I don't have a DH/KH test kit yet.
Most pet stores will test your water for free if you ask them in advance and then, upon receiving their approval, bring in a sample of your water.
Would I use just straight Kitty Litter or would I do the Litter and then cap it in sand? Or mix the two together?
I have never capped my kitty litter with anything else. I never saw the need; I was fine with its coloration and the kitty litter sinks on its own. Capping would be purely aesthetic, to change the color. Crayola makes many colors of sand that are aquarium safe, for example
http://www.walmart.c...d-Blue/16913832 if you want some crazy neon and pastel colors or something.
My steps for installing kitty litter in an aquarium are as follows:
1. Do not bother to rinse the kitty litter. Just pour it in. Make sure it's pure clay, no little chemical lumps.
2. Put a bowl down and pour the water into the tank by pouring it on the bowl, not directly onto the substrate. Go slowly and avoid stirring up dust.
3. After there's about an inch or less of water, push down the kitty litter. Compress it. Wait an hour or so for it to settle, then continue filling.
4. Put a sponge in the filter. (For example the chemical free synthetic sea sponge sold at Walmart for $2 although any sponge would work. My friend Tammy used an old destroyed memory foam pillow and said it worked really well. The important thing is that the sponge should have very, very small pores.) Wring out the sponge every few hours. It should wring out very very dark water. This sponge will remove the dust from the water.
5. The next day the tank should be much clearer. Tank should be completely clear again by a day or two. You can immediately clear the tank by emptying and filling a few times with a sink-faucet-hose connection, $5 online for a sink-to-garden-hose connection. If you're sick of dusty water, use one of those and it'll be clear again within a few empties and refills. If you like to conserve water, then just wring out the sponge every few hours and the water will be clear in a day or two.
Edited by EricaWieser, 20 August 2012 - 06:17 PM.