Can we trust test kits? I don't even know anymore.

[Greatdane]

I’ve found that API is highly inaccurate I tested ammonia and it said .3 and it’s been saying that every time I test it and then I tested the RODI water and it said .3 so I threw it away and got another and it said 0

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

This is the main reason I was really hoping a MindStream would have been in my future. I hate water testing!

Yep. I feel ya.

 

[Cory]

1.1350 grams of baking soda in 1gallon of distilled water=10dkh. Check your alkalinity test kit! May or may not work with Hanna. Works.with acid base tests for sure.

Check your kit. If you dont got a good scale a pharmacist will do it free at the store.

 

[Earl Karl]

1.1350 grams of baking soda in 1gallon of distilled water=10dkh. Check your alkalinity test kit! May or may not work with Hanna. Works.with acid base tests for sure.

Check your kit. If you dont got a good scale a pharmacist will do it free at the store.

I just learned from a wholesaler that the tester I use have been having terrible trouble with their Alk. tests, so they have stopped using theirs and now use Salifert. I have stopped using it as well for Alk. Talk about a waste of $300.

@eXact iDip® I contacted them yet still no response, I guess I'm one of those suckers born every second. Bummer that few of my nicest acros just got scorched because of this tester lied to me.

Do I need to bake the baking soda to get rid of moisture? Or do I just dump it in? Would it be better to just buy soda ash?

 

[Cory]

I just learned from a wholesaler that the tester I use have been having terrible trouble with their Alk. tests, so they have stopped using it and now use Salifert. I have stopped using it as well for Alk. Talk about a waste of $300.

@eXact iDip® I contacted them yet still no response, I guess I'm one of those suckers born every second. Bummer that few of my nicest acros just got scroched because of this tester lied to me.

Do I need to bake the baking soda to get rid of moisture? Or do I just dump it in? Would it be better to just buy soda ash?

No dont bake it. Strait sodium bicarbonate. Not sodium carbonate. Just baking soda.

 

[Earl Karl]

Ok, so would just BRS Sodium Bicarbonate Work? I do have some now. Otherwise I do have Hammer and Arm.

 

[Cory]

Ok, so would just BRS Sodium Bicarbonate Work? I do have some now. Otherwise I do have Hammer and Arm.

Yes i do believe thats fine. As long as its sodium bicarbonate.

Fwiw i discovered about 10 years ago saliferts kit was off 4dkh irrc. Made a big deal about it. The thread got to 15 pages long. Later they started including little vials in their kits for a year to verify. But can you trust their mix? I wouldn't so i make my own.

 

[Earl Karl]

Yes i do believe thats fine. As long as its sodium bicarbonate.

Fwiw i discovered about 10 years ago saliferts kit was off 4dkh irrc. Made a big deal about it. The thread got to 15 pages long. Later they started including little vials in their kits for a year to verify. But can you trust their mix? I wouldn't so i make my own.

A wholesaler told me that Salifert is usually one dkH higher than actual nowadays, but we will see about that when I make my reference solution.

What sodium bicarbonate do you use? I heard that brands being at different hydrates could affect how much to use.

 

[seaplane]

I haven't tested anything, other than salinity on water for change, since last March. Just do 20 percent change weekly. Tank has never looked better.

 

[Cory]

A wholesaler told me that Salifert is usually one dkH higher than actual nowadays, but we will see about that when I make my reference solution.

What sodium bicarbonate do you use? I heard that brands being at different hydrates could affect how much to use.

I just use arm and hammer baking soda. Or no name. As long as it says sodium bicarbonate your good to go.

 

[Earl Karl]

I haven't tested anything, other than salinity on water for change, since last March. Just do 20 percent change weekly. Tank has never looked better.

I never do water changes though lol. Haven't done one in 6 years. That's why I'm so reliant on testing, but my reef has been looking great until now. I used to get 2-3" per month from my acros, now I'm getting like -3-0" per second .

 

[Earl Karl]

I just use arm and hammer baking soda. Or no name. As long as it says sodium bicarbonate your good to go.

Ok, I'll used that then.

 

[robbyg]

I haven't tested anything, other than salinity on water for change, since last March. Just do 20 percent change weekly. Tank has never looked better.

Be careful. That kind of mindset has always been a precursor to my Tank suddenly crashing. Then I test the water thoroughly and it's like holy crap one or two parameters are super low or super high.

Doing a 20% water change is not a guarantee that your safe. One element could easily be used up by a higher percentage between changes and another is not used at all. One element might still be creeping downward while another is creeping upward after each water change. Then one week you hit the magic point and things suddenly go sideways.

 

[seaplane]

One of the reasons I quit testing was because I was driving myself crazy when different test kits would show widely different results. Then I had a health crisis and started neglecting the tank all together except for changes. right now I feel if it ain't broke don't fix it. PS I don't run any GFO or other chemicals and I don't have SPS other than a birds nest. I do add Vibrant every 2 weeks, and kalkwassser to ATO when I remember.

 

[robbyg]

One of the reasons I quit testing was because I was driving myself crazy when different test kits would show widely different results. Then I had a health crisis and started neglecting the tank all together except for changes. right now I feel if it ain't broke don't fix it. PS I don't run any GFO or other chemicals and I don't have SPS other than a birds nest. I do add Vibrant every 2 weeks, and kalkwassser to ATO when I remember.

Reading your post I wish someone had said this to me 10 years ago just before I lost almost half my fish and SPS corals. Check your water! Just do it! If you don't trust your test kits then mix a gallon of SW and let it aerate for a day and test that for a reference and then run some tests with your test kits.

 

[seaplane]

Reading your post I wish someone had said this to me 10 years ago just before I lost almost half my fish and SPS corals. Check your water! Just do it! If you don't trust your test kits then mix a gallon of SW and let it aerate for a day and test that for a reference and then run some tests with your test kits.

OK. SO, I broke down and tested today. SpG 1.026, Caa 410, Alk 9.8, Mg 1230,
Nitrate 15, PO4 0.03. Couldn't be happier.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

OK. SO, I broke down and tested today. SpG 1.026, Caa 410, Alk 9.8, Mg 1230,
Nitrate 15, PO4 0.03. Couldn't be happier.

Sorry to hear about health issues, I to had health issues last year 03/2018. 2 weeks in hospital, all my life never been in a hospital for health issues. Scary thing is doctors never figure out issue(s). I think it was maybe legionairs disease, something like it. ....

 

[seaplane]

Sorry to hear about health issues, I to had health issues last year 03/2018. 2 weeks in hospital, all my life never been in a hospital for health issues. Scary thing is doctors never figure out issue(s). I think it was maybe legionairs disease, something like it. ....

Thank you. I hope you are back to full health. I was a nurse, so I know how scary doctors and hospitals can be. Seems the whole system is so overburdened these days leaving room for mistakes. Stay well.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Thank you. I hope you are back to full health. I was a nurse, so I know how scary doctors and hospitals can be. Seems the whole system is so overburdened these days leaving room for mistakes. Stay well.

Strong like bull, but one night in those two weeks, it felt like I was going, couldn't breath, scary feeling.

 

[robbyg]

OK. SO, I broke down and tested today. SpG 1.026, Caa 410, Alk 9.8, Mg 1230,
Nitrate 15, PO4 0.03. Couldn't be happier.

Thats great news. Just don't take those numbers as vindication that it never needs to be checked. Try to carve out one day in the month as water testing day