Water Test

[Sweet D]

What do you guys use to test water:

liquid kits and tubes
strips
etc

i currently use liquid and tubes just wanted to know iF something better is out there.

[kracken]

There's only two standard methods, test strip and the liquid, api master test kit is popular.

[CichlidPadawan]

I've got the API master test kit but there are 2 colors on there that are hard for me to tell the difference between and that's the 40ppm and 80ppm nitrate.

[Divinehammer]

I use the API test kit myself when I test my water.

[kracken]

I usually don't test water anymore and just do water changes. The ammonia/nitrite are always 0 and the nitrates is the only one you have to check, but if you do regular water changes, it's not really necessary.

[Sweet D]

Thanks

i have been adding fish and re arranging filtration so want to make sure all is stable. I am making weekly water changes I seemed to be having .25ppm ammonia and nitrates between 5 to 30 ppm is this normal ranges? Should I do more water changes?

recently I removed carbon and doubled mechanical and biological waiting to see results after a few weeks

[thelub]

The liquid kits are more accurate than the strips. And carbon only works for a week or so before it is used up. Better to use the space for more mechanical and biological filtration. How long has the tank been running? It will take your filter a little while to adjust to the new bio load.

Check your levels before you do water changes to get the most accurate measurements.

[Sweet D]

My tank has been running for 6 to 8 months but I have added new fish twice. A couple weeks apart doubling the qty of fish in the tank. Also I added more mech and bio into existing filters. How long should it take for the tank to catch up to new bio load