How often can you do the nitrate test?

[55tanker]

I always test both my tank back to back but I always leave the nitrate test out for the second tank and do it about an hour later. Is that long enough?

I've heard shaking the bottle not enough or too much skew the result so that is why I assume we can't do the nitrate test one after another.

Anybody know? It's not in the booklet.

 

[coralbandit]

You need to shake the #2 reagent bottle for 30 seconds to 1 minute before drops go in vial.Then you need to only let the sit [after shaking] for the time on card. Shorter can give a false lower reading and letting the tube sit longer will give false high readings..I have a timer for when I am in test mode...
You can't over shake it ,but if you just shook it for previous test then a quick 10-15 secong shake should suffice.
I have 42 tanks and although I rarely test ,I could test all of them one after the other if I wanted with accuracy being constant in the test.

 

[BBradbury]

Water Testing

I always test both my tank back to back but I always leave the nitrate test out for the second tank and do it about an hour later. Is that long enough?

I've heard shaking the bottle not enough or too much skew the result so that is why I assume we can't do the nitrate test one after another.

Anybody know? It's not in the booklet.

Hello 55...

When I tested the tank water, I tested for all three forms of nitrogen and according to the instructions. I found out later, if I just followed a sound water change routine, I didn't need to test, The water chemistry was always good.

B

 

[55tanker]

Hello 55...

When I tested the tank water, I tested for all three forms of nitrogen and according to the instructions. I found out later, if I just followed a sound water change routine, I didn't need to test, The water chemistry was always good.

B

I'm only testing it multiple times a day because I'm cycling the tank and the parameter changes every time. Waiting for it to be cycled so I don't have to test so often.

 

[55tanker]

You need to shake the #2 reagent bottle for 30 seconds to 1 minute before drops go in vial.Then you need to only let the sit [after shaking] for the time on card. Shorter can give a false lower reading and letting the tube sit longer will give false high readings..I have a timer for when I am in test mode...
You can't over shake it ,but if you just shook it for previous test then a quick 10-15 secong shake should suffice.
I have 42 tanks and although I rarely test ,I could test all of them one after the other if I wanted with accuracy being constant in the test.

Thanks! Yeah, I do the same, used to shake it about 15 seconds cause it was just shook for the previous test but I decided to wait an hour but sometimes I forget to test it. Prolly should just email the company what their recommendation for testing multiple tanks.

Also, for mine, you shake the bottle for 30 seconds and then the tube for a minute.

 

[BBradbury]

Tank Cycling

I'm only testing it multiple times a day because I'm cycling the tank and the parameter changes every time. Waiting for it to be cycled so I don't have to test so often.

55...

You don't have to test multiple times a day. You test once in the morning and if you have a positive test for either ammonia or nitrite, remove 25 percent of the water and replace that with pure, treated tap water. By changing out one-quarter of the water you maintain the best water conditions and leave enough dissolved nitrogen to grow the bacteria colony.

B

 

[dalto]

I found out later, if I just followed a sound water change routine, I didn't need to test, The water chemistry was always good.

Even on well established tanks, I find it is a worthwhile effort to test for nitrates every few months. It gives me a point of reference to know if I am changing enough water on a weekly basis. How much water I need to change varies a lot depending on stocking levels so it is important(for my situation) to keep an occasional eye on it.

I'm only testing it multiple times a day because I'm cycling the tank and the parameter changes every time. Waiting for it to be cycled so I don't have to test so often.

While it won't hurt anything, there is no need to test nitrate levels so often during the cycle. When in a cycle, I typically test nitrate and ph no more than weekly. It is much more important to monitor ammonia and nitrite.

There was I time when I tested nitrate daily but I realized that I never took any action on the reading. After all, what you are doing with the nitrate information every day? Do you take different actions based on if it is low or high? At least for me, the more testing I do, them more impatient I get.