Red sea nitrate test problem

[Albz]

so i been testing my nitrates with the red sea algae test kit. And i keep gettinf this result.. A colour thats doesnt even match on the card... Iunno whats up with this...

 

[Jimbo]

0 Nitrates? You may want to use some carbon the water looks a little yellow in that pic

 

[Albz]

I am using cabon in my media basket... its not that yellow, the chemicals i put in makes it that colour...

 

[Albz]

noticed how clear is the other water in the other bottle lol

 

[jsker]

Have you watched the video just making sure

 

[Albz]

Have you watched the video just making sure

yes i have lol. and mine is with powder B n C

 

[jsker]

Most likely a bad kit then. It dose happen

 

[DLHDesign]

I got that - or something like it - the first time I used the kit as well. The next (and every subsequent) time, I made sure to follow the timings as close as possible. Eg; I shake the "B" powder for a full 60 seconds, with the cap on (not gently swirling it around). I then add the "C" powder and gave it a good shake for 15 seconds. I then wait the 9 minutes before tapping out the bubbles and measuring the test under white (not yellow) light.

Might want to try that before considering the whole kit bad - though @jsker is certainly right; it does happen and all of the above (which you may have already done) may make no difference. FWIW, when my test came out yellow-ish, I retested and found that my value was 0. As soon as I got anywhere above 0 (I now target 3ppm), the color change was instant and obvious.

 

[jsker]

I got that - or something like it - the first time I used the kit as well. The next (and every subsequent) time, I made sure to follow the timings as close as possible. Eg; I shake the "B" powder for a full 60 seconds, with the cap on (not gently swirling it around). I then add the "C" powder and gave it a good shake for 15 seconds. I then wait the 9 minutes before tapping out the bubbles and measuring the test under white (not yellow) light.

Might want to try that before considering the whole kit bad - though @jsker is certainly right; it does happen and all of the above (which you may have already done) may make no difference. FWIW, when my test came out yellow-ish, I retested and found that my value was 0. As soon as I got anywhere above 0 (I now target 3ppm), the color change was instant and obvious.

Thank you for the follow up, I always seem to mess up the Mg test.

 

[DLHDesign]

Thank you for the follow up, I always seem to mess up the Mg test.

I hate that one. What I do now is add the first drop, then start a 60s timer and start a gentle swirl (no cap). Every 15s, I add a drop (so 45, 30, 15 and 0). When I get to 0 on the timer and put in the final drop, I know that I've added 5 drops and that they have been ~15s apart.

Note that my testing usually happens beer-in-hand, so these kinds of "foolproof" procedures are critical. ;-)

 

[jsker]

LOL yes I agree beer is esensual to testing. I am thing of getting magnetic stirrer no hands just drops.

 

[DLHDesign]

I've got a DIY stir-plate for brewing. It works well enough for brewing (where I'm able to always use 1L of water), but I've found that the water volume plays a large part in how well it stirs. With the variable volumes involved in the testing we're doing, I'm not totally sure how well it would work. Likely fine if the stir-plate is made well (eg; good base magnets). But still... :-|

 

[Albz]

I got that - or something like it - the first time I used the kit as well. The next (and every subsequent) time, I made sure to follow the timings as close as possible. Eg; I shake the "B" powder for a full 60 seconds, with the cap on (not gently swirling it around). I then add the "C" powder and gave it a good shake for 15 seconds. I then wait the 9 minutes before tapping out the bubbles and measuring the test under white (not yellow) light.

Might want to try that before considering the whole kit bad - though @jsker is certainly right; it does happen and all of the above (which you may have already done) may make no difference. FWIW, when my test came out yellow-ish, I retested and found that my value was 0. As soon as I got anywhere above 0 (I now target 3ppm), the color change was instant and obvious.

Kk im going to try this today and see if anything changed

 

[jerseypete]

I hate that one. What I do now is add the first drop, then start a 60s timer and start a gentle swirl (no cap). Every 15s, I add a drop (so 45, 30, 15 and 0). When I get to 0 on the timer and put in the final drop, I know that I've added 5 drops and that they have been ~15s apart.

Note that my testing usually happens beer-in-hand, so these kinds of "foolproof" procedures are critical. ;-)

I always forget what drop I'm on. Now I keep pen and paper and make a mark every drop.