Dissolved O2 testing?

Okay - so final parameter I want to get a handle on is the dissolved oxygen content in my tank. I mean, really, my dissolved oxygen should be good, my surface is constantly in motion. But I have to know.

Oxygen meters are way out of the question given their price right now.

Have you all used the Salifert liquid test kit?

Any contraindications? Water conditioners, etc.

You all know where my cycle is at by now, god knows I've posted enough, but here are my readings...

Ammonia - 0ppm (ish, definitely not .25ppm but in the right light it looks a wee bit greener)
Nitrite - .25ppm
Nitrate - 10-20ppm (can't tell the difference on the color chart, 20ppm even looks a little lighter than 10ppm).
pH - 7.5
Tank temp - 74F (trying to reduce it slowly but may not have much of a choice given room temp).

For the first time in the last 3 weeks of my cycle, I've gone without a WC. Which means I'm not putting fresh water in and therefore seeing what my O2 situation really looks like.

I've got a 350gph marineland filter (recommended for 75 gallons) on a 29 gallon aquarium. I have a long air stone and a bubble disc and the pump is set all the way up. I just bought a medium air stone (about 5") and am thinking of changing out the bubble disc with that one.

I have 4 very young fancies in there and, based on their current size rounded up on aquadvisor (adult size I am way overstocked - buying a 75 gal this week for when the time comes), I'm 76% stocked.

I'm noticing one of my lionheads coming to the surface a lot more than usual. My orandas are big bubble chasers and, in the interest of high oxygen content, I have a lot of bubbles but surface breathing can be problematic for fancies. He isn't idling there and he is, in fact, very active in the tank so I'm not really sure what the issue is. In fact, this behavior seems to really occur immediately after feeding and now that dinner-time is well over, he seems to be going up there less. Also seems to be motivated by following my orandas around. My levels are the awesome-est they've been in weeks so I know they're not perfect but they're infinitely better than they have been.

There's a lot of goldfish-specific explanations for this behavior and I'll probably turn to the goldfish forum for insight into that but O2 is the one parameter I can't keep an eye on. None of the LFS around here stock the Salifert kits and I'm just wondering if it's worth ordering online or if they're mumbo jumbo? As far as I can tell, API doesn't have a test kit for dissolved oxygen.

Any recommendations for testing oxygen levels without spending hundreds of dollars? Trying to save that money for the 75 gallon.

 

Bump!

Ken

 

Okay soooooo... I've seen this word before and I have no comprehension of what it means haha.

I've been bumped, haha, where to? Back to the top because no one responded?

 

Bump = bring up my post (as far as I know)

 

Sounds like you have pkenty of oxygen.

The fish swimming to the surface after meals sounds normal too.

 

Yeah I posted a few days ago, I don't think it's an oxygen problem. If I aerated the tank any better, they'd get caught in the current and spend their day blown in circles around the tank. I'm already struggling with the current in one area of the tank. Though they seem to have become much stronger swimmers for it.

I think the issue might be swim bladder related. Especially since it's most obvious right after eating. HikarI Lionhead is their staple with some veggies and other treats throughout the week but I think the high protein in the HikarI might be messing with his swim bladder leading him to self-manage. I've stepped up the veggies to more than a couple times a week. This morning I fed them a little bit of Emerald Entree I haven't seen him at the surface more than once every couple of hours today, just the usual bubble-chasers doing their thing. Though the EE was extremely messy so now I'm skipping dinner tonight, won't be feeding that again till I'm fully cycled.

 

Are any of those foods sinking kind? Might help.

 

Yep I only ever feed sinking and it's all pre-soaked. I had initially started them on flakes but I even sunk those so I just switched to the higher quality pellets.

I use HikarI Lionhead as their staple and I supplement with deshelled peas, Emerald Entree, freeze-dried bloodworms and brine shrimp sticks. The bloodworms are hard to make sink but I don't give them very often. Once my tank is fully cycled, I plan to really get creative with the veggies and special foods. I'm looked forward to trying the DIY Gel Food recipes. But until then I actually think they're on a pretty decent diet.

 

Well I'm pretty sure it's the Hikari. Yesterday I fed none of the HikarI food, only Emerald Entree, and I saw him up at the top maybe 3 times all day. Today, I gave the HikarI and there he is, back at the top, so I guess I have to change their food. That's unfortunate.