Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => New Fishkeepers => Topic started by: Aquamaid on October 28, 2014, 08:57:34 AM
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Fish in for five days :D done one 15% water change, taking readings of Ammonia and Nitrite ( still both 0) should i be testing for Nitrate too?
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Nitrate is the least useful of the main tests. It is next to impossible to make a very accurate one for use in the home. When he worked for the water testing company, my son was highly amused at the thought of a nitrate home tester.
Once a tank has fish in, the main use for measuring nitrate is to see if the tank is overstocked. The more fish there are in the tank, the more ammonia is made and this gets turned into more nitrate.
Most people have some nitrate in their tapwater. The idea is to measure nitrate in both tapwater and tank water just before a water change. If the tank level is anywhere between the tap level and 20 higher than the tap level, the stocking is fine. You test just before a water change as that's the highest the nitrate will be since the last water change and it's the amount it's gone up by that you want to measure.
However...... this only applies to tanks with all fake plants or only a few real ones. When there are lots of plants, they will lower the nitrate level.
So, test if you want to. You don't have many fish yet so your nitrate should be more or less the same as your tapwater - unless you've been grossly over feeding.
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Thanks Sue, will do the occasional one then as i keep adding stock :)