Frequency on Water Quality Test

Water in your goldfish tanks should be periodically checked at least once a week and the frequency can be increased if let’s say you are dealing with special situation like when your pets are sick. Goldfish just like any aquatic species require clean water condition to thrive and since they are in contact with the water all the time, it is important that the quality must be top-notch. Pet fish living in clean water will live a long healthy life with expectancy at least 10 years and you will rarely find sick fish in a well-maintained aquarium. To quote an example from an experienced goldfish keeper, he says, make sure the water is clean and your goldfish will do the rest to take care of themselves. Healthy living environment also promotes healing process and needless for me to say that this is the number one requirement if you intend to see your sick goldfish recover from its illness.

There are several criteria that you should take into account on how often you should carry out your water testing. If you have a newly set up fish tank which is at the initial stage of nitrogen cycle, then you need to increase your frequency so that any off spec parameter can be detected early. Since ammonia is very lethal and even at low concentration can threaten goldfish survival, the level should be constantly monitored at least once per day until the tank has matured. A fully-cycled goldfish tank will see ammonia at almost zero reading while nitrate at the level of almost 150ppm. Frequency on how often you should carry out testing also depends on the stocking level. Aquariums which are filled with higher number of fish will require much frequent testing as you should expected higher waste concentration in the form of ammonia will be present. Imagine if you have a 50gallon tank with 3 goldfish and the same aquarium housing only 1 tank, then most definitely, the one with 3 will require most frequent testing.

Water testing should also be carried out on number of occasions or when there is some unexpected event occurring. Sometimes, when you have baby fish dying en mass, then it would be important to first check on the water quality to find out if there’s high ammonia or nitrite fluctuation. Sometimes if you are suspecting on why the fish decides to stay on the top surface gasping for air, then make sure you do a quick check to find out if the water quality if fine. From here, you should either make decision on to conduct water change or jump to another fact finding hunt to determine the actual cause of the problem. Sometimes, the problem could lie on chocked and clogged filter cartridge so that is where you should start first. Remember, there is nothing more important than early detection to weed out the exact root cause than to let things getting out of hand. Read up also on how to care for your goldfish.