Testing Supplies

Well I'll start off by saying that the iron test kits are mediocre at best. Most people don't bother with them. Iron is present in trace ferts and can be supplemented with Flourish Iron or similar, should you notice a deficiency.

Ammonia test kits are pretty much a standard item so I'd recommened you get one of those.

Since you are going to be setting up a CO2 system you will absolutely need to know your KH (carbonate hardness). The Aquarium Pharmaceuticals test kit comes with a test for both KH and GH which is handy. If your KH is below 3dKH you'll need to buffer your water to prevent a pH crash when injecting CO2. Some aragonite in your filter is a good long term solution to this problem, which I have myself. Baking soda can be used as a quick fix.

By using your pH and KH you can also determine the CO2 content of your tank water. I'm not sure I'd trust a CO2 test kit unless it was a probe of some kind.

Hope this helps. By the way, what tanks size and lighting have you got there?

Tests I use for my tanks

For Fish Health
NH3/4 (Ammonia)
NO2 (Nitrite)
PH (High)
PH (Low)

For Plant Health
NO3 (Nitrate)
PO4 (Phospate)
Fe (Iron)
KH

Once a month I test for (usually for fun and just to be safe because the numbers never change)
GH
Calcium

Reason I use PH high and PH low is because my PH hovers around 7.6 - which is in the high part of the PH Low test and the low part of the PH High test.
Also, I use Chuck Gadds Nutrient Calculator to help with dosings.
I am not sure of my brands - I forget and I am not at home to look.

I would like a test kit for potassium - but either they dont exist or they are really expensive - so I dont test for that.

Good Luck

Aries

3mrhythm said:

I have a KH test kit and a whole bag of kno3 that came with the co2 setup

Click to expand...

What do you mean by a whole bag. Is this your fertilizer or test kit?? If you just have those two - you will will need more test kits - there is a lot that goes into plants. As for your original question of brands...Labotts I believe is pretty good as well as Seachem for the most part.

I have not read anything about NOT adding EcoComplete to an established tank - but that is not to mean anything either. If you are not dead set on EcoComplete (or if you can not get an answer to your question), try Seachem Flourite. It is good for plants (what I use) and is a bit cheaper than EcoComplete. Also, it seems like you already have a lot of gravel - but without thinking or seeing a picture it is hard to tell

I dont know how "dusty" EcoComplete is, but with Flourite, you must rinse well because it can be quite dirty and adding to an established tank will make it cloudy for a day or two.

When adding substanstial amounts of susbstrate to an established tank can be tricky (not covering fish - not disturbing much of existing substrate - looks of layers initially - dealing with cloudyness - etc). I am sure there are more issues - I am just not aware of them.

Good Luck

Aries