Is my seachem ammonia alert broken?

Jmas4 · Apr 15, 2016

I got my ammonia alert 2 months ago and was used in saltwater and freshwater and got dried out once. Now I am using it again after used in fresh water right to my qt. It says safe but I am uncertain if it is accurate so I used api ammonia checker and it says 0.5 . What should I belive in

Jmas4 · Apr 15, 2016

Anyone?

Jmas4 · Apr 15, 2016

I need to get a answer fast please help

hung52 · Apr 15, 2016

Api suck. Believe in the seachem

Cment · Apr 15, 2016

Get a new alert badge man...a few dollars and it can save you a huge headache. It's my understanding that they should not be allowed to dry out. API are notoriously inaccurate so I wouldn't rely on that test too much

Jmas4 · Apr 15, 2016

Ok I will get a new test

alyee5 · Apr 16, 2016

Agreed to get a new badge. The first time I used the Seachem in my QT it matched the API readings very closely. I cleaned and dried for 2 weeks for a 2nd use in my QT, but the color never changed even tho API was reading up to 0.5. I've ordered another few to keep on hand for the next round of QT'ing.

Jmas4 · Apr 16, 2016

alyee5 said:
Agreed to get a new badge. The first time I used the Seachem in my QT it matched the API readings very closely. I cleaned and dried for 2 weeks for a 2nd use in my QT, but the color never changed even tho API was reading up to 0.5. I've ordered another few to keep on hand for the next round of QT'ing.

Was the api correct? Or was it wrong

Shep · Apr 16, 2016

To be honest just buy a test kit, those badges are iffy at best

alyee5 · Apr 16, 2016

The API was correct, the API showed ammonia increasing over 3 days in my QT (It wasn't cycled) and back to near zero after a water change while the Seachem badge didn't change color at all. The first time I used the Seachem the color did change but not the second time after reuse.

cmcoker · Apr 16, 2016

Got any ammonia? Like a window cleaner with ammonia in it, maybe?
If so, hold the badge over the open bottle, if it's working it will change color from the ammonia fumes.

Second Shot · Apr 16, 2016

They won't work after they dry out and I believe they only last like a year once you start using it. +1 on holding over a bottle of windex. That will sometimes reset a "stuck" badge, but yours dried out so grab a new one.

cmcoker · Apr 16, 2016

According to Seachem: "Sensitivity improves with age, provided the unit is not allowed to dry out, however, drying does not permanently impair the unit."

They say If it dries out it it may take a couple days to start reading correctly.

I setup quarantine ahead of buying fish and let my sensors dry out between. I haven't had a problem with them working correctly. I use a seachem ammonia test kit to double check my badges, there's a reference solution in the kit as well to compare results to.

Second Shot · Apr 16, 2016

I stand corrected on it drying out but I would replace yearly. They say "Ammonia Alert[emoji768] lasts over 9 times as long as competing products (over a year compared to 4-6 weeks)." So 54 weeks is just barely over a year.

Lionfish Lair · Apr 16, 2016

Don't trust in those badges. I stuck them on some culture tanks and what not, just to eyeball if something went horribly wrong. It just wasn't feasible at the time for me to test all the tanks individually (20+). Whenever one showed ammonia, I would test the water and it would always be higher than indicated, which was fine for what I was doing. That means ammonia was present before it indicated. I used quite a few over a period of several years.

Badges, we don't need no stinking badges!