LFS-Local Fish Stores Testing
- Thread starter Dragon52
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ndrwater
2500 Club Member
Having worked in a store in the past, I know we hated testing water for the sake of testing water..
Best bet is to get a quality test kit (Red Sea/Salifert/Nyos) of your own and not rely on an unenthusiastic store staff
Best bet is to get a quality test kit (Red Sea/Salifert/Nyos) of your own and not rely on an unenthusiastic store staff
ndrwater
2500 Club Member
I trust my own results. That is if you have a solid protocol. Meaning you test the same way every time.
I appreciate wanting a second opinion, but a free test at the LFS is subject to the same human errors we all potentially make.
If you test regularly and get similar results, I stand by my original statement. Easier to test at home with quality tests than trust a half hearted effort form a LFS doing the test for free.
I appreciate wanting a second opinion, but a free test at the LFS is subject to the same human errors we all potentially make.
If you test regularly and get similar results, I stand by my original statement. Easier to test at home with quality tests than trust a half hearted effort form a LFS doing the test for free.
OP
OP
Dragon52
2500 Club Member
I've known the people at my LFS for many yrs but never took any samples before. My Hanna phosphate regents had expired so that is why I took it in. I ran the test at home same as usual before realizing the regent was expired. It showed high so I wanted to dbl check.
Edit: This was really meant to be a general Question.
ndrwater
2500 Club Member
I totally get it. Reagents, especially Hanna are cheap enough to get more and test again.
I was just stating that a half hearted test for the sake of doing a test isn't necessarily the best answer.
Within reason, in an established tank, there should be time to make corrective action. Or... Buy more reagents from the aforementioned LFS..
I was just stating that a half hearted test for the sake of doing a test isn't necessarily the best answer.
Within reason, in an established tank, there should be time to make corrective action. Or... Buy more reagents from the aforementioned LFS..
ndrwater
2500 Club Member
Careful... Gonna date yourself!!
It was the early 80's when I was in the trenches in the stores....
X-37B
Fight The Good Fight
Mine will test whatever you want. I have never used them. I always have backups for testing
Example. Hanna alk salifert and elos backup
If hanna seems off I test with salifert and elos as a 3rd backup.
I know if hanna is 8 salifert is 7.7 so thats my baseline for redundancy.
3 ph meters.
Digital, ir, and a old mercury thermo for temp.
Example. Hanna alk salifert and elos backup
If hanna seems off I test with salifert and elos as a 3rd backup.
I know if hanna is 8 salifert is 7.7 so thats my baseline for redundancy.
3 ph meters.
Digital, ir, and a old mercury thermo for temp.
Reefpro
Well-Known Member
So my .02. I own a store in Washington and while I don’t mind testing people’s water on occasion or if there is an apparent problem (corals dying or new fish they got just died), I do have to say that it gets expensive and I Now charge $1 per test unless they are making a purchase then I wave the cost. The reason being that the same people (lazy and cheap people) would come in every weekend and slam there sample down on my counter ask for a full run down and walk out with their results. I am all for helping out my customers but they need to be able to test on their own, buy their own kits and not expect stores to run 5 -6 tests for free without expecting to pay anything
