Sarah84

Since I did the 50% water change.... things are looking up!! I got my water checked at a LFS .. (a different one this time, not the usual one i go too) She told me I have no amonia levels.... my PH is correct... and my nirates/nirites are in the "SAFE" parameters. So.... more water changes im guessing... and time. I was going to buy a at-home testing kit, but it wasn't it my budget to spend $50 on one. I bought a vaccuum thingy to clean the gravol, holy!! I got a lot of debrite out. My little snail problem probably doesn't help the nirates/nirite issue.,. I swear there is 20 of the lil buggers. So.... I guess now, I wait

Tommy Gun

How long has your tank been cycling again?

I would be leery about the testing at a LFS for two reasons:

1.) They use very cheap and IMO unreliable testing kits for obvious reasons (they are doing it for free).

2.) Some LFS owners/employees may be looking at you as a 'return customer' and know that if they say your water is safe, when it isnt, you will have problems in the future and they will have a good chance at selling you some products that really wont work to well, but they get the profits.

P.S. another thing that bothers me is that they would say your Ph is correct since the correct Ph is dependant on what types of fish you are going to keep in the tank. I dont remember if you have fish in there or not, but until you are going to stock or are already stocked, target Ph's are going to vary.

Loman

Sarah,
I think Tommy might have LFS issues , nothing that years of therapy can not fix .

Seriously, his points are valid but... some data is better than no data. If your budget will only support the LFS test then I would get specific readings from them not just a good or bad and use that data as best as I could. The point about misleading people and suggesting quick cures that treat temporary problems is right on the many for many stores so you have to be careful. There are fortunately some exceptions (I deal with a store that has a really solid philosophy that is in line with how I think). I would also add that while I agree the liquid kit is better than the strips that might be a better alternative than only the LFS testing. The strips are usually in the ballpark and are easier to use. You can usually get test strips at large department star pet shops which are often a bit cheaper. If you go this rout you need strips to test Ammonia and different one to test Nitrite and Nitrate etc. They sell these together in a box and separately. The lowest in ital cost is to buy them together but it is usually cheaper per test to buy them separately.


The pH comments do not bother me quite as much as they do Tommy, because I am of the mind set that consistent pH is more important than a specific pH reading in most cases (obviously it has to be within a range). That said they may be comparing your pH with the hundreds of tests they perform and seeing that the pH is about the same for your local area. Where I am the pH from the tap is 8.2+ and they will make that kind of statement. IMO, it is better not to try to alter the pH artificially unless it is really extreme because it usually gets fairly unstable and you are just chasing it up and down. Again you can find out easily by asking for the specific reading and then deciding the best course.

__________________
Loman

24 Gallon Salt Aquapod
20 Gallon Freshwater
Various QT tanks
2 x 75 Gallon Reefs in planning stage

Tommy Gun

Loman should be a psychologist!

I agree with the fact that some LFS employees and owners are not going to try to fool you into spending more money, but I tend to err on the safe side.

I also think that LFS are going to use test strips and they are not the worst thing in the world. I acually use them in my feeder fish tanks because I like the quick knowledge. I do make sure I am storing them in the best environment though. For me, it is hard because I live literally right next to Lake Michigan and on a humid day, I can test the water parameters of Lake Michigan in the air!

I suppose I can also see the point on the Ph thing, however I would rather base a constant Ph on multiple readings from my own tap water or my own tanks. This is the best way to ensure a constant Ph, keeping in mind things that can change Ph such as water softeners and carbonate based substrates, and I would be leery about basing my Ph on someone else's across town. Just my opinion though.

Loman

Psychology? Maybe that will be the next hobby .

__________________
Loman

24 Gallon Salt Aquapod
20 Gallon Freshwater
Various QT tanks
2 x 75 Gallon Reefs in planning stage

Jay

Fish can adjust! Loman is right. pH needs to be looked as only a part of the water quality picture, not the dominate factor.

This reflects conventional wisdom out there in the aquarium hobby world. Fish cannot tell what the pH is, and pH alone is not necessarily a really critical factor until it is considered in combination with KH GH Nitrates Ammonia Nitrites PO4 etc. Far more important would be TDS, DOC, depletion of essential electrolytes and minerals etc.

Common sense would dictate that a slow and careful acclimating process between two tanks of varying pH would be a necessary thing as differences in pH would indicate differences in water quality.

We do not keep our fish in pure H2O, pure water (distilled as an example) contains nothing that will support biological health. No dissolved gases, no KH no GH, no beneficial bacteria, electrolytes, minerals, etc.

We keep our fish in H2O plus a lot of dissolved stuff. The amount and nature of this dissolved stuff is what determines water quality suitable for fish. pH is only one measurement of how this "stuff" is reacting with the H2O
and is far from a complete picture.

Regards,
Jay