API test hard to read

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Koppriecht

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Aug 31, 2014
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Anyone else find the API kits hard to read? I can't tell what the color in test tube is with real certainty and I look at color for a living (photo retoucher). Is there another test kit I can get?


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Nutrafin sells test kits I've never used them though


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I have both the nutrafin master and the API master test kits. API is by far more accurate and easier to read. I found a thread on here that had some pictures of the variations of colours for some of the API tests. They helped me out quite a bit. They are not my photos I just use them as reference. When I first started using it I would go where there was the most light and hold the tube up against the card and then not against the card and verify. If you post some pictures we can help you ball park it at least.

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API is the only test kit I've ever used, or ever will used. Its recommended by every fish forum or experienced fish keeper I've ever talked to. My fish are too important to risk having a kit that might not be accurate enough, or hard to read.
 
Anyone else find the API kits hard to read? I can't tell what the color in test tube is with real certainty and I look at color for a living (photo retoucher). Is there another test kit I can get?

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As a photo retoucher, I'm sure you're familiar with hue and brightness. The variations in brightness due to shadows and light refraction can make it hard to read. Try to only pay attention to the overall hue, and disregard brightness - i.e. try to see bright and dark areas as the same hue.
 
That is a good point. I was being thrown off by the tone changes. It makes more sense to look at hue.


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I should have added that I have trouble telling the difference between 10 and 20 nitrates on the API kit. (And I'm a woman, so I'm not color blind like a lot of men are!) Brightness--I'll keep that in mind next time I test the water. I never looked at it that way, but it does make sense.
 
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