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Hello, I am new with aquariums. Actually, I've never had one. I have heard of people talking about Nitries, Nitrates, pH levels, Alkalinity, and Hardness. What does all of this mean. What is recommended and how can I test it or change it? I have been doing research but I couldn't find any answers directly. Please help me, any help is appreciated.

2007-07-22 16:36:50 · 4 answers · asked by Gam3r333 2 in Pets Fish

4 answers

Welcome to the hobby! It's very refreshing to see someone doing their homework before jumping in and setting up a tank.

pH is the measure of acidity of your water. Much is said about it in aquarium keeping circles and much is said in some stores, but the truth is you shouldn't worry about it in most all cases. Odds are very good the pH of your tap water will be just fine for any but the most sensitive of fish.

Hardness is the measure of dissolved minerals in the water and is measured both as a total (GH) as a separate measure of just the carbonate portion (KH) which is the same as alkalinity. Again, like pH, its usually something you don't want to or need to worry about at all.

Alkalinity is a measure of the buffering capacity of the water. In short, how resistant to pH change is your water. It's also something you rarely need to worry about and again, what is in your tap water is find for the vast majority of situations.

That's not to say you shouldn't be aware of what each of those measurements are for your tank, but you shouldn't worry about changing them either. In a typical aquarium situation, you will be doing regular water changes which will restore the balance of these materials in the tank and prevent problems from any of these sources.

Here's a link with more information about why they are important and how they work together.

http://www.fishdoc.co.uk/water/hardness.htm


Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are all components of the nitrogen cycle of the aquarium. Unlike the above, it is something you should be very aware of and well informed of especially during the first few weeks of your tank. Instead of typing a page or more about it, I would like to provide this link to an excellent and informative discussion of how the nitrogen cycle works and why it's so very important.

http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php

Hope that helps and if after reading those links you have any additional questions concerning this, feel free to email me.

MM

2007-07-22 16:52:38 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 3 0

First, get an aquarium book from the store where you got your aquarium. These little books helped me SO much when I first started out. They explain everything you should know about aquariums, pH, nitrites, feeding, water quality, fish types and their requirements, etc. And if you have a book handy, no need to sit on the internet TRYING to find it...it's right there!

Really, I would look things up everyday. They really are a big help. They will explain all the chemicals you should have, how to use them, etc.

2007-07-22 23:44:28 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 3 0

As long as you do a weekly 10% water change/gravel vacuum, you shouldn't really be concerned. A test kit is never a bad thing though. For the first month, you should test every 3 days, after that, you can probably test monthly.

Nosoop4u

2007-07-23 00:49:31 · answer #3 · answered by nosoop4u246 7 · 0 1

If you are on a city water you don't need all that stuff, just buy this stuff called "Start Right" and put it in the water every time you set up or change the water or add water, this stuff is a complete water conditioner it removes chlorine and chloramine.
Make sure you set up the tank at least 24 hour before adding fish make sure filters are running proper this gives the fish a better chance of surviving..

2007-07-22 23:45:45 · answer #4 · answered by Bingo 5 · 0 4

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