New Aquarium

Whilst your pH has dropped a little your GH is still relatively hard..I would be looking at getting that down a little more....purchasing a 25 litre container of Reverse Osmosis water from your local Aquarist shop (good shops will offer this service especially if they stock marines) Then you can mix up a good base (with your tap water) that will not only reduce the pH a little more but will do a lot for your KH/GH properties..Its not expensive. check it out...In the mean time get hold of a regular Bromothymol blue pH test kit...

 

Its a pretty hard call given your present circumstances, and balancing finances...RO would be the best choice IMO if you could have a friend or family member to help with transportation that would be a plus....

 

Hi @Fat Controller

As @BigC mentions those test strips are not very accurate, to say the least, and when I used the liquid PH test kits I always found them very hard to read the colours correctly; perhaps they have improved these days ?

To say liquid ph test kits are around a tenner then think getting one of these for a fiver is a much better option.

I got one last year and was able to check its condition as arrived against a much better quality ph meter that had recently been calibrated and the little yellow one was quiet a close match , so it was usable straight away.
They do come with some cal buffer powders but you need to mix them with pure / RO water if you want to check / re-calibrate them.

Feel sure they will give you a more accurate reading but do not forget that the ph does vary though out the day in response to other things, so do take your readings at the same time each day to give a valid comparison.

With a meter its easier and interesting to measure the ph though the day.

Electric Digital PH Meter Tester Pocket Water Hydroponics Pen Aquarium Pool Test 6068858068157 | eBay

 

Dont talk to me about digital water meters...hahaha they are all over the place here lol...I'm fine because I'm not on a tight budget. Even though I have meters here in abundance I still find myself resorting to the old Bromothymol blue
Do as @ricky101 advises if only to see if there's a swing...there should be a slight diff but not overly significant..

 

Hi @BigC

Can you say which common ph test kits are based on bromothymol blue ?

Have seen bottles of BB on ebay but in various concentrations eg 1% and 0.4% .
Have found a colour chart, but would you say its better to buy a complete test kit ?

Bromothymol Blue pH Tester

 

Hi @ricky101
You can buy bottles of Bromothymol blue 0.04% on the Bay of Fleas just adhere to the droppage per ml.
I only use BB for pH testing quickness otherwise I would use similar indicator solution for constant in tank monitoring as I sometimes use CO2 for pH for the live plants and breeding. Otherwise I use Hanna Instruments products (more expensive but uber reliable).
For everyday use I bought a small kit many years ago, I think it was API brand just for the chart and the test vial mainly then I just buy larger bottles from the Bay. I also buy my eye droppers from there also

 

Please dont get too hung up on this topic whilst its important there is a little leeway ask your usual shop what water params they keep their fish in..go home and try to replicate this...If they (the fish) look vibrant, healthy and deport well then buy them ..if not walk away..always remember to acclimatise the fish slowly.

 

Hi,

Think its more likely you are experiencing the problem associated with test strips, even medical ones you have to follow a precise regime to get reliable results, and then most GPs will only use them as a guide to follow up test etc.

Probably best to say take the average of your results over several days , rather than one day at a time.

Don't thing anything leaching hardness into your tank would raise things that much.

If you suspect anything might be doing so, remove it, dry it off with some paper towel and then pour some vinegar over it, if it bubbles and fizzes then its likely the cause.

 

Hi @BigC

As you may have seen, following FCs new tank its got me back into the planted tank after a 20 year break, but a lot of products have changed in that time and its a bit difficult finding clear practical information.

I , and am sure others, would appreciate your thoughts on these two points.

Seems there are now many combined nitrate and phosphate removers; any suggestions of the better ones for a planted tank.
I'm more concerned about the phosphates and generally use something from day one, RowaPhos being very popular with marines and D&D say its twice as effective in Fresh water.

The other is regarding C02, seems there are now many Liquid versions now around, eg Seachem Excel, Micro_Lift etc and they appear best suited to the smaller tank as the cost could be quite high on larger tanks.

What noticeable about them is that they say it prevents Algae .. so any need for a phosphate remover .... ??

Do they do what its says on the Can ? - do you use such things or can suggest better alternatives ?

thanks

Ricky101

 

I have used RowaPhos in the past (expensive) and Seachem Excel gets good reviews.
But seriously I'm old skool the amount of chemical products for cures and water alterations today is staggering...I believe they are doing more harm than good in respect to fish welfare no wonder DEFRA is climbing all over the ornamental fish industry...
IMHO...so long as I cycle a tank naturally this usually takes between 2-3 weeks and if the hardness and pH is within bounds then with proper stocking levels and feeding regime coupled with regular waterchanges there is no real reason to purchase a myriad of chemical wonder drugs.
Algae is a whole different ball game...too much light, overstocking, feeding, high this high that etc etc etc...its important to find a balance shoals of Ottocinclus in a matured tank work well for algae but finding a cause is a real head mealter when all your want is a nice balanced tank...

 

If you dont want to go down the full CO2 route the try Easy Carbo for small tanks and a good plant feed such as Tropica products.