jkj454
Posts: 4,290
From: Aurora, IL
Registered: Feb, 2003
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Perfect example why you shouldn't rely on ANYONE to test your water for you
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Posted:
Mar 10, 2007 4:05 PM
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In my experiences answering queries here and on behalf of the crew via e-mail, I come across many folks, usually beginners, who don't have their own water parameter test kits, and thus must rely on their LFS to test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, etc. I *always* tell folks that in this hobby, it is essential to have your own quality test kit, and by using the word "quality", I generally mean one not of the "dip stick" variety. My experience at my local PetSmart this afternoon is a perfect illustration of why I say this:
I had bought a couple of fancy yellow guppies from PetSmart about a week ago. These guys must not have been healthy to begin with, as one perished late last night (I found him stuck to the filter intake), and early this morning, after replacing about 70% of the water (a bit more than I usually do on a weekly basis, to compensate for last night's dead fish), the other one died. There are three orange fancy guppies living in this tank also, and they are all perfectly healthy - I've had them for around a month. And, I do regular water changes, feed quality food, etc. Not to say I can't make a mistake, but I really don't think I caused these yellow guppies to die.
I brought the one deceased guppy back to the store today (I didn't think to save the one from last night), along with a water sample in a separate container. At the store, the young man helping me (who was very friendly), started testing the sample with the "dip stick" kits. After first running the pH, he exclaimed: "Wow - your water is really acidic - no wonder the fish died." I asked him exactly what the reading was, and he said "oh, around 6.2". I was astounded - this is slightly brackish water (1.005), which I explained to him, and he didn't seem to understand the significance of marine salt on pH (for those reading who don't know, it raises it). I asked him to double check, which he did, and he got the same result. I asked him if he had another type of test kit (liquid), and he said no. He ran all the other tests (chlorine, ammonia, nitrite, etc.) and all were "fine" (I asked for the numbers, but he couldn't read them).
The store did ultimately exchange my guppy after I insisted, but I drove home in a panic, wondering if perhaps the MelaFix that I had used in the water (the orange guppies are a bit nippy!) somehow drastically altered the pH. And, I entertained all sorts of other horrible possibilities. In fact, I was so upset, I almost ran a red light!
I got out my Freshwater Master Test Kit from Aquarium Pharmaceuticals as soon as I got home, and on the "low end" test, the water in question's pH read 7.6. I tested again on the "high end" test, and this one came out to 7.4. And, just to be extra sure, I used BF's electronic pH meter, which gave a reading of 7.3. So, I think it's safe to say the water's pH is around 7.4 or so.
I did call the manager back, and told her what had happened. Not so much for myself, as I ended up with another fish - no charge - but for the people who do in fact rely on LFS advice/test kits. She assured me she'd look into it, and even said that at home, she never used the "dip sticks" either, as she doesn't trust them. I didn't want to get the employee in question in trouble, as he was only doing what he was taught, by the store, to do; but I did want to make my point that the store should consider switching to a more reliable method of testing. Who knows if that will happen, but at least I tried.
So, in sum - ANYONE who's keeping fish needs to have his/her own test kit. It's no good to rely on the LFS, or a friend or someone else, to do water parameter tests for you; rather, run your own tests so you can be sure you're reading numbers correctly, etc. Also, even if it saves a few minutes or a few dollars, DON'T buy those ridiculous "dip stick" tests - they obviously DO NOT WORK! I'm very pleased with the API Freshwater Master Test Kit mentioned above, but there are other brands than some folks successfully use.
Hope I've helped educate folks and maybe even saved some fishy lives today!
Best,
-JKJ
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