HELP with first Red Sea Pro test kit results!!

[Weehawken64]

Hi everyone. I just got a Red Sea Pro foundation kit. Tests ca, mg and kh. I have a 29g cube. Has been running for almost 6 month. Have some zoa's, polyps and shrooms and 3 fish. Everything seems to be doing well except my GSP which hasn't fully opened up in 3 wks. It was doing great. My nitrates have been running high at about 40ppm. Anyway I was finally able to afford the Red Sea kit and did my first test today. I got this one because most people recommend this brand. I must say I found it a little hard to determine when I reached the color I needed to reach. I'm sure with more practice it will get easier i hope. So my results were as follows.
Ca=500
Mg=1600
Kh=11.8

Now this is assuming I did the test accurately which I repeated each one twice. Please tell me about these readings and how to correct them if needed. Am I in any danger with these numbers? I know ca seems high.

I use Tropic Marin reef pro. My SG is always .25. I do regular main thence and water changes. I would really appreciate any help as I am new to all this and really wana get it right!

 

[RichieT]

Everything is a little high. Have you been dosing cal or alk? If not then I would assume you are reading the kits a little off (putting too much reactant in to get a color change), which is easy to do. If you have been dosing stop for a few days and all three parameters should drop in unison.

 

[180galreef]

Your alk is on the high side. I keep mine at 8.5 when I did run mine high around 12 my tank crashed very easily. Your nitrates need to be lower, either feed less or do more/larger water changes.

Do you dose anything?

 

[Weehawken64]

Thanks guys. No I have never dosed anything. I have been doing wc every 2 wks. But I'm mostly concerned with the interpretation of these numbers from my first ca, mg, alk testing numbers.

 

[Weehawken64]

What could be causing it what should I be doing?

 

[redfishbluefish]

You are not trying to match the color on the little card that comes with the kit. This is a common misapplication with this kit (and other titration kits.) The way color titrations work is when the color first changes from one color to the next, and one more drop produces no more color change. I’m sure this will bring your numbers down.

 

[Weehawken64]

Thank you. Would like more responses on what the numbers mean and what to do if they are high/low.

 

[Weehawken64]

Anyone else can help me?

 

[NanaReefer]

I've been using the same kit for almost 2yrs now. Are you reading how much titration used or is left? And are you gaging it from the end of the plunger?

 

[Weehawken64]

Yes I gauge from bottom end of plunger and I read whats left. I was watching the videos Red Sea has on YouTube and doing test the same way.

 

[NanaReefer]

You do not measure the amount that is left in the syringe. Where ever the end of your syringe is at THAT is the number you use. Therefore it's how much titration used NOT how much is left.
That is why your getting high results

 

[redfishbluefish]

You do not measure the amount that is left in the syringe. Where ever the end of your syringe is at THAT is the number you use. Therefore it's how much titration used NOT how much is left.
That is why your getting high results

You are absolutely correct when you stated, "it's how much titration used, NOT how much is left." However, to get that number it is NOT "where ever the end of the syringe is." Since a full syringe starts at 1.0 mls, you must subtract the number you read on the syringe by 1. That is, 1 minus the number on the syringe. So, after doing your titration, the syringe reads 0.42, you do the simple math of 1.0 - 0.42 to get the volume used of 0.58 mils. That is the number you look up on the back of the card.

 

[Weehawken64]

This is confusing lol

 

[NanaReefer]

You are absolutely correct when you stated, "it's how much titration used, NOT how much is left." However, to get that number it is NOT "where ever the end of the syringe is." Since a full syringe starts at 1.0 mls, you must subtract the number you read on the syringe by 1. That is, 1 minus the number on the syringe. So, after doing your titration, the syringe reads 0.42, you do the simple math of 1.0 - 0.42 to get the volume used of 0.58 mils. That is the number you look up on the back of the card.

No. The syringe never fills completely to 1.0 only the plunger is brought to 1.0 The titration amount is usually around .08 or .09 No subtracting is actually needed, period. Pay no attention to how much titration is left in the syringe. Pay attention to the number the plunger ends on when the test water turns pink. Just like RedSea's video

 

[redfishbluefish]

I shall be perfectly clear by using pictures and words from the Red Sea Instructions.


1. Fill the syringe with titrant so that the bottom of the plunger is even to the 1.0 ml mark.

2. Don’t worry about the air below the plunger…â€this small volume of air corresponds to the liquid held inside the plastic tip.â€

3. Add titrant until you get a color change.

Here is a picture to show INITIAL and FINAL syringe:

4. Again, you will read the bottom ring of the plunger; and in this example it is 0.35.

5. You do NOT look up 0.35, but need to determine the AMOUNT OF TITRANT USED. The math sentence to determine this is

(1.0 mls - Final Syringe Position = Titrant Used)


Again, with our example, 1 – 0.35 = 0.65

It is this 0.65 of titrant that you USED to get a color change, and it is this number you look up in the table on the back of the card.

 

[Weehawken64]

Ok so someone is right and someone is not. Lets figure this out so we can get accurate readings. For such a popular testing brand it seems a bit confusing and leaves lots a room for error. Hopefully others can chime in.

 

[redfishbluefish]

The Red Sea videos were mentioned and I went and looked at all three. Here they are if you are interested:

Calcium

Alkalinity

Magnesium


With all three tests, the number used to determine quantity of titrant used was by doing (1 – syringe reading.) Granted he did this by inspection, but that is the math sentence to determine quantity used.

Hope this clarifies this for you.

 

[Weehawken64]

I had already seen the videos and I was performing the test while watching the video at same time.

 

[glb]

The amount you actually use is the number you use for the chart. That number will be 1.0 minus the position of the plunger when the color changed. So if the plunger is at .35, the amount used is .65 and you find that number on the chart for your reading. I agree it is a little confusing but the Red Sea tests are really good.

 

[kes]

the test kits look great but the readings can be little tricky, not well explained.