The Problem with Water Tests

Most serious aquarists recommend testing water for several parameters on a consistent basis. Most also use the chemistry set with reagents and tubes and charts and great precision. It's tough to argue with the importance of correct water chemistry, but if constant testing sends you to the pet store for more and more types of water treatment chemicals, then maybe that's not such a good thing. They sell so many "cures" for so many different perceived problems that a person can wind up with aquarium water which is more suited to stain removal than fish keeping. Most of the time when water chemistry gets out of kilter or a fish gets sick, the problem goes back to too much food or too many fish. The fix is obvious, and it doesn't involve better living through chemistry.

I have to agree with you John .. I dont bother testing my water unless i have a problem .. i would go crazy trying to keep all 11 tanks in the recommended chemistry balance .. especially in the winter months when my water company puts more addictives in the water. I just do my water changes as needeed according to the age of my fish and if a problem arises like ammonia spikes .. i use ammonia remover chips for a couple days to help lower it. I over filter all my tanks .. meaning i use bigger HOB filters then is recommended for my tank sizes .. i rinse the filter media off once a week just to get the collected debris off and change it completely once a month or every other month depending on how cruddy they look. other wise i dont use any chemicals in my tanks.

I agree. It's so easy to over fix a problem that the cure is sometimes worse than the problem you started with. As I remember when I started keeping aquariums, water test kits were largely absent.

Thanks for checking out this website. I hope more AWF friends will do the same.

Personally, I think the most relevant use of test kits is when cycling. In that instance it is crucial to know the parameters, and the ease and availability of kits these days makes that simple. Once you're sure your tank is cycled and stable, regular testing is a waste of time and money. The most important use of test kits after cycling is as a diagnostic tool when things seem amiss.

Good point. People new to the hobby may not even be aware of the nitrogen cycle thing. I sure wasn't and as a result lost fish without ever knowing why.