BIOSCIENCE TEST STRIPS

BIOSCIENCE TEST STRIPS

Accurate and very convenient, BIOSCIENCE test strips provide you with a very good tool to understand your water condition without the hassle. Just dip the test strip into the water, follow the timing instructions and match the colour appearing on the test strip with the colour chart provided on the product packing.

Bioscience test strips are available in both 50-strip bottles testing a single parameter as well as in variety blister packs containing multiple test parameters. It is available for both freshwater (blue label) and salt/marine water (green label).

pH is the measurement of acidity and alkalinity. It is measured on a scale of 0 to 14 with 7 being neutral. A pH higher than 7 is alkaline while a pH lower than 7 is acidic. Also pH is measured on a logarithmic scale. i.e. a pH of 8 is 10 times more alkaline than a pH of 7. As can be seen, a one-point change in pH is actually a big change. Accordingly, pH should ideally be stable and not subjected to sudden changes.

What is the ideal level of pH depends on the species of fish that is kept. However, most fishes would do well within the range of 6.5 to 7.5. pH tends to drop over time especially between water changes. This is mostly due to the acids produced when nitrifying bacteria convert ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate.

An important point to note about pH is the toxicity of ammonia. Ammonia is more toxic in alkaline water while it changes into ammonium in acidic water, which is less toxic. As such, the higher the pH in your tank, the more dangerous is ammonia.

The optimal pH for nitrification is near 8. Below a pH of about 6.4, nitrifying bacteria begin to fail and this would result in a rise in ammonia, which ironically does not harm the fish since it becomes the less toxic ammonium. The danger comes when the owner having realize that the pH is low, decides to add something to bring up the pH. This converts the less toxic ammonium to the very toxic ammonia and kills the fishes.

HARDNESS

Hardness in water refers to the level of dissolved minerals particularly calcium and magnesium. Most fish can tolerate a wide range of hardness and it really depends on the types of fish that is kept. As long as the fish are doing well, it should not pose much of a concern. Hardness can be measured in terms of PPM (parts per million); GPG (grains per gallon); or dH (degress of hardness). It is generally fine to have a hardness of between 30 and 120 ppm or 3 and 10 dH.

ALKALINITY (CARBONATE HARDNESS)

Alkalinity is basically a measure of the water’s acid neutralizing capacity. The higher the alkalinity the more stable the pH. It also tends to keep pH high. Alkalinity or KH can be measured in terms of meq/l (milliequivalents per litre); ppm (parts per million) or dKH (German degrees of KH). 1 meq/l is about 50 ppm and 2.8dKH. Having a good alkaline buffer ensures that the nitrifying bacteria do not fail from overly high acidicity and helps to create a better environment for the bacteria in the nitrogen cycle. A very effective product is LITHAQUA from BACTA PUR which is a natural marine product. It can be used in koi ponds or marine and fresh water tanks.

NITRITE & NITRATE

When ammonia is produced by fishes in a tank, it is broken down by the helpful bacteria Nitrosomonas and converted into Nitrite (NO₂)_. At this stage, nitrite is still harmful to the fish and it takes another strain of bacteria Nitrobacter to convert nitrite to nitrate which is relatively harmless. In a properly established tank, the nitrite and nitrate measurements should approximate zero though it is common for there to be some nitrate. This is especially so if there are no anaerobic zones in the biological filter for anaerobic bacteria to convert nitrate into nitrogen. Relatively harmless, nitrate can be removed via regular water changes. BIOHOME is an excellent filter media that provides anaerobic zones for denitrifying bacteria to carry out the conversion of nitrate.