You may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Aquarium Test Kits

There are six very important aquarium chemistry parameters that need to be checked on a regular basis, these are:

  • Chlorine/Chloramine
  • Ammonia
  • Nitrites
  • Nitrates
  • Hardness
  • pH

The best  and most convenient aquarium test kits comprise dipping strips which return values for all of these parameters in one go. You should be testing the aquarium water about twice a month so the last thing you want to do is to fill a test tube six times with water to check each one individually. The ones I recommend are:

United States – Jungle Labs Quick Dip 6-In-1 Test Kit-25 Strips

United Kingdom – Tetra Test 6 in 1

Chlorine / Chloramine

Either of both of these are added to our drinking water by the Water Companies. They disinfect our water making it safe for us to drink. Unfortunately what is safe for us is not safe for our freshwater aquarium fish.

Chlorine is found in most tap water, it is used to kill the bad bacteria in our drinking water. Chlorine must be eliminated before entering your aquarium or it will kill your fish.

Chloramine is a combination of chlorine and ammonia. It is a stronger disinfectant than chlorine alone and is used in areas where this extra disinfectant is needed. As with chlorine, you must eliminate this chemical from your tap water before adding it to your aquarium or it too will kill your tropical fish.

It is very easy to remove these nasty chemicals from your tap water before it goes into the tank by using a Tetra product called Aquasafe. You can get it from Amazon by using one of these links depending upon where you live:

United States – Tetra 1-2/3-Ounce AquaSafe Water Conditioner with BioExtract

United Kingdom – Tetra Aquasafe 100ml

Ammonia

This is the result of fish waste and decomposing food in the aquarium. Ammonia is the leading killer of tropical fish. New tanks that are going through the aquarium cycle or heavily stocked tanks will show ammonia readings with your test kit. Ideally, we want the ammonia reading to be 0 ppm.

If the nitrogen cycle (see below) is working then this should not be a problem because the ammonia will be converted to nitrites by the friendly bacteria. However, if there is a problem then I recommend the following:

United States – Microbe-Lift 8-Ounce Ammonia Remover for Salt and Fresh Water Tanks

United Kingdom – Interpet Ammonia Remover Water treatment 125ml

Nitrite

Ammonia gets converted to nitrite by the bacteria in your tank. Nitrite levels will soar in new tanks that have not yet been cycled. Nitrite is just as toxic to tropical fish as ammonia. Nitrites will eventually be converted to nitrate by the bacteria growing in the tank and filters. Ideally, in established tanks you want this reading to be 0 ppm with your aquarium test kit. Products exist to remove nitrites from your tank but the only way to quickly reduce nitrite levels is through a water change. Like ammonia, if the nitrogen cycle is operating then this should never be a problem.

Nitrate

Nitrites are converted to nitrates during the cycling process. Nitrates are not as toxic as ammonia or nitrites but they are harmful and will stress your fish at high enough levels. The best way to remove the nitrates is through a partial water change. Ideally you want to have test kit readings of less than 20 ppm in freshwater tanks. Partial water changes are something that you should be doing regularly. One quarter to one third of the tank water should be changed approximately every two weeks. Chemicals do exist which can remove nitrates:

United States – Fluval Lab Series Nitrate Remover

United Kingdom – Fluval Lab Series Nitrate Remover Filter Media

Nitrogen Cycle

This cycle usually takes from 2-8 weeks to complete and will happen in all new aquariums. You could speed up the process by using the filter material or gravel from an established tank. Even then it could still take a few weeks for the tank to cycle. This is the cycle whereby Ammonia is converted to Nitrites and Nitrites are converted to Nitrates. Please read the Freshwater Aquarium Maintenance article for more information.

Ammonia   ->   Nitrite   ->   Nitrate

Hardness

The hardness level of water has to do with the amount of minerals that are dissolved in the water. Calcium and magnesium are the primary minerals that are dissolved in tap water. “Soft” water has relatively few dissolved minerals whereas “hard” water has many dissolved minerals. Water hardness is not really an issue unless your water is excessively soft. Then you may have problems with runaway pH levels. The carbonate hardness of the water can give you a good indication of how stable your pH is.

pH

pH is the scale used to measure the acidity or alkalinity of water. The scale ranges from 0 to 14 with 0 being the most acidic, 7 being neutral and 14 being the most alkaline. Please read the article Freshwater Aquarium pH for further information. It is possible to raise or lower your pH levels with water changes or there are a whole range of chemicals that do the job. You have to very careful when changing the aquarium water pH because rapid changes in it will badly affect your fish.

Related posts:

  1. Freshwater Aquarium Maintenance
  2. The Importance of Freshwater Aquarium pH
  3. Fish Disease – Prevention Rather than Cure
  4. How To Move A Freshwater Aquarium Tank Safely
  5. How Many Fish Should I Have in my Aquarium?

Tagged with: •

Filed under: Freshwater Aquarium Maintenance • Freshwater Aquarium Setup

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!