Reddit mentions of API PH TEST KIT 250-Test Freshwater Aquarium Water pH Test Kit

I'm sorry you're getting a terrible reaction here. It seems like you had good intentions and tried to deal with the situation you were handed the best you could.

That said, there are steps you can take to improve the life of your next fish, and seeking answers in a betta forum is a good thing to do. It shows that you want to do the right thing and want to learn.

Yes, a bowl as big as you can handle is a good thing. If you can get at least a 2.5 gallon, that would help a lot. It doesn't sound like the friend who gave you the fish was very responsible at all, especially if they made fun of you for (doing the right thing) and getting a bigger bowl than they had.

For conditioning water, try Seachem Prime. It's the water conditioner I've used and been happy with for almost two years for my 10 gallon. It likely addresses more issues than just the betta conditioner, including a slime coat, ammonia, chlorine/chloramine, and nitrates/nitrites. It's also great because I only have to use 5-6 drops per gallon, so it ends up really cheap in the long run.

Did your betta have a heater? Bettas need heaters because they are tropical fish. Most tiny bowls and flower vases don't have a heater, and that's part of why they're so bad. Think of how lizards and snakes like to bask under heat lamps and on warm, sunny rocks. If your betta was slowing down and not moving, that's a sign of being too cold.

A filter should keep the water clear, and I suggest not doing 100% water changes. Little, frequent changes are much easier for a betta to handle, especially if the tank is not cycled (by cycled, I mean a tank that has established colonies of bacteria to break down waste). Small tanks usually can't maintain a cycle, so those small, frequent water changes are important.

How did you clean the decorations? I don't recommend cleaning those because there and in the gravel are where your good bacteria live that help break down waste. A small tank might not be able to maintain a full cycle, but you don't want to keep rinsing away whatever bacteria you do get.

Water testing kits like this and this would be a good way to monitor your tank. They help you know when your water is good for your betta, and having test results help with diagnosing a problem, especially if you ask in a sub like this one.

Do you have any live plants in your tank? A moss ball is really, really easy to care for and works well in a betta tank. It just sits there on the gravel, improving water quality, making your fish happy, and looking neat.

Good luck with your next betta! Learning over time what works and doesn't work is a part of being a betta keeper.

You need to test it

kh gh

ph

Put tap water in the test tubes read the directions to see how many drops to add, add and shake and wait a few minutes and read.

pH is super important. Basically, if it gets too high plants can't uptake crucial nutrients even though they're present in the water. Most plants that you can grow aquaponically struggle to thrive at around 7.4 and higher. Some, like strawberries, won't grow much above 7.0. Goldfish and algae are much more forgiving about pH - they have no problem up to 8.0+.

The nitrification cycle will naturally lower the pH over time, but if the grow media you're using contains limestone, it will dissolve and raise the pH faster than nitrification can bring it down. Additionally, your city water may have a high pH that you need to balance when topping up water. I use hydrochloric acid from the local hardware store to pH balance my top up water. It's about $8 for 32 oz, and it goes a very long way.

Most people use the API test kits for pH (consensus seems to be that the strips aren't very accurate). There's a low range kit and a high range kit, you'll probably need both. You can also just go for the full test kit. Most fish stores will have these kits as well.

Yep, had exactly the same thing happen to me.

So I did 2 things:

(1) rather than buying an entire new kit, I just found the cheapest one available on Amazon (I think it was the pH one: https://www.amazon.com/API-250-Test-Freshwater-Aquarium-Water/dp/B000255NAK/)

(2) designed and 3D Printed a test kit stand. More details on that at: https://www.reddit.com/r/Aquariums/comments/6o6fh3/hated_api_master_test_kit_holder_so_i_designed_my/

It looks like there are strips out there that can differentiate the 5.0-7.0 range decently well. They might even be more reliable than pH test meters, which will stray off their calibrated point over time (unless you rinse them in distilled water every time).

pH test drops are also reliable, but the ones I've had only go down to 6.0
https://www.amazon.com/API-ADJUSTER-250-Test-Freshwater-Aquarium/dp/B000255NAK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540250100&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=ph%2Btest%2Bapi&th=1

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Oh sorry! I should have mentioned. The tank isn't new. I used the tank for several years for some turtles and the glass is a bit cloudy from water stains + my bad phone camera. I have a PH kit here : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000255NAK/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and as for conditioner I am using https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000255MZG/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have yet to change the water, however I did let the tap water sit in the tank for a few days before adding live plants. After a few days for all of the bubbles in the tank to disappear I bought him and added him to the tank.

EDIT: Tried to get a better picture of the tank with the lighting on. http://i.imgur.com/BJrtppE.jpg

thanks for the link. I guess its something like this. http://www.amazon.co.uk/API-Liquid-pH-Test-Kit/dp/B000255NAK/ref=sr_1_53?ie=UTF8&qid=1346768044&sr=8-53
It's around half the price of the digital tool, so it's not really that cheap, and to be honest it seems like more work and less accuracy. I'll probably end up buying the digital one. thanks for your help :)

I don't really have a horse in the race since I haven't purchased from them, but the way they have handled the issue leaves me less willing to consider a purchase than before. Now onto testing info:

Titration procedure and a titration plot for anyone who is interested. All you really need outside of normal DIY supplies is BTB and HCl:

Bromothymol blue, $18.30/100ml

Or go the "cheaper" route and get a pH test kit, $3.39/~10ml

Hydrochloric/muriatic acid, $24.10/5L of 0.1M after dilution - you'd be diluting by 10x though, if you wanted 0.1M out of the box you'll be spending quite a bit more ($21/500ml)

It's for human saliva and urine, it shouldn't be too accurate for aquarium water.

This should be not much more expensive and a lot more accurate. BTW, you shouldn't need to test pH frequently, the same as with GH and KH.

This one is similar to what the OP has. You need pH solution and 4DKH to put inside the bulb. If you don't mind waiting you can get this one shipped from Hong Kong for $2. This is the more typical drop checker style you see on the subreddit. You can find the ball shaped ones shipped from Asia for very little as well. Many drop checkers come with directions suggesting you mix tank water with pH solution. Do NOT do this if you want it to be accurate.

It's one of these liquid ones. Maybe I just read the colors wrong.