I finally found a test kit for my pH. I have two 10gal tanks(one has two 4" goldfish, nothing added to the water and a 5-15 AquaTech Filter) and the other tank has 4 samller goldfish that were sick and we just finished using Melifix for 7days. We do a 50% water change about once a week on both tanks. I also have a 55gal tnak with guppies,swordtails,mollies,and platies. All of my tanks had the same pH reading of 6.0. Is this normal? To high,to low?

It seems low. See what your tap water is mine is 7.0 which is nuetral

Mine is 8.5, we have very hard water. Depends on your water

10 gallons and 4 fish?
Someone has probably told you this before,
But thats waaaay over stocked.
10 gallons per fish is the way to go.
Sorry to be a repeat.... bug ...Thing
My Ph is closer to 7-8 something, but I haven't checked in a while, due to the total soakage of my friggin test strips.

O well I thought it was high, I have no idea about any of this stuff. The test kit I have are little strips and it says to dip it in the water for two seconds and compare the color to the color chart, but it only tests from 3.0-6.0, so it is probably higher. And yes, I am aware that their are to many fish in the two 10gal tanks, as soon as we buy a new tank for the fish in the 55gal, we will hopfully be putting the goldfish in there. Is a 55gal big enough for 6 goldfish?

No hon, a 55 is not really big enough for 6 goldfish. I only keep 3 fish in mine. The rule is 10 gallons for each fancy (round bodied) goldfish and 20 gallons for each common goldfish. Although, most serious hobbiest reccomend much more.

Your test strips only test for low range pH so you need to get a test for high range or something that does both high and low range. 6.0 is low.

Mine is at about 8.2 but it depends on your area. Different minerals in your area affect that. I think ours is high because we have clay soil. When I was in CA it was very high because of some sort of rock that was in the ground.

Do your test strips test for kH? If so what is the reading?

EDIT: Oh also, try doing more water changes...maybe 25% or more wach day. ITs just way too many fish, like mentioned, and the water is going to get bad quickly if its not changed more.

Actually I have 6 fish in my 55 gallon and theyre completely fine. Just keep up with waterchanges. Its better if theyre still smallish. I can see it being too small if the fish are large. But this is a controversial topic on this site.

When I do put the 6 in the 55gal, will I ahev to change it 25% everyday?!?. That tank is so hard to clean from where it is. I hae to suction hose to clean the gravle that can hook up to the sing to it goes right down the drain adnd you can also reverese the flow to fill it, but it takes a long time. Would 25% about 3 or 4 times a week work or would that not be enough. Also, what all should I be testing for in my tank and where can I buy the testing stuff. My LFS doesnt carry any that I have seen. The pH kit was the only thing I saw. Ill have to ask them. Also, one other question I wanted to ask was how do you tell if your fish are male or female? I have two approximatly 3yo goldfish I was wanting to breed.

Well if the tank has to go thru cycling you will most likely have to do water changes everyday if you have fish in there. You can use old filter media from your current filter in the new one and it should cycle quickly without the fish.
Once cycled a once weekly water change of about 25% should do it. Just keep an eye on the params with an extra fish in there.

Get test kits for ammonia, ph, nitrite and nitrate. Aquarium Pharmecuticals(spelling is waay off lol) has a good master test kit with them all included.

To tell if a goldfish is male or female look at their anal vents. Females have an outie and males have an innie.

You can order things online for a lot cheaper than in the stores usually, even when you factor in shipping (although I don't know if they charge more to Alaska). Do you have a Petco or Petsmart anywhere sort of nearby? I used to stay in Alaska so I know that in some places there just isn't anywhere! If you do have one though, you can print the online page with that test kit on it and bring it into the store and they will match the price, saving you $5-10. I don't know if you have your own checking account with a debit card yet or if your parents would be willing to lend you their credit card, but online is a good way to go if there are no pet shops close by. Tell them how much gas they/you will save! Also, most of the online sites offer gift certificates which you can use online-just a thought if you end up getting really "hooked" on fish, if you aren't already. If your lfs does have other kits, try and get liquid ones which are more accurate than the strips and you definitely want ph, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, and a kh and gh test would be good too, especially since your ph is on the low side. If your tap water is higher than 6.0 you probably have no buffer (kh) in your water which causes the ph to crash and can be dangerous-if you can test both your tap water and the tank water-if there is a big difference then it is probably the kh which can be resolved chemically. I had that very problem myself.

Here is where you can buy the test kit glitter was talking about above online: http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_det...=master+kit&N=2 It's like the third thing down.

Here is another good online site that has all sorts of aquarium supplies at good prices:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/Shop.cfm?N=2004
Here is that site's link to the test kit: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod...4&N=2004+113074


Good luck, I know that must be tough if you don't have a pet shop nearby-especially if you are not able to drive yourself.