Water Quality?

[natuhlee]

Hey guys. I just bought a water quality testing kit, and of course didn't check to see what it tested before buying it. So I got home, tested the quality of my fire belly newt's tank (which is cycling - I have them in a separate temporary tank), went to check the ammonia levels, and realized they weren't included on those strips. Nitrate was 0, Nitrite was 0, total hardness was about 75 (soft), total alkalinity was about 80 (moderate), and pH was about 6.8. Is it safe to put them in there, or do I really need to have the ammonia levels checked? I can't get to the store again until Tuesday and I think they're really ready to get back into their home! Thanks!

 

[Canecorsonewt]

Ammonia is the most important one. Plus i think you need to have some nitrate for your tank to be cycled. You already lost the money you spent on test stripes. You wont have enough stripes. I was you when i first started to cycle my tank . You need api master test kit Petco $35 ebay $25. Just go get it you will need it in two weeks.:violent:

 

[natuhlee]

Wow, I thought $11 was a lot for 25 test strips. At least I have a betta tank that I can use these on. So there's no way to tell if the ammonia is okay by the others being okay?

 

[Canecorsonewt]

You can still use them and it might be cheap for ammonia stripes for know. But every one says test stripes aren't accurate. You most likely will run out before it completely cycles. You should check water quality after your aquarium cycles to .So in the long run better to get api test kit. It says you can get 800 test from a api test kit. It comes with ammonia nitrate nitrite and ph high and ph low. A few months after my tank cycled i found out i had high nitrate. I am still dealing with that and testing my water often. I Google how to test for ammonia without test kit. Only came up with symptoms from fish being in ammonia. So i don't think you can.

 

[Donna001]

Cliff is correct, you can buy the ammonia test strips, but liquid test kits, such as the API Master Test Kit are more accurate. I know that they are expensive, but they can usually be found on Amazon for a cheaper price than in stores. The liquid test kits also last much longer as they have a lot more tests per kit. I currently have 10 cycled tanks and test all weekly, and am still using the first master test kit I bought back in February.

 

[Methos5K]

If any of my test strips show any possible sign of water parameters not being absolutely correct, I also use the API Master Freshwater Kit. Most newts and salamanders in the hobby are hardy individuals, but it is of utmost importance to keep their water ammonium free. A newt trapped in a tank with high ammonium would be like a human locked in a room filled with corrosive poisonous gas. Keep your newt healthy and happy!