I bought a Freshwater Master Test Kit by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals today. I thought it was a really good deal (25 dollars for 700 tests) but it only tests pH ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. Is it really needed to test KH and water hardness?

I only test that if I'm having a Ph problem Hun, so I would say it would be nice to have it but its not necessary

From my recent experience, I think the KH/hardness is useful when you're starting up, or in trouble with pH decay. I'm still fighting the fight for steady pH.

Once you get a rock steady pH and know roughly what's happening, KH, though useful to know, is not so important.(IMHO). Used on an "as needed" basis.

I'm sure many people will disagree though

Slugger

Hi Koko,

you type fast.

Slugger

Maybe after 20,000 posts you'll type that fast, too.

Why thank you years of running a board and doing Puter work will do it to you every time

Whew, I can finally open the box and satisfy my curiosity without worries of bringing it back now

Actually I AM having a really hard time setting my pH cuz the KH is so high and I can't fix it. Don't worry, I'm still working on bringing it down (although I'm having a ton of trouble finding out how) and I still have about 7 test strips left that have KH and water harndess on them. Hopefully I will get it fixed before those are used up. If you can help me I've got a post in the water quality section!

Also, what is pH decay?

Slugger has an interesting thread going at the moment in 'Water Chemistry' forum - might be worth checking it out.