How Often Do I Test?

[LogJam]

OK, so today I finally set up my very first aquarium! I completed the water tests:

KH: 120
GH: 150
pH: 7.6
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0

The top two tests were performed using strips, the remaining were performed by the drops of chemicals into test tubes. I tested after adding AquaSafe to remove chlorine and etc.

Now that I have this all set, how often should I test my water conditions in this new tank? How often do all of you test in a well-established tank?

Thanks,
LogJam

 

[Leopardess]

In the beginning stages, you'll be testing it more often. Maybe every day or every other day. Once things are up and running, you'll only need to test every once in a great while or if you suspect something is amiss. Nitrates will probably be what you end up testing for the most, simply because they are the measure of how "clean or dirty" the tank is.

It seems as if you've not started cycling th tank yet? I would highly suggest you start with a fishless cycle using ammonia. You will need to test to ensure that you get the proper levels to start with, then you will be watching for a nitrite spike, and finally you'll be waiting for the nitrites to disappear (and no more ammonia either) and for the nitrAtes to appear. Then the tank is ready for fish. There are stickies about this, but you may already be familiar with the concept.

In my established tanks, I will only test the nitrates every 4 months or so (those are all planted tanks, though) to make sure nothing has been creeping up. I can't recall the last time I tested pH but it was probably only to calculate the Carbon dioxide concentrations, which won't concern you unless you have a planted tank with CO2 injection.

Basically, once you get everything settled, testing is kept to a minimum...unless you're one of those people who like to know every litttle detail all the time. I suppose you can't test too much

 

[LogJam]

Leopardess,

Thanks for the reply! In fact, at the time of that writing I had not yet started cycling. I had literally just finished setting up the aquarium and completing the water tests, when I wanted to post that question.

My tank is happily running and I look forward to a stable future!

Thanks for the help!

Cheers,
LogJam

 

[mooman]

Now come the hard part. The waiting.