Week 2...Tank Still Not Cycling?

Vivid Aquariums · Oct 8, 2015

This video we did on cycling should be useful.

Dave

fab · Feb 20, 2016

brandon429 said:
Google this and count number of confirming pages in the thousands

" api ammonia gives constant false .25 reading"

I did what you recommended. I googled this phrase and only got one hit! It was a link back to this thread, post #40, above. What's up with this? Does anyone else get more hits?

Is there an explanation available as to why the API tests produce the misreads?
So, if API isn't the way measure, what is?

brandon429 · Feb 20, 2016

Salifert is my fav and many are doing ok with the Red Sea stuff. There are API kits that will show a true zero they're just mixed in with many that only go as low as .25

brandon429 · Feb 20, 2016

Not sure about your search I ran it and got pages and pages maybe change up the wording a bit

What's amazing is if you plug in the term Salifert the returns drop to few. The saliferts do well for the masses

fab · Feb 21, 2016

Thanks Brandon. So is the problem with the API kits a sensitivity problem such that they do not read low enough values for our purposes, or do you believe it is a resolution problem such that it cannot resolve small differences, kind of like large grainyness versus fine grain?

...and you are good with Salifert kits?

Any idea of what shelflife Salifert kits have?

brandon429 · Feb 21, 2016

I'm not quite sure what's up with API...they're the longest standing testers in our hobby one would think they'd have it fixed by now. All I know is we started long ago finding out they were for sure wrong in most cases, anytime a .25 is recorded. Chiefly it was people with fully cured live rock, no source for free ammonia whatsoever, reporting .25 lasting months and months while all along delicate pods and fanworms were open and doing fine, and fish displayed no breathing issues (the opposite of all this happens with true sustained .25)

I think API is fine for high level assessments if they show 8 ppm then something is out of whack. Each kit has a shelf life not sure what the max is for salifert but I'd recommend them. I don't personally use ammonia testing at all in reef keeping its not required if you can biologically predict where it will and won't arise. Since I start reef tanks using only cured live rock, never dry substrates, I don't need to test for ammonia at any time.

brandon429 · Feb 21, 2016

Fab I saw this link just randomly browsing perfect application here

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2560490

Not knowing when to trust the biology and forget the tester makes for reef headaches

Sure it's possible he has a dead fish, but it's not likely. What's likely is zero ammonia and starving corals.