Aqurim water testing?

Question

I have a small collection of tropical fish tanks,but i am having problems in finding test kits( are not available) for testing ammonia ,nitrites,and nitrates .so i was wondering if any body could tell me how i can do the same using chemicals in a laboratory.

thanks,

Nadeem.

Pakistan

Answer 1

Even if you have access to a laboratory and the chemicals in them, you don't want to be mixing your aquarium and laboratory hobbies.  You'd have to talk to you lab director about purchasing the materials, go through a lot of red tape, and the lab chemicals may be contaminated by what other stuff you're doing in the lab and you don't want to accidentally bring anything hazardous home.  Trust me, I work in a lab, and it's best to just leave the lab equipment there.  You wear gloves in the lab for a reason; some of those chemicals can hurt you.  Be careful.  Do not use lab chemicals for any reason other than as directed.  

Also, aquarium test kits will only cost you eight to twenty dollars in US dollars for the initial purchase, and replacement chemicals are two dollars per pack.  You can simply buy the test kit online and have it shipped to you.  There are a bunch of websites that sell aquarium test kits, including but not limited to:

http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/cat/info...

http://www.aquariumguys.com/ammonia-nitr...

Since they're not expensive and easy to find online, just buy a test kit.  Don't take water into the lab to test.  It's a waste of lab resources and an unnecessary mixing of home and work environments.  It's also against laboratory procedure and you could get in trouble.  

Answer 2

        Well, to be honest, if your fish are tropical community then I don't think you need to worry about testing the water. I recommend simply checking the water periodically by putting a little in a clear plastic cup. When the water becomes yellow, it's time for a water change. Tropical community fish are very hardy and will adapt to most changes in the water.