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Can someone recommend a test kit that would cover all of the essential ideals of fresh water tanks...without breaking the bank? We've had a horrible problem with our water and I want exact results, but don't have a lot of money AND live in a small town! Sorry if this has been answered before, but I've been reading continuously and can't find what I need. Can I be excused this time because I'm new?

Hi,
I think one of the easiest to use and accurate for the
dollars spent is the Freshwater Master Test Kit by
Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. You can generally get them
from your LFS or through any of the mail order shops
such as DrsFosterSmith.com or Big Al's etc.
The Master kit checks pH, Ammonia, GH, KH, and Nitrite.
They also make a separate kit for Nitrate as well.

Frank :


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Aquarium pharm kits are one of the most common and best test kits for the price so you should be able to find at least some of them even if you can't find a master kit. I mostly order things online from places like www.bigalsonline. or www.drfostersmith.com because you just can't find everything you want in a small town without driving an hour there and back again. Seachem test kits also aren't bad but a bit expensive when they work no better or easier than aquarium pharm. Tetra test kits are cheap and common but hard to read and don't seem as accurate as aquarium pharm. Still better than using dry test strips though if you can't find any other liquid test kits.

Thanks, Frank and Sham! That was a HUGE help! This site is really the best! Jill

Hi guys! I finally got my test kit...yep, I got the Master test kit you recommended and love it. I don't love the results though. On my 20 gallon, which only has a tiretrack eel and an angel fish (because we don't want to add anything until it's correct) is reading zero on everything except the PH which is 8.0!!! Our 29 gallon is fairly new (about 2 months) and has some starter fish in it. No problems with the fish in either tank. It reads zero on nitrate, nitrite, ammonia is .25, and the PH is 7.6! I am losing hope of ever getting my tanks up to speed! We have well water, which must have high alkalinity. We have been using reverse osmosis water for our partial water changes and need to know the correct way to safely lower the PH. I've heard that 2 tea bags placed in the tank for 2 hours will lower it gradually. Ever heard of that and is it safe and ok? Being in a small town, we don't have much access to great products, but I will bow to your excellent advice. Thanks for all you do!
Jill

Hi,
I'm glad that we could help and that you are satisfied
with the kit. For me, it was really easy to see when
the point was reached and the liquids changed color.
Shades of a color as you have with test strips and some
other liquid tests can be frustrating.

To lower the pH from 8 can by done by diluting the water
with RO or Distilled Water, or chemically by using a
product called pH DOWN.
If you decide to use RO water and you have a well you may
consider installing a RO system to your well and drink the
water as well as use it in your tank. Keep in mind that
the membrane needs to be replaced at some regular
interval that depends upon the quality of the water you
are processing.
pH Down can be purchased from an LFS or far less
expensively from any store that sells swimming pool or
hot tub supplies. Its the same thing but sold by the pound
instead of by the ounce.

The big question you need to answer is "Why?"
Generally speaking, most fish are products of fish farms
and not wild caught. As such they are "used" to the
water they were raised in and can usually tolerate and
thrive in water that has a higher pH than that of the
wild caught fish. Perhaps "THE" main thing is consistency.
That is keeping the fish at a stable pH is far less
stressful than the yo yo effect of trying to maintain a
given pH. It is also more economical since you would not
be constantly purchasing chemicals or water.

Adding Peat Moss to the filter, or driftwood will lower
your pH as well. There is no hard fast rule that says
6 oz of peat will lower your water x degrees. Driftwood
only lowers the pH for as long as it is leeching Tannic
Acid into the tank. Over time the Driftwood "seasons" and
the leeching drops off to nothing, or nearly nothing.
Again, there is no hard fast rule that x nr of pounds of
driftwood will lower the pH by a given amount, and how
much also depends upon the type of wood.

Just some things to think about...
Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

I'll try that Frank, thanks! I know that our problems stem from having small tanks. We always had large tanks before and never had prolems, but then, we didn't have well water, either. I will try your suggestions. By the way, have you ever heard of tea bags to lower PH in water?
Also, what will happen if you change babies from a less than ideal situation with water and put them in a stable tank (with no large fish of course)...will they be unable to adjust to the good stuff? I was interested in what you said about stress being worse than yo-yo'ing PH levels. Jill

You haven't listed any fish that need a lower ph. Angels will even continue to spawn in 8.0 or sometimes higher ph. It's not really an issue so long as the ph stays there. I've always used water with a ph of 8-9 and never had it cause a problem with keeping healthy fish. The size of the tank has nothing to do with the ph.

If you do want to lower it I'd go with using RO or distilled water. It takes a ton of peat or driftwood to drop the ph from 8 and it also stains the water brown-black depsite chemical filtration. It's most effective if you dilute the water some first. Ph down is rather tricky to use. If you aren't constantly testing and adjusting the amount you use then you'll end up with the yoyo effect. That's probably the last method I'd use. Mixing in around 25-50% RO depending on your kh reading is the safest and most effective way to soften the water and lower the ph.

Tea bags probably have some of the same effect as peat moss but I doubt it would be very effective. I bet it would take alot more than just a bag or 2 for most tanks. There might also be other things added that aren't desireable in a fish tank. I'd stick with peat moss if your going to try to lower the water that way and avoid the tea bags.

Whenever you move fish to water with different parameters you need to do it slowly. Generally by mixing the 2 different waters together in increasing amounts until all your tests match the new water. If your using additives to change the parameters you need to start with a small amount and slowly increase it. Fry are even more senstive to changing water parameters. However if the ph in their current tank is not stable you want to do something quickly or you have a high chance of losing them.

Hi,
First, I've never heard of using teabags to lower the pH.
Just because tea contains Tannic Acid, does not mean that
it is the same as using driftwood. Like Sham, I think I'd
shy away from that.

What Sham and I were saying about stress is not that stress
is worse than the yo yo effect, but rather stress is caused
by the yo yo effect. When you make a change, be it pH,
or temperature, the fish's metabolism has to adapt to the
change. They can't adapt that easily and instead, take
days and weeks to make some of the changes "comfortably."

One of the easiest examples is that of temperature, if you
were to put fish into water with a large temperature
difference ( a few degrees) their system is stressed and
that weakness makes them vulnerable to the Ich parasite.
Rapid temperature shifts are the main cause of Ich
outbreaks. Shifting pH more than 2 degrees can kill
some fish and most recommend weeks to shift from an 8
to a 6. Again, the immune system suffers as the
fish struggles to adapt and the fish can succumb to
any one of a number of diseases.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Wow...lot's of info, there! I know the size of the tank doesn't affect the ph, but we never had a problem with larger tanks. I know also, it's our water, which is why we use RO water for changes. Sham, it was a great relief to hear that the ph can be a bit high if the fish are healthy. I was going on other posts on here that pretty much stated the ph HAD to be 7.0 for healthy fish. I think we will pretty much stick with fancy tail guppies, eels and angel fish...maybe a shark and eventually a brown ghostknife. We have a tank for the guppies, a tank for the others, and a tank for babies, and then our quarantine tank. I think I will go looking for a piece of driftwood and thanks for the tips. I know our tanks aren't exotic like a lot on here, but hey...we enjoy it and isn't that the whole point? Thanks again, guys! Jill