How do you test water?

How often do you test your water?

• I feel like I'm completely obsessed with testing my water every day. My tank finished cycling 2 weeks ago, but I'm paranoid that one day the ammonia will spike out of the blue and kill my fishes!!! :( It's a 55 gallon planted tank stocked with 4 juvenile angels, a school of 5 neon tetras, and a dwarf gourami... I know it's really understocked, but still... How often do you test your water?? And how often do you do water changes? I like doing smaller ones more frequently, but I heard this isn't as effective as larger water changes less frequently; is this true?

• Answer:

  I don't test my water that often. Maybe once a once month or every few months. You have no reason to test the water on a daily basis if everything is stable and you've already cycled the tank. I wouldn't add anything else to your tank...you'll actually be stocked once the angelfish mature. I change some water in all of my tanks once a week. Usually 35% or so. Large water changes can shock the fish so I don't recommend those unless you have something funky going on. Do a water change once or twice a week and you'll be fine. :]