my aquarium and water changes advice needed please

[lifigirl]

Hi i have had i three foot 100 litre well established tank for three years i have just brought a tank which holds 190 litres this came with an established filter i put my 100 litres of water from my old tank and added new water witht he ususal water chemical added a few more fish and five real plants i have lost two fish that i brought and wondered if i need to do a water change i am going to buy a test kit but would like advice on this too please my old tank had a water change only very rarely and then only partial of course i don't know if changing water after it has only been set up a week is wrong or what i should definitely be doing my old fish all seem fine what is the best test to get should i get a multi test please help any advice would be fantastic

[mtanner]

if the water quality is not good your old fish will be used to it as the change has probably happened slowly over time. the new fish however wont be used to it.

what bumps fish off is the sudden change in things, ie temperature, water quality etc.

when you get your new fish i used to open the top of the bag and float the new fish in their bag in the top of your tank for a couple of hours so the temp in the bag equalises with the temp in the tank slowly. also put a little bit of your fish tank water in the bag, then an hour later a little bit more and so on. although this is still a fairly quick change in the fishes eyes a slower introduction to the new environment might help them cope better.

best advice - before you buy anymore fish get some water quality testing kits and test your water. you should be doing this at least once a month anyway. i know its exciting setting up a new tank and you want to rush out and buy things but taking your time to set it up slowly and properly will pay off in the end.