New Test Kit

[Angry_Platy]

I posted last week about the unreliability of my Hagen test kit for nitrate. Well I did a series of concentrations based on my stock solution of KNO3 and the results surprised me. 20ppm actual looked like 5ppm on the colour chart, 50ppm looked like 10ppm etc. SOOOO I got my new test kit made by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals (also cheaper)....

Did the known concentration thing again....AND.....they match the colour chart!!! YAY!!!!

So I tested my water....nitrates WAAYYY too high.....like 40ppm

And I just did a 50% water change as a result, now I am back to 20ppm with phosphate at 1.5ppm

Patience is the order of the say it seems. I also double checked my pH and KH with new test kits and they match what the Hagen kit tells me.

 

[kenneth_kpe]

i always have a hard time comparing the colors in the chart especially with PH a little difference like .5 can jump the c02 to good levels or bad

 

[Angry_Platy]

Well I rarely test CO2 but when I do the results match what I get from correlating measured pH to measured KH.

The new nitrate test kit is great!!! It has shades ranging from pale yellow to red with clear differences between....MAN that sounds like an advertisement!!!

 

[kenneth_kpe]

haha its sad because the only water tester kits i can find here are by sera and tetra only...

 

[George Farmer]

Just shows the inaccuracy of most hobby-level kits. I prefer to rely on actual dosing calculations once I have figured my uptake rates.

After all, if your plants are growing well, you have no algae and your fish are healthy then the test kit readings are almost irrelevant, within reason.