Thanks, tomm10 - it is worth the effort if it helps folks to grasp the chemistry. I do understand the chemistry due to my background, and some of the web articles confuse me badly. :shake:
nellybelly - you should only need to check ammonia and nitrite in immature tanks, or after major disturbances to the setup (which does include any use of dye, antibiotics, or other "meds'). Or perhaps I should add to check those when things just don't look right (fish behavioral changes). Monitoring pH/KH and nitrate are the tests I do most often. Either the pH or KH is an excellent measure of stability of the water chemistry, nitrate is the handiest pollution measure we have - not just for nitrate itself, but for all the other things we cannot easily monitor or even identify.
nellybelly - you should only need to check ammonia and nitrite in immature tanks, or after major disturbances to the setup (which does include any use of dye, antibiotics, or other "meds'). Or perhaps I should add to check those when things just don't look right (fish behavioral changes). Monitoring pH/KH and nitrate are the tests I do most often. Either the pH or KH is an excellent measure of stability of the water chemistry, nitrate is the handiest pollution measure we have - not just for nitrate itself, but for all the other things we cannot easily monitor or even identify.
