Test Kit Needed If Doing Regular Water Changes?

HI everyone, happy Sunday!

I just have a quick question. Do I need to get a water test kit even if I am doing 25% water changes every day? My current tank is a 20 gallon high at a constant 77 degrees F, with 1 Red Cap Oranda, 3 new stalks of Vallisneria Spiralis (just added yesterday), 1 stem of Elodea, and an Aqueon QuietFlow 30 which packs 200gph. Thank you ahead of time!

Your fish in fins,
Fish_Noob

 

Good afternoon and welcome to Fishlore

I would recommend test kits no matter how often you change you water. Especially if the tank is still cycling, just to check that everything is in check.

 

I agree. Never stop testing your water. This is like a hospital, you are the nurse, and your patients are fish on life-support because they are trying to live on land when they should be in a lake somewhere.

 

HI everyone, happy Sunday!

I just have a quick question. Do I need to get a water test kit even if I am doing 25% water changes every day? My current tank is a 20 gallon high at a constant 77 degrees F, with 1 Red Cap Oranda, 3 new stalks of Vallisneria Spiralis (just added yesterday), 1 stem of Elodea, and an Aqueon QuietFlow 30 which packs 200gph. Thank you ahead of time!

Your fish in fins,
Fish_Noob

I'm curious as to why you're doing 25% water changes every day.
Is your tank cycling?

BTW: WELCOME TO FISHLORE

 

I'm curious as to why you're doing 25% water changes every day.
Is your tank cycling?

BTW: WELCOME TO FISHLORE

Hiya! I just remember seeing some thread long ago, when I first started the aquarium hobby that said something in the lines of, "partial water changes every day is good". So recently when I got this Oranda (about 1.5 -2 months ago-ish), it's what I've been doing, but sometimes, when I'm busy with homework, I would transition to 25% weekly for a while, then go back to 25% every day when my schedule loosens out a bit).

 

I never really check my parameters after water changes. If the fish are happy nothing for me to check.

 

HI everyone, happy Sunday!

I just have a quick question. Do I need to get a water test kit even if I am doing 25% water changes every day? My current tank is a 20 gallon high at a constant 77 degrees F, with 1 Red Cap Oranda, 3 new stalks of Vallisneria Spiralis (just added yesterday), 1 stem of Elodea, and an Aqueon QuietFlow 30 which packs 200gph. Thank you ahead of time!

Your fish in fins,
Fish_Noob

For smaller tanks like 10-20 you should use a test kit at lease once every 3-4 weeks

For smaller tanks like 10-20 you should use a test kit at lease once every 3-4 weeks

That’s after everything is steady like about a month you should get he API freshwater master kit don’t use the strip ones there unreliable test ph Ammonia nitrite nitrate and water hardness if you can but it doesn’t come with the apI master kit

 

If you have an ammonia Spike, a 25% water change is not going to do the work. On the other hand, if your ammonia and nitrite are absolutely fine, a frequent water change is going to stress the fish. Do you only way to know when and how much to do the water change solely depends on your parameters. So, yes I would invest in a kit and do more frequent testing until the tank is fully cycled.

 

If you have an ammonia Spike, a 25% water change is not going to do the work. On the other hand, if your ammonia and nitrite are absolutely fine, a frequent water change is going to stress the fish. Do you only way to know when and how much to do the water change solely depends on your parameters. So, yes I would invest in a kit and do more frequent testing until the tank is fully cycled.

Ohh I understand now. Thank you so much everyone!

 

As long as everything's great, and your fish are healthy, and the sun's shining, and all is right in the world, you probably won't need a test kit. A 25% water change every day will probably keep your tanks in great shape. But if you have a fish that starts looking and acting weird, you'll be glad you have a test kit. Diagnosing problems in aquariums before it's too late is often a matter of the process of elimination. The first thing you'll want to eliminate if there's trouble is your water parameters.

 

As long as everything's great, and your fish are healthy, and the sun's shining, and all is right in the world, you probably won't need a test kit. A 25% water change every day will probably keep your tanks in great shape. But if you have a fish that starts looking and acting weird, you'll be glad you have a test kit. Diagnosing problems in aquariums before it's too late is often a matter of the process of elimination. The first thing you'll want to eliminate if there's trouble is your water parameters.

It sounds like he has a new tank. So I guess it’s not cycled. Yea if your tank is fully cycled. You don’t have to buy a kit. How long has the tank been running? If it is new, I would invest in a kit. If not, I would bring some water to a Petco or Petsmart to check the parameters for free. If everything looks fine, you can get away with not having a kit.

 

If everything looks fine, you can get away with not having a kit.

I absolutely agree. If everything looks fine you can (maybe) get away with not having a kit.

You might also get away with not getting a physical exam, eye check, having your furnace inspected, or having a mechanic look at your car every so often. Especially if everything seems fine. That doesn't mean it's a good idea.

Most knowledgeable fish folks would list a test kit as one of the most important things you can own as a fishkeeper, right behind a tank and filter. Keeping water parameters optimal for the fish you're keeping is a must-have, not a nice-to-have. You can't tell what your water parameters are by looking. Everyone I know who has kept fish has had some kind of problem with their water, and most of the problems were revealed by water testing.

Yes, you can take a water sample to your local fish store. Let's say there's an ammonia spike. How will you know your response to that ammonia spike is working? How will you know if your cycle broke? How will you know when the problem is solved?

A test kit is something every aquarist should have.