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- Determines the ideal total hardness for freshwater aquariums and ponds
- Colour change test: fill plastic cuvette with sample water, add reagent drop by drop until colour changes from red to green. Number of drops = level of GH (total hardness)
- When to use: for setting up a new aquarium: once a week
- Online Laboratory: regular control for a healthy aquarium/pond with conditions close to nature. JBL has water tests in the form of quick tests or colour change tests for every water analysis.
- Package contents: 1 quick test, GH Test. Incl. reagent and plastic vial. Refill reagent available separately
The right water values are dependent on the fish stock and the plants in the aquarium/pond. Even if the water looks clear it can be contaminated. With bad values, diseases or algae can appear in the aquarium/pond. To maintain a healthy aquarium/pond with conditions close to nature it is important to check and adapt the water values regularly.
Why test for GH?
Depending on the origin and consistency of the subsoil, water may contain varying quantities of alkaline earth salts, usually in the form of calcium and magnesium salts. General hardness, by definition, is the sum of calcium and magnesium ions suspended in the water. Most fish and plants thrive well at a general hardness of between roughly 8 and 20°dH. Excessive total hardness values, should, however, be counteracted by the appropriate measures.
JBL Online Laboratory
Regular control for a healthy aquarium/pond with conditions close to nature. Enter your water values into the JBL Online Laboratory and get an in-depth analysis of your values within seconds.
Recommended general hardness values:
- Freshwater aquarium (community aquarium): 8-25 °dGH
- Lake Malawi/Lake Tanganyika aquarium: 5-20 °dGH
- Plant aquarium with few fish (aquascaping): 3-10 °dGH
- Pond: 6-20 °dGH
- Marine aquarium: not measurable with the GH test because of GH too high. Please test calcium and magnesium separately
Delivery
Delivery costs for your order will be calculated during the checkout process based on your delivery address and the contents of your basket. You will only pay one delivery charge for your order. Express delivery is FREE for online orders OVER £39 unless any of the points below become a factor.
- Some large items like aquariums, ponds and pond liners will have an additional charge of £45.00 to help offset the cost of a pallet delivery.
- Orders containing a physical gift card will have an additional charge of £2.45 to cover the cost of materials and delivery (digital gift cards are a free alternative).
- Orders to highlands, islands and Northern Ireland may incur an additional delivery charge displayed at checkout this is based on the postal code provided. DPD provides a list of postal codes which have additional surcharges. Some of these post codes may also take 2 working days to arrive, even on express. Pallet deliveries cannot be sent to these post codes.
We only ship to the UK and cannot ship internationally.
We aim to dispatch items that are currently in stock on the same working day if they are ordered before 2.45 pm (excluding Bank Holidays). Orders after 3pm will be dispatched the following working day, unless it fits any of the below criteria:
- Orders containing live plants will take up to 2 weeks to arrive. We take a week's worth of customer orders and then inform the plant farms of the specific quantities we need to fulfil that week's order to avoid wastage.
- Pallet orders containing large items like big aquariums will take additional time to arrive as they are sent by a third party. These orders will NOT be dispatched until we have been in touch to arrange a delivery date, this is to ensure someone is available at your address to sign for the delivery. Deliveries will generally be delivered ‘curb side’ within the terms of the agreement we have with our couriers so you will need to make arrangements to transfer larger items into your home yourself. Unfortunately, our drivers are not insured to transfer the aquarium into your home.
- Physical gift cards and items from the gift shop (such as clothes, towels etc) are sent with 1st Class Royal Mail. Delivery usually takes 1-2 working days, though in rare cases and orders placed closer to public holidays (Christmas, Father’s day, Mother’s day etc.) may be longer.
Returns
If you are not 100% satisfied with your purchase online from our website, you can return the product and get a full refund or exchange the product for another one, for up to 21 days from the date you purchased it.
We strongly suggest signing up for an account with fishkeeper.co.uk as this will allow for some additional returns options like return to your local store.
If you checkout as a guest you will need to return the product to Maidenhead Aquatics, PO Box 619, Egham, Surrey, TW20 2BS, please package the order (along with a packing slip or a note including your name, address and order number).
Large pallet items like aquariums are deemed delivered successfully with no damage once the the driver has left the property. If a report of damage is submitted after the driver has left we may be unable to assist with replacements. We recommend refusing a damaged delivery, this is the fastest resolution.
Our full terms and conditions can be found here. When you place an order with us online you are agreeing to these terms and conditions.
For delivery before Christmas, orders must be placed on or before 3pm on Wednesday 20th December. We cannot guarantee delivery of these orders pre-Christmas as we are reliant on our couriers, but will use our best endeavours to get orders placed on this date out to you before Christmas. For full details of our festive delivery and opening times click here
Please note: online orders placed after 3pm on Friday 22nd December will not be dispatched until the New Year. For full details of our festive delivery and opening times click here