Salifert Organics Test

[Scrubber_steve]

Is this test kit worthwhile ?
Could it be used as a measure to indicate when activated carbons useful life has passed, for example?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

That may be a good use for it, but I've not seen many people use it.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

That may be a good use for it, but I've not seen many people use it.

Is it possible for a simple test kit such as this to provide a useful level of accuracy of the content of DOC in the aquarium?

 

[rkpetersen]

That's interesting, although hard to find from US sellers. (Suggests that it's not useful.) I thought I knew all the hobbyist test kits out there and I hadn't even heard of this one.

I've looked in a very simple fashion at dissolved organics in my tank water in a couple of ways. Hanna makes a colorimeter that measures the color of water for yellowing, which typically results from CDOM. The last time I checked my reef water I got a reading of 0 pcu, but it's been 6 months so I should probably run it again. The other way is by measuring the water's BOD. A simplified approach to BOD which doesn't take into account all the nuances mentioned in that Wikipedia article is available to hobbyists. Using the Lamotte test kit, measure your tank water's dissolved oxygen level. Then immediately take a second sample, seal it well, wrap it in aluminum foil to exclude all light, and put it aside for 4 days. Then run the DO test on the second sample. The decrease in oxygen level as compared to the first sample is the BOD. My DO is typically 6.2 ppm, with a BOD of 0.1 ppm or less.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

The other way is by measuring the water's BOD.

Very interesting. But i wonder how accurate this method would be for determining DOC level? Wouldn't the population & level of diversity of the biological organisms, as well as there mortality during the testing period, affect the oxygen content significantly?

I have no idea of course.