seen so far, but if I have to replace batteries & liquid or some other calibration stuff I begin to have problems seeing the value when I could just grab the liquid or tablet based kit and it's ready to go. Do you trust it's readings are accurate? I've used API Liquid & tablet based tests in the past. Typically the tablets use by date was past before I could finish them. I have worked in a pet store in the past & was constantly frustrated / amused when the supplier of test kits to pet stores sent us tablet based test kits or the refill tablets with dates already expired. Check this before you purchase. Try to get one which will have a reasonable shelf life. The 'sale bin' product should be regarded as suspect in this regard until proven otherwise. To close, I think if someone can give a compelling enough statement shouting out the virtues of these marvelous "Rods of Power" I may be persuaded to give em a whirl! PP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JazzyJeff Posted July 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 Thanks Prince - I hadn't even given a thought about exp dates! I have been using API - can't see any exp dates on the bottles - perhaps they were on the box? It has never occurred to me that they could be inaccurate before till I had a conversation someone today. Sounds like the brand I am using isn't too bad then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 I have never tested a fish tank in over 30 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 Hi PP. I calibrate it every time I use it, which isn't often, but it seldom needs adjusting and for my purposes a small fluctuation doesn't worry me too much. It came with a buffer solution to calibrate it which has no expiry date that I can see and you use a tiny amount, just what wets the tip. It has a 9 volt battery and it should last for a while, depending on usage of course. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PALUDARIUM PRINCE Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 I have never tested a fish tank in over 30 years. I understand your thinking and habits alanmin. I have met many like you and also many with experience beyond yours & probably mine put together. The experienced keeper just seems to know stuff don't they. Especially when they don't push the envelope and stick with what they know. However some people, who may be new or simply want to be absolute when it comes to water parameters for certain species, if the experts say you need X and our budding ichthyologist has been having problems the price and effort involving a test kit/s is insignificant compared to failure and discouragement. Fish prices, lives lost, time etc. etc. With the experience I've gathered by now I could certainly ditch tests altogether, if I was simply keeping the general tank. Tanks & plants communicate their issues as do fish, as for some tanks just use your nose right? Peeee uuuu! I think it's important that people new to the hobby have mentors. People to whom they can turn to sort through the guesswork and heep of info to find the 'must knows' gathered over an extended period of decades in a hobby. Failing this being close at hand, a forum like this is such a great source. Great stuff FNZAS by the way this site Rocks!...and fish...and plants and.... PP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JazzyJeff Posted July 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 The experienced keeper just seems to know stuff don't they. Especially when they don't push the envelope and stick with what they know. However some people, who may be new or simply want to be absolute when it comes to water parameters for certain species, if the experts say you need X and our budding ichthyologist has been having problems the price and effort involving a test kit/s is insignificant compared to failure and discouragement. Fish prices, lives lost, time etc. etc. PP I agree - I am very new to this sport and am interested in the science behind it... 20 years down the track I too would probably snuff at testing but right now I am learning. I have my fingers crossed that I am not putting my faith in a test that is inaccurate. So thanks to the experienced 8) for the guidance they selflessly offer on here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 When I first started keeping fish, which wasn't that long ago - about three years, I used to fastidiously test the water in my new tank, move around the room to try and get the right light so that I could get the colours to match on the cards with what was in the vials, sometimes more than once a week. Stress over a reading that didn't seem right, or some colour that I couldn't match. I used the API kit that came in a set. Then I got into marines, and the more expensive Salifert kits that would test one's patience as well as the water, some had three or four reagents to be added in weird little spoons or syringes at specific time intervals after constant swirling in the vial, then count the drops and wait for a colour change... Arrgghhh.... Now I rarely break the kits out unless the fish, plants or inverts don't look happy, probably not what you want to hear? Most Killiefish keepers are changing so much water in their tanks constantly that testing would probably be a waste of time and money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 I once had a ph test kit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 Then I got into marines, and the more expensive Salifert kits that would test one's patience as well as the water, some had three or four reagents to be added in weird little spoons or syringes at specific time intervals after constant swirling in the vial, then count the drops and wait for a colour change... Arrgghhh.... Those kits are great, none of this stupid trying to match colors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 I was simply stating a fact rather than making a judgement. All of these things in fish keeping have their place and what is junk to one person is a very useful tool to another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 I was simply stating a fact rather than making a judgement. All of these things in fish keeping have their place and what is junk to one person is a very useful tool to another. Exactly, although I rarely test water on an established tank I think not testing it at all is just foolish, unless you don't value your fish. I just bought home six big (6-7") clown loaches, and there is no way I'd even dream of moving them with out knowing the pH of the tank they're coming out of and the pH of the tank they're going into. Its a good thing I did check too, his tank was just under 7 and mine was below 6!! A few water changes later and some coral in the sump and it was a lot closer and I felt safe to bring the fish home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 The last time I tested my water was when I moved house - took the tank completely apart and set it up from scratch with quite a few fish in there, so I thought it was important to keep a close eye on the ammonia and nitrite levels! Apart from unusual situations like that, I don't test my water routinely. BUT when a newbie (or not so newbie) comes on here and says "my fish is sick! What's wrong with it?" The very first thing I want to know is whether there is any ammonia or nitrite present in the water and whether the pH is stable. So a good, reliable test kit is important, especially when something isn't quite right and (unless someone off this forum can actually visit the tank in question) it is one of the few tools we have for diagnosing problems from a distance. Hmmm... I must check the expiry dates on mine. I think they are probably about 100 years old. :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 I know pH tests don't go off. Our club once did an exercise where everyone came to the meeting with a film canister of tap water and one with tank water and we tested them all using everyone's pH test kits. Some were liquid, some were strips and one was a professional calibrated electronic job from the local salmon factory. All gave the same results, despite some of the tests being 10 - 15 years old and some new off the shelf. I don't ever test my tank water either but occasionally check the pH for interest. When water changing my African tanks I would half empty the tank then fill it up from the garden hose. The pH would drop from 7.4 to 7.0 and the temperature from 24C to 18C and the fish never minded. They swam in the current and played in the bubbles of cold water. :roll: As some of them were breeding regularly in the tank I don't think they minded the changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 I use API test kits, find them very good. I bought a new one less than a year ago as I suspected the one I had at the time had expired. Out of curiosity I tested with both kits and compared results and they were exactly the same so perhaps the expiry date just means that they can't guarantee the accuracy of results. Doesn't necessarily mean that they have expired. I also did what Zev did. Tested religiously when I was new to the hobby, now I only test the water when problems present themselves. Its part of the problem solving process. I think they're a good thing to have on hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 ok.. animates have half priced test kits this weekend.. I just need a nitrite test as I have everything else.. what's the best brand? (I'm currenlty using JBL and nutrafin(hagen)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkfur Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 I use a dipstick if things seem offkilter. I think with an established tank a super-accurate reading is probably not necessary. I went without ammonia tests for years as the nose is so sensitive to it anyway that with a lidded tank you can detect very small amounts in the air as you take the lid off. Unless you smoke.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 ok.. animates have half priced test kits this weekend.. I just need a nitrite test as I have everything else.. what's the best brand? (I'm currenlty using JBL and nutrafin(hagen)) do we just? LOL thanks for that info, must buy me a kit for the sake of it then. :lol: API is pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 do we just? LOL thanks for that info, must buy me a kit for the sake of it then. :lol: lol.. do you work at animates? I got the info on my aqua fun postcard that came today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 sure. i work there among other places. occasionally.... sometimes.... :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 I only test my water when moving fish between tanks, when fish are sick and when I setup a tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.