Gah! My Test Kit Hates Me

[Corleone]

This has happened quite a few times now, I even posted about it a while ago. I do my water tests, and ammonia turns disturbingly green. I start draining for a water change, draw a new sample and test again, comparing to tap water to be sure and... No green. Perfect yellow.

Nitrite test has never given me this trouble, and even the nitrate test has been reliable since I learned not to skip the nitpicky steps like shaking the bottle for a minute. But jeeze, this ammonia test is really trying to give me a heart attack. It happens so many times I'm paranoid to the point that I stare at the tube for a good twenty minutes when it doesn't turn green trying to convince myself it really is yellow this time.

There's gotta be a better way, but the only test kits available here are the API master kits and Jungle labs strips.

I've marked the bottoms of my tubes, so I always do the ammonia test in the same one. In my last thread, somebody said doing it in the same tube you'd tested pH with can throw the results off, so I've made sure that doesn't happen anymore. I get my sample from the tank with a measuring cup, then eyedropper it into the tubes to avoid any chance that the chemicals could come into contact with the tank, and I've been religious about making sure I don't get any stray bits of fish poop or uneaten food in the tube.

 

[aaronnorth]

How long have you had it? Is it past the sell by date? Are your fish showing any signs of NH3 poisoning like red gills etc? I think it might just be a faulty kit if the answer is no to all these, and it is strange how your NO2 is still 0! Get another one, if you can, try to order the hagen mini master test kit, it is a good kit.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

no manufacturing process is perfect, there will always be odd items that are faulty that slip through quality control un noticed.

sling it and get a new one.

 

[Corleone]

I'm already on my third set, and all three have done this at least once so far. No symptoms have shown up ever, but that only rules out the more ridiculous random readings I get, not the really annoying shades of isitgreen.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

I'm already on my third set, and all three have done this at least once so far. No symptoms have shown up ever, but that only rules out the more ridiculous random readings I get, not the really annoying shades of isitgreen.

how random! i've never once had a duff ammonia reading.... well i say that i've never had an ammonia reading that wasn't what i was expecting based on other circumstances, obv with no other test kit i can't confirm if readings are right or not.