Water Stats: What to Measure

[theotheragentm]

I'm pretty fortunate in respect to my water supply. I've measured the pH once, and I don't even remember what it read. My fish do fine with whatever comes out of my tap, with Prime of course.

I have a 10 gallon that I'd like to set up. I'm not sure what I want to do with it yet, whether it's shrimp, Celestial Pearl Danios, or something else. I do, however, want to have as little maintenance as possible with respect to water stats. What I was planning to do was to test my water and see what kinds of critters would do well with my stats. The problem is, I don't know what to measure. I know the whole ammonia, nitrite, nitrate deal, but what else is there to measure, and how do I measure it? What kits would be necessary? pH? Hardness? Etc?

 

[JustOneMore20]

You could measure pH, general hardness (GH), and carbonate hardness (KH) although most fish aren't that picky.

I like the Hagen test kits for GH/KH, but Aquarium Pharmaceuticals makes a GH/KH kit as well that is cheaper. Both are easy to use.

 

[theotheragentm]

Can you explain the difference between those two hardness measurements?

 

[QTOFFER]

GH is a measure of calcium and magnesium ions - the stuff that water stains are made of. KH is the amount of carbonate ions and is related to the pH.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Honestly, if you aren't purchasing wild fish, your pH and hardness levels aren't going to be a big deal (unless they are off the charts). Your ammonia, NItrite, and Nitrate levels will be the same for all fish. 0 Ammonia and Nitrite with 10 to 30 Nitrate. I use the AP kit but only test every 6 months or so.