Is there any free and cheap DIY ways to test our tank pH, Kh and gH ??

Question

I find it tough for me to spent 20 to 30$$ for such testing kits and equipment which won't last long. Hope you guys out there can help.

Answer 1

I'm with 8 in the corner - gh and kh are the least of your worries, especially if you have freshwater fish. They will likely adapt.

You can get the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Freshwater Master Test Kit from PetSmart for $15 if you print out their online ad and take it into the store with you (yes, they will price-match all of their merchandise with their online prices). If you don't take the ad, it'll cost you something like $38. This kit contains testers for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, and high range pH, as well as four test tubes. You can also get your gh and kh tests for around $5 each if you print out the online ads.

The testers, assuming you're not doing daily tests, would normally last you well over six months to a year.

Answer 2

I take it you are talking about an aquarium, but you didn't mention whether it was fresh or salt water. I used to have a 150 gal. freshwater aquarium and all I used were the test strips that you can buy at Petsmart. I had it set up with really a good filtration system and also had live plants. Once the balance in the water was achieved I didn't really have a problem. About once a month I had to maybe at the most adjust the nitrate level, but very seldom. Having real plants helps, but also a larger tank is easier to keep balanced than a smaller tank. But still plants help a lot. If your tank is getting out of balance a lot, your tank could be over populated and also you could need a better filter. Hope this helps.
By the way, the test strips I am talking about tested ph, alkilinity and hardness. I think they were about $8 a few years ago. I had to give up on fish when I went into truck driving. I couldn't really take care of them and didn't trust anyone with the tank. Fish are too expensive to just trust other people. So, I sold it all to a friend.

Answer 3

If you live near any PetCo or PetSmart store, they will both check all levels from a sample of your tank water. I just take a small glass, fill it less than 1/2 full, place some kind of plastic wrap over the top to seal the water in and go to my closest PetCo store. They will test it every 3 days or so without giving you a "look" for coming in too often. If you want to test it everyday, do as stated above, but just rotate the stores you go to. There are so many PetCo and PetSmart stores around, it has never been a problem for me. As other people have mentioned, the larger the tank , the better - you will have fewer problems with the chemistry changing if you have at least a 30 to 50 gallon tank. Fresh plants and a good filter system are required to keep things in balance. Be careful, do NOT over run your tank with fish. The rule of thumb is two gallons of water per inch of fish ..(read: per inch , NOT per fish) . I currently have a 28 gallon tank and I have only 10 small freshwater fish in it . No more than that.

Answer 4

Why do you want to test Kh and gH? The only things you need to be concerned about are ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. I have 22 tanks up and running right now and haven't tested for anything in about 6 months. There is no need, I do my water changes regularly.

If you do your regular (weekly) partial (25-30%) water changes, all of the levels will be at or very near 0. Also, you should vaccuum your gravel (see your LFS for details) at least once every 6-8 weeks.

Answer 5

There's an easy fix to this. Stop adding the chemicals and just let the water age naturally. Give it at least 72 hours to breathe and you'll find that the ph and KH will come down on it's own. The others are right though, Betta fish are not picky about their water conditions. In the wild they have evolved to survive in stagnant ponds, rice paddies, and other shallow and muddy bodies of water.

Answer 6

If you know your Ph you can determine the other 2 through simple charts. Here's a link for you on that...
http://www.drhelm.com/aquarium/chemistry.html

Also - if you plan on continuing the hobby you really need a water testing kit. It is a priceless tool in keeping good water quality, and there is no way to operate properly without it (unless you like driving to your LFS to have them test your water - which you can do but with gasoline at nearly $3 here in the US - well - albeit you should just buy your own water testing kit).

You can get one from Aquarium Pharmaceuticals for around $20 with shipping. Here's the link for one to purchase...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000255NCI/ref=nosim/102-2327459-7292967?n=284507

Answer 7

i don't know