molliwopp
Aquarium Advice Addict
Lol. 25 x 1gal.
Ahhhhhhh. Yeah, i'm with you now ha.
API nitrate test
- Thread starter matty2085
- Start date
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Ahhhhhhh. Yeah, i'm with you now ha.
Miyavp
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Yeah I have high nitrates 40ppms, well water in an agricultural area. And no its 25, one gallon jugs. And yes its everytime. Once a week usually on weekends. Then I pump the water out my window and refill the tank by hand one pitcher at a time. Its really something.
Cactuspixie
Aquarium Advice Addict
Miyavp
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Lol yeah all my friends say I'm crazy. And now since my fish are sick more water changes, methylene blue baths every night, homemade medicated fish foods and I have to handfeed one fish every night since he cant feed himself. Its pretty insane.
But a good alternitive to my crazy water change routine is a sink ro/di filter. They made ones that attach to your sink and they remove nitrates. I just dont have the money.
more water changes, methylene blue baths every night, homemade medicated fish foods and I have to handfeed one fish every night since he cant feed himself. Its pretty insane.But a good alternitive to my crazy water change routine is a sink ro/di filter. They made ones that attach to your sink and they remove nitrates. I just dont have the money.
Ian086
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hi Matty, I am have the EXACT same issue as you, right down to the figures you mentioned. I also find it impossible to distinguish between the 40ppm and 80ppm colour. I had eye surgery a few years back and my colour vision in one eye was affected, so I put it down to that. Did you by any chance buy your test kit from Amazon.uk in the last year???. I'm thinking or hoping it's a bad batch and not my water. I tested bottled water, which said 11ppm on the label, my tap water and my tank water(just before my PWC). They all came out at between 40ppm and 80ppm. If you did buy from Amazon, we could compare lot numbers and see if they are the same or similar. I followed the instruction to the letter. I did notice something in the instructions though, maybe someone could clarify or explain it. It is in the Testing Tips paragraph, in the Nitrate Test section of the Instructions. I will quote it;
"The Freshwater Nitrate Test Color Chart is the appropriate chart to use for testing freshwater aquariums to which salt has been added"
Please update this thread and let us know how you get on with Water Wisteria. It was recommended to me to use this plant(i'm currently unplanted) to help with the Nitrates....
Miyavp
Aquarium Advice FINatic
If you could post your lot number I could compare mine as well. I bought mine off amazon this year so its possible. But I belive mine is correct due to my fish getting ill.
Old Scales
Aquarium Advice Addict
MAtty,
what kind of filter do you have and what do you have in it? OS.
what kind of filter do you have and what do you have in it? OS.
Old Scales
Aquarium Advice Addict
Matty, One way you might deal with your bad water AND make life easier for you is to get either Purigen or Fluval Clearmax filter packs. They are polymeric absorbtion resins that absorb nitrites and nitrates. In a normal tank they will last about 4 to 6 weeks. The Purigan media can be recharged and reused. The Fluval can't but it is all I can get here locally. An added benefit is that it really helps make your water clear. These would allow you to use your own water and make life simpler. The fluval is about 8-9 dollars for a three pack. You should still get some nitrite/nitrates through to feed your BB and plants.
Think about and research this option. Caudially, OS.
Think about and research this option. Caudially, OS.
Ian086
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'm guessing your using Amazon.com, I use Amazon.UK. Here is it,
Nitrate Bottle 1; LOT 17A1211 EXP 12/2016
Nitrate Bottle 2; LOT 18E0212 EXP 02/2017....
Miyavp
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Mine are
Lot1800312 Exp 03/2017
Lot17A0212 Exp 02/2017
Lot1800312 Exp 03/2017
Lot17A0212 Exp 02/2017
aqua_chem
Aquarium Advice Addict
You guys are getting dangerously close to doing actual chemistry....
I love it.
You guys are asking good questions. You're absolutely right that the results could potentially be different between batches and brands. That's why an analytical chemist would never do the tests like we're doing. You would make a calibration curve first so you know the colors for your actual test kit (ie, make your own solutions of a known concentration of nitrares), and then go from there. You can do that fairly simply using these directions from Plantedtank.net, but it requires that you happen to have potassium nitrate lying around. Good for planted tank people, bad for everyone else.
It's also possible that, depending on the age, the components are breaking down, which may give a higher or lower result depending on how the test works.
Remember that beyond about 20 ppm or so, these tests have really bad resolution, so you can't really hope to be as accurate as, say, a nitrate electrode, which would be a more definitive way to handle this. The liquid test kits are more accurate than the strips, but in the grand scheme of chemistry, they're still pretty darn rough measurements.
I love it.
You guys are asking good questions. You're absolutely right that the results could potentially be different between batches and brands. That's why an analytical chemist would never do the tests like we're doing. You would make a calibration curve first so you know the colors for your actual test kit (ie, make your own solutions of a known concentration of nitrares), and then go from there. You can do that fairly simply using these directions from Plantedtank.net, but it requires that you happen to have potassium nitrate lying around. Good for planted tank people, bad for everyone else.
It's also possible that, depending on the age, the components are breaking down, which may give a higher or lower result depending on how the test works.
Remember that beyond about 20 ppm or so, these tests have really bad resolution, so you can't really hope to be as accurate as, say, a nitrate electrode, which would be a more definitive way to handle this. The liquid test kits are more accurate than the strips, but in the grand scheme of chemistry, they're still pretty darn rough measurements.
It is beginning to remind me of a chemistry lesson! I will be running a couple more tests today so will post any observations. I think it may be too early to tell whether the water wisteria is making any kind of dent in the NO3 but we shall see. Am also considering some frogbit.
My filter is a aquanto moray but I have ordered a fluval 206 which I should be getting tomorrow which is exciting. Will have to transfer some filter media and run them in tandem but am looking forward to a wee bit of extra space in the tank.
My filter is a aquanto moray but I have ordered a fluval 206 which I should be getting tomorrow which is exciting. Will have to transfer some filter media and run them in tandem but am looking forward to a wee bit of extra space in the tank.
Just a little update. Nitrates with API are still showing as red, however seems to be a deep orange red rather than scarlet. I'm guessing the plants, which ave stared rooting vigorously, are beginning to draw some nitrates out.
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