How necessary is Water Testing?

[SmallyBiggs]

I ask this here, in hopes of getting a clearer, more educated answer than that of the Petco/Petsmart associates.
Ofcourse, I understand the importance of keeping tank paramiters up to par. However, assuming that:
- I maintain regular water changes and gravel cleanings (35% twice per month)
- that there are no dead plants or fish,
- and that I always use Prime (which seems like its supposed to regulate all water paramiters) when doing water changes
Do I still need to test the water? My thinking is, that when I do my water changes and add the prime, my water should be pretty much perfect at that point. Is this correct? Or are my fish in danger of ammonia poisoning or something else inbetween water changes?

 

[tarpon]

I ask this here, in hopes of getting a clearer, more educated answer than that of the Petco/Petsmart associates.
Ofcourse, I understand the importance of keeping tank paramiters up to par. However, assuming that:
- I maintain regular water changes and gravel cleanings (35% twice per month)
- that there are no dead plants or fish,
- and that I always use Prime (which seems like its supposed to regulate all water paramiters) when doing water changes
Do I still need to test the water? My thinking is, that when I do my water changes and add the prime, my water should be pretty much perfect at that point. Is this correct? Or are my fish in danger of ammonia poisoning or something else inbetween water changes?

Prime only works for up to 36 hours I believe.
Testing is extremely important in the early stages of a tank while it's cycling. This let's you determine How often you need to change the water which can be as often as once a day (if it's a fish in cycle).
For an established tank, testing for the level of nitrates can help you to see How fast the nitrate level rises in your tank, therefore letting you know How often you need to change the water, which can be twice a week, once a week, or even once every two weeks depending on your stock.

Also, when something goes wrong in the tank, the first step in trouble shooting is always to test the water.
You could take it to a lfs to test, but that wastes gas and I trust just liquid test a lot more.

 

[jcolon]

Ha..ha. I haven't tested my water in close to two years now ... mainly for the reasons you listed .... have an established tank, maintain a properly done and consistent maintenance schedule, don't overfeed and or under filter and if you don't have any sudden unexplained fish illnesses or diseases pop up.

Newbie's who are cycling a new tank and or those of us who for some reason have different PWC water parameters (changes in the tap water etc.) I can see doing consistent testing.

 

[SmallyBiggs]

Thank you for the responses. From what I gather, I should obviously atleast test the water when I notice any sudden, otherwise unexplained illness in my fish.

 

[Samphotog]

Or just test regularly to prevent that

 

[BBradbury]

Water Testing Importance

Hello Smally...

If you remove and replace enough water in the tank, you don't need to test it. The reason is, nitrogen from the fish waste takes time to build up to the point it's toxic to the fish. If you remove most of it through large, weekly water changes, the toxins aren't in the water long enough to make the fish sick, because you're constantly removing the dirty water.

I'm a water change fanatic. I change out half the tank water every week, so the little bit of nitrogen left in the old water is diluted in all the new water. The fish live in pure water conditions all the time.

Change half the water in the tank every week, no slacking and your water properties will always be stable. You'll never need to test.

B

 

[Shanny]

Thank you for the responses. From what I gather, I should obviously atleast test the water when I notice any sudden, otherwise unexplained illness in my fish.

Things change in tanks. For about 8 months doing a 50% pwc once a week was keeping my nitrates at 10-20. If I wasn't testing regularly I would never have known that it was starting to creep up to 30-40 each week. Nothing has changed in the tank. No new fish. No illness. Nothing to tell me that the nitrates were getting higher and higher. Regular testing catches the changes that you might normally never notice.

 

[jcolon]

Thank you for the responses. From what I gather, I should obviously atleast test the water when I notice any sudden, otherwise unexplained illness in my fish.

Or if see strange behavior (listless, little motion or lack of appetite) or loss of color. It's the nitrates PWC's in established tank help to keep in check. One thing you can test is your Tap for Ammonia and nitrates. You never know when there's a change with your water company / source.

Though I do admit it is cool doing the API test .. almost makes me feel like a mad chemist.

 

[Coyne]

Once my tank is nicely in the "established" realm, i was planning on reducing my tests from daily to every other week. But I'm fresh out of a fish-in cycle and am still slowly stocking the tank, so I'm a bit paranoid.

 

[Cynic]

I test only when a fish dies, acts strangely or goes missing now.

However due to how little water you're changing I still suggest testing for nitrAtes every week or so.

 

[BBradbury]

Water Testing Importance

Hello again Smally...

If for whatever reason, you're unable or unwilling to commit to such an aggressive water change routine, 50 percent every week, then you must test the water to make sure the chemistry is suitable for your fish.

The manufacturers that make the kits, know that maybe 1 or 2 tank keepers in a 1,000 would follow such a water change routine.

Most aquarium fish are very adaptable and even if nitrates are a bit high in your tap water, most aquarium fish will adapt to most public water supplies. They've been doing this for decades.

B