what is more import in Ph testing stripes or plants for the fish to hide in?

Personally I would test my pH over giving plants, especially if you only have 1 type of fish and they are all the same size.

My tap water is very very alkaline (7.6+) so I constantly check pH when I do water changes.

Having said that, if you can afford the test strips but not the acid and base to correct the problem, there is no point buying the test strips.

I have a tank full of plants cause i love them, but i can afford them.

Other option, your fish shop might be nice enough to test your water for free or even like a dollar or something every month or so if you cant afford it.
 
I don't understand... are you asking whether it's more important to buy plants, or buy a pH testing kit?

pH testing kits are not very useful. It's nice to know what your pH is, but in the end, it doesn't really matter anyway, so you'd be better off buying the plants if you are on a budget.

pH is not as important as shops say it is. When they say your pH is wrong, what they really mean is "We don't know what's wrong so we are going to try to sell you something anyway" and then people get sold pH modifying solutions, which are useless. The most important tests are ammonia and nitrite, because these are most harmful to your fish. Sadly, they don't work very well in strip form and if you buy test strips they will be inaccurate. You need test solutions (liquid) for those.

Dan the man is wrong. 7.6 is not "very alkaline" pH, it's pretty normal. Most tap water has calcium in it and calcium raises the pH. My tap water is between 8.0 and 8.3 and yet all my fish are fine. If you try to modify your pH manually using solutions you are more likely to hurt your fish. Almost any fish can be adapted to any pH level. It is really not a big deal. Go for the plants. Ignore pH for the most part.
 
Back
Top