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I'm curious as to how often people test the water parameters in their tanks ... I confess that I'm personally not very good about it myself -- if I do it once a month, that's a lot.

i do mine once a month. or right before i'm going out to buy new fish to add, just to make sure its right for them

Fish tanks are an expensive addiction

I may go weeks without testing the water, but if any of the fish look 'off' then I test to rule out water conditions before I do anything else. I have plants as well, so I need to test the nutrients a bit more often to be sure there's enough. Usually right after a water change. Which I do about every 7-10 days.

"If you're afraid you'll make a mistake, you won't make anything."
-Family Circus

I have to be honest, prior to actually joining this site, I never tested my water parameters. I didn't even own any type of a test kit. That was over 30 years of fishkeeping.

After joining the site, and seeing how many people actually tested their water, I went out and purchased a test kit and utilized it a few times. However, I must admit I haven't tested any of my tanks now for 6 or 7 months. However, I must state that I'm fairly constant with my tank maintenance which includes at a minimum a weekly 35% to 50% water change.

I don't know if I'm just fortunate or lucky, but I can't remember the last time I lost a fish to disease or anything other than what I felt was old age. However, I'm really selective where I purchase my fish, and typically I observe them for an extended period prior to purchasing.

I'm not recommending that people follow my example, but it's just what I do.

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

About once a month give or take new additions or equipment changes. Every 2-3 days if theres any sign of sickness , equipment failure, or meds have been used.

I think a truly conscientious person would probably do it weekly, but as you get more experienced you tend to get a feel for things, and do it less often.I guess we shouldnt, but we do It also depends on the size and species you keep.

Shock Horror

All I own is a PH kit and I can not even remember when I used that. I have a very god LFS that will do a FREE full peramiters when ever I want it done seven daysa week.

Yes I test evey day. I put my finger for the temp and smell the water (this will tell very quickly if there is a problem) I also have water sprite this is a very good indicator of a good tank.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
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True enough , the nose rarely lies, but eating mulm out of the gravel washer gives you the runs

Well before I bought my test kit(just this week). I never tested my water unless I had a problem. If you stay don't change things up and keep on your water changes then you shouldn't have any problems. No problems mean no reason to test for me.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

When I first setup my tank practically daily. After it cycled about weekly. After it was cycled for several months about monthly. Several years later maybe every 3-6months or when something seems off. I rarely pull out my ammonia or nitrite kits anymore. Since I use ro water and adjust ph,kh, and gh values to exactly where I want them I do tend to run those test at least monthly on the newly mixed water. Occasionally on the 90g I'll do a comparison test of the tank ph and mixing water ph before a water change. Mostly though I only stay on top of the values on the 10g ram breeding tank. The 5g uses the same water as the 90g and has a comparable stocking and plant level as well as using the same ratio of ferts. Despite their size differences usually they test identical and have similar algae problems at the same time so I rarely test both those tanks for the same thing. What works on one works on the other.

I test my nitrates weekly to gauge my feeding level vs. what my plants are consuming. I know instantly if I've been overfeeding because I have a set water change regimen of 30-40% every 5 days and if my nitrates are creeping up past 20 ppm then I'm overfeeding the fish and my plants can't keep up.

If something looks amiss, I'll test my ammonia and nitrites, but I don't do that very often at all.

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

Never.