Comment by DePreston on January 4, 2014 at 8:29am

I use the API Freshwater Master Test Kit, it cost like $30 or so, you can do hundreds of tests so it is cheap in the long run.  Takes about 15 minutes to do all the tests. Simple.

Comment by Peter on January 4, 2014 at 8:32pm

For gh and kh just buy the drop test fpr them as u stated u already have fw master test kit so just get the kh and gh drops. Try to not get the strips they are lots less accurate.

Comment by Jake Daniels on January 6, 2014 at 4:33pm

Thanks peter

Comment by Robert Jango on January 9, 2014 at 8:38am

A test kit will tell you what kind of water you have. Once you find that out, that's pretty much all the testing you need to do. 

If you're like 99% of the population your water will be good for anything you throw in the tank. Breeding is another story.  America generally does an excellent keeping the water supply safe.

You may want to get a good ammonia testing kit though. Ammonia is the #1 killer of fish. Nothing else comes close. Ammonia is a waste product. Fish exhale it, poop it, and pee it. It also comes from decaying plants and food - anything organic. Keep an eye on the ammonia level (it should be 0) And don't buy it from Petco; there color coded readings are indistinguishable at the lower levels.

Water Sprite will keep ammonia near 0. Do you know what fish is most sensitive to ammonia?   Mollies. Everyone thinks of them as "easy" or "beginner" fish but they're not. They will die if exposed to even low levels of ammonia. 

 

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