# what should i be testing my water for? (freshwater)



## MEDHBSI (Sep 4, 2011)

So i know i've been making alot of post's lately haha probably because of this bad weather.

My question is what should i be testing my freshwater tank for

-ammonia
-nitrite
-nitrate
-ph
-chlorine

Those are what i test for already but as I have a new ray coming I want to make sure I'm not missing anything important like some kind of bad bacteria test or parasite test.

Jason


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

easier question to ask was which one doesn't need checked...which would be chlorine....unless you adding water from a swimming pool lol as long as your using water conditioner with your refills or letting the water sit before adding it, the chlorine will be too to be a factor. 
I would be checking everything else you listed though. Would also recommend as KH/GH kit


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

hardness. SOmetimes its necessary to step your tank hardness up or down slightly if the difference is large enough between the store and home water


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

neven said:


> hardness. SOmetimes its necessary to step your tank hardness up or down slightly if the difference is large enough between the store and home water


X2. I worry about hardness much more than I do pH. Once your bio filter is established I would drop the ammonia and nitrite unless you notice something out of the ordinary. When you change the bioload (like adding that ray, or a fish dies), then I would be concerned about ammonia and nitrite.

BTW, I wouldn't put this under Aqua Lounge since it's a valid FW discussion topic.


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## MEDHBSI (Sep 4, 2011)

Im notorious for posting in the wrong section haha. Yea i was thinking of getting a KH/GH kit

Thanks for the input


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## IceBlue (Mar 17, 2011)

Ditto on the hardness, I hear of tests for phosphates, probably more of a salt water issue and iron, not sure how or why that is an issue, I've never been concerned about it.


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## Barbie (Nov 20, 2012)

I think there is no need need to test water for such, chemicals as there is no way to there existance, untill you will not add some dirty water in your tank. You just need to add some fresh and pure water in your tank and keep on changing it on regular intervals. You are not required to do any chemical screening test in such case.


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## dino (Aug 29, 2011)

i dont think you should really bother i know you keep your tank in great condition and always perform maintenance. so i ask what are your plan on doing after you get your results? are you going to buffer you water? i find that kinda hard in a 180 gallon tank. ph is mostly all i check anymore unless there is a big issue. some people are going to be peeved off at these comments but ive been keeping my rays for a while now with little to no issues the only problem i had was lately and it was a build up of nitrates in my sump which i already discussed with you. anyway im no expert but thats what works for me i used to stress about all those tests


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

dino said:


> are you going to buffer you water? i find that kinda hard in a 180 gallon tank. ph is mostly all i check anymore unless there is a big issue. some people are going to be peeved off at these comments but ive been keeping my rays for a while now with little to no issues the only problem i had was lately and it was a build up of nitrates in my sump which i already discussed with you. anyway im no expert but thats what works for me i used to stress about all those tests


What is it hard buffer a 180? 2 TBSP of GH booster at water change and you're done? No more difficult than putting Prime in to conditioner the water. Unless you mean using a continuous buffering system, which really isn't necessary since no water is exchanged.


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## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> What is it hard buffer a 180? 2 TBSP of GH booster at water change and you're done? No more difficult than putting Prime in to conditioner the water. Unless you mean using a continuous buffering system, which really isn't necessary since no water is exchanged.


Agreed! I never understood hobbyists that don't check their water. Prevention is the best medicine, if you are keeping rays in 0 hardness you are keeping them in water conditions they would only experience in the rainy season. Nature dictates what rays should be kept in, if keeping them in a state of constant breeding is your desire go for it, IMO it is harder on the rays then having a low hardness. 
Of course steering a newer hobbyist to not treating water is not responsible in my opinion. Hardness is crucial to maintaining thriving fish. Find a natural water system on earth that has no hardness and I will entertain it. We don't spend money and time at IPU buffering for kicks. I am sure members on here can vouch for our water quality resulting in healthy livestock.


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

Agreed, really not a good idea to ignore checking it would be like trusting to luck and driving in the blind.
By the way, what do you use to check for chlorine?


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## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

Fish rookie said:


> Agreed, really not a good idea to ignore checking it would be like trusting to luck and driving in the blind.
> By the way, what do you use to check for chlorine?


BC has some of the lowest Chlorine levels in Canada and conditioners work instantly. I don't see a point in checking it. I ran some tests years ago and before I could test the chlorine after treatment it was already neutralized, its gone that quickly.


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

Rastapus said:


> BC has some of the lowest Chlorine levels in Canada and conditioners work instantly. I don't see a point in checking it. I ran some tests years ago and before I could test the chlorine after treatment it was already neutralized, its gone that quickly.


Thanks. I was thinking of checking my aged water (heated and aerated overnight) to see if I still need to add conditioner.


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## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

Fish rookie said:


> Thanks. I was thinking of checking my aged water (heated and aerated overnight) to see if I still need to add conditioner.


We have a lot of heavy metals in our water, conditioner should still be used.


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

I am adding sodium thiosulohate crystals as conditoners in my discus tank. Sodium Thiosulphate does not neutralize heavy metal, does it?
I want to check if there is chlorine in the water before I add it, what would you recommend please?
Thanks.


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

Agreed gh is important, are water is way to soft to leave unchecked. as for checking for chlorine we have chloramine not chlorine. in abby anyway, and i'm sure it is the same for the whole valley. i had a costumer come in a few weeks ago, said her boyfriends fish did not look good after she did a water change for him, cause he was out of town. so asked her what she did, she started telling me how she changed the water and said she used a chlorine tester to test the tap water. and it came out clean no chlorine. so i replied that is cause we have chloramine in are water. turned out she had not used a water conditioner at all, because the chlorine test showed no chlorine. long story short testing for chlorine is pointless. Good luck with your Ray.


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

Fish rookie said:


> I am adding sodium thiosulohate crystals as conditoners in my discus tank. Sodium Thiosulphate does not neutralize heavy metal, does it?
> I want to check if there is chlorine in the water before I add it, what would you recommend please?
> Thanks.


for water conditioner, Prime is supposed to be the best, but i use nutrafin aqua plus in all my tanks. i believe you can get chlorine testers from most places that sell pool supplies.


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

Thanks.
I use Prime in my other tanks but not the discus tank. 
I am pretty sure we have no chloramine in our water here in Richmond...I read that in the water report.


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## dino (Aug 29, 2011)

id like to know how many people do anything more than add prime and do regular water changes and clean your filters. Thats all i do anymore and thats all i will continue to do unless i have problems but im sure there is a better way


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## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

Scherb said:


> for water conditioner, Prime is supposed to be the best, but i use nutrafin aqua plus in all my tanks. i believe you can get chlorine testers from most places that sell pool supplies.


Sodium Thiosulfate binds to Chlorine. Commercially bought conditioners hade added products to neutralize heavy metals, reduce ammonia etc. depending on the product. In regards to Prime, like most conditioners it does the job but in my opinion is more product then most people need. Why would you use a conditioner that removes ammonia and Nitrite if you dont have residual Ammonia and Nitrite in your aquarium? Seems to me that Prime is adding un needed chemicals to your water. A standard conditioner that neutralizes Chlorine and heavy metals in my opinion is all anyone out here in BC needs. I have heard that Abbotsford has Chloramines, in which case Prime is a better product for that or any other conditioner that removes Chloramines as well.


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## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

Scherb said:


> Agreed gh is important, are water is way to soft to leave unchecked. as for checking for chlorine we have chloramine not chlorine. in abby anyway, and i'm sure it is the same for the whole valley. i had a costumer come in a few weeks ago, said her boyfriends fish did not look good after she did a water change for him, cause he was out of town. so asked her what she did, she started telling me how she changed the water and said she used a chlorine tester to test the tap water. and it came out clean no chlorine. so i replied that is cause we have chloramine in are water. turned out she had not used a water conditioner at all, because the chlorine test showed no chlorine. long story short testing for chlorine is pointless. Good luck with your Ray.


GH levels allow fish to better osmoregulate. To not adjust GH and consider this a good position on water management does not make sense to me. Some fish will survive in very low to 0 levels of GH but will not thrive. Many out of the blue illnesses can be attributed to lack of GH in the aquarium. Also medication are more toxic in low hardness conditions which is why some hobbyists lose their fish when medicating. All fish farms have hard water generally, they may lower their hardness to induce breeding but after raise the hardness condition for sustained health and growth. To just continually change water without adjustment is not the answer, our water has 0 GH. Continuous water changes will maintain pH at whatever the water source is but will not add GH.


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

Rastapus said:


> Sodium Thiosulfate binds to Chlorine. Commercially bought conditioners hade added products to neutralize heavy metals, reduce ammonia etc. depending on the product. In regards to Prime, like most conditioners it does the job but in my opinion is more product then most people need. Why would you use a conditioner that removes ammonia and Nitrite if you dont have residual Ammonia and Nitrite in your aquarium? Seems to me that Prime is adding un needed chemicals to your water. A standard conditioner that neutralizes Chlorine and heavy metals in my opinion is all anyone out here in BC needs. I have heard that Abbotsford has Chloramines, in which case Prime is a better product for that or any other conditioner that removes Chloramines as well.


If you want to remove heavy metal can you add EDTA along with Sodium Thiosulphate?

Also, are people so concerned chlorine because it can kill the friendly bacteria or because it can actually kill your fish directly with the dose in our water?

If it is the former case, with 90% water change twice daily using water that has been sitting aerated overnight do I still need to be concerned with Chlorine?


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## ibbica (Nov 20, 2012)

Fish rookie said:


> If you want to remove heavy metal can you add EDTA along with Sodium Thiosulphate?
> 
> Also, are people so concerned chlorine because it can kill the friendly bacteria or because it can actually kill your fish directly with the dose in our water?
> 
> If it is the former case, with 90% water change twice daily using water that has been sitting aerated overnight do I still need to be concerned with Chlorine?


You *can* add EDTA... but it's another thing that is also toxic at the wrong dose. Live plants would be much safer in most cases, if you're trying to avoid commercial water conditioners. I don't think our water has a high enough heavy metal concentration to be acutely toxic, so (cheap, hardy) plants would be sufficient as sequesters, but you might take a closer look at that.

Yes, chlorine can kill fish in the doses coming out of the tap. Metro Vancouver keeps 'free chlorine' above ~0.6 mg/L (Seymour source) or 1 mg/L (Capilano and Coquitlam sources); that's well over the LD50 (the dose at which 50% of animals die with acute exposure) for most fish. Note too that the amount of chlorine added needs to be increased when the water is unusually turbid, e.g. after a very heavy rainfall.

Personally, with that big a water change I wouldn't risk an overnight aeration, I'd hold the water for a full 24h or treat with a dechlorinator.



Scherb said:


> as for checking for chlorine we have chloramine not chlorine. in abby anyway, and i'm sure it is the same for the whole valley.


I think for the Fraser Valley you're correct, but just to clarify for the OP here, most of the lower mainland - so from the Georgia Strait to Maple Ridge and Langley, but not Mission, Abbotsford, or Chilliwack - gets their water from Metro Vancouver, who AFAIK do use chlorine, and don't add chloramine:
http://www.metrovancouver.org/about/publications/Publications/MunicipalWaterUseGuidelines.pdf
Map of Metro Vancouver Tap Water Source & Supply | watermatters

I am open to correction on that, though, if others have further information.

2011 report including measured values of free chlorine, copper, lead, nickel, etc. in the source water and after treatment, from Metro Vancouver:
http://www.metrovancouver.org/about...tions/2011WaterQualityAnnualReportVolume2.pdf


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