Disagreement Is Not Unheathy
Hi Dan,
Well we will probably have to disagree. I accept we disagree, that is not unhealthy.

I object your disingenuous restatements of what I said.
I am the last evil plant monster in the world to discourage curiosity! I disagree with the premise of your question and the restatement of my position. Simply because I recommend exploring our world without test kits, to start with, in no way implies I discourage curiosity.
At no time did I tell Qualityguppies or anyone else not to observe.
You ask, (sic)
“Why not help others put the results in perspective so that they don't pannic?”
I have no problem with putting anything in perspective (or context).
My suggestion was to avoid the panic to begin with; the cause of the “panic” was the test result.
You state,
“I have never paid for a hatch or lamotte test kit, but I have calibrated. I find my results are accurate enough to tell me if I'm deficient in a nutrient, or loosely what impact my actions have had.”
Against what standard? Can you look at the plant and learn the same thing?
You state,
“A set of NH4/NO2/NO3 test kit is invaluable to the new hobbyist who wonders if their aquasoil is still leeching and whether their plants are dense enough to prevent a cycle. A PH/KH/GH test kit will show them where their water sits because of their fertilizers, or pH alterations due to common buffers. They're wonderful diagnostic tools that many of us find ourselves using to understand our tanks.”
Paying attention is invaluable. From my understanding, pH is of no value anyway. Water reports from most localities allow us to adjust GH and KH upward if need be, but without any advanced knowledge, most of us can tell if we need to add to our water or use RO/DI water to cut the amounts. With a reasonable sense of smell and observation, the leeching can be determined. In fact, I think using most enriched substrates “leeching” is assumed.
You state,
“If someone says, "my fish are gasping and their gills are red" we tend to ask them what their nitrite level is rather than telling them that it's definitely too high before even seeing the results.”
If they include the Nitrate information and it agrees with what I think, I will tend to go along. I have no problem recommending an immediate major water change, the addition of plants. Though I may be splitting hairs, I would assume an ammonia problem, though the “treatment” is going to be the same.
For the record, if the fish are gasping and their gills are red at the bottom of the tank is probably ammonia poisoning, if the fish are gasping and their gills are red and at the surface, it is probably nitrate poisoning, which is somewhat less lethal than ammonia. The solution in either case is the same.
You state,
“If their soft water plants don't seem to be thriving, we tend to ask them what their KH is before telling them that it's definitely their KH rather than a CO2 issue.”
The truth is the odds are it is CO2; too much KH is the more difficult issue to deal with anyway.
As an Evil plant monster, that has had ‘soft water’ plant issues, it took many beatings, to get what passes for my mind, right and realize I had neither a CO2 nor a KH problem I had a light problem.
I was so focused on all my fancy test results (calibrated, certified traceable to NIST) it made it hard to listen to Tom Barr and others. Had I not paid all that money for the test equipment, I suspect it would been easier to just observe and listen to someone else.
You state,
“It's not that one can't learn without test kits, but rather that it's a mistake to discourage someone from trying to learn how to use the tools that they have already.”
I disagree with the premise. I am able to accept your opinion; I am not willing to accept your restatement of my position.
Qualityguppies as with many is suffering anxiety and confusion with test results whether
accurate or not. If Qualityguppies’ desire is a nice planted tank, then the test kits are not required. After Qualityguppies has gained some experience and wishes to continue the understanding of the dynamics of planted tank, I support the decision to learn more. Observe, journal your experiences, read, take a class or six, from a local Community college or agricultural extension office.
Simply stated I believe for the majority of people who simply want a nice planted tank where the plants provide a pleasing background for healthy critters or those that wish to create works of art or those that this is just an extension of container gardening there is no requirement to concern themselves with test kits and such.
For those of
us that enjoy that kind of thing it is fine.
I am chided here, and elsewhere, because I ask questions as what does it ‘feel like?’ or ‘smell like?’, yet I have had the privilege of working around many professional in various fields. I have noticed a very pronounced tendency for geologists, anthropologists, chemists, physicians, biologist, my own graduate degree in physics, and one distinct tendencies, I have noted, is to sniff, feel and some taste the object of their attention.
Biollante