jarrod0987
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Freshwater Potassium test Kit.
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RedDevil83
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Throw a banana in the tank.....no haven't tried it lol
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Brookster123
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Nah.. i overdose the heck out of potassium, with a heavy plant load it won't go to waste..
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It looked quite a nice test kit. I'll have to investigate further on pricing but didn't seem too bad. The test looks fairly simple.
Cons may be that according to the coral shop k test I have around 75 - 100ppm k in tank (so to max 25ppm reading might be low with easylife).
On the other hand the hygro is always starving for potassium so that might be wrong.
It would be really good if this test kit has a good shelf life. The coral shop test kit is expensive for only a year or so shelf life.
Nice information. Are you thinking of getting it?
Cons may be that according to the coral shop k test I have around 75 - 100ppm k in tank (so to max 25ppm reading might be low with easylife).
On the other hand the hygro is always starving for potassium so that might be wrong.
It would be really good if this test kit has a good shelf life. The coral shop test kit is expensive for only a year or so shelf life.
Nice information. Are you thinking of getting it?
jarrod0987
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Yes but I am having a hard time finding a US online distributor. I emailed them.
jarrod0987
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I could not find this for sale online anywhere. I contacted the Distributor by email and they told me they have the kits but did not respond to my query about where to buy it. So I called on the phone. They hesitated slightly at first but then sold me one. It was around 36$ and they estimate 6$ for shipping. Will make a review when I get it.
I couldn't find anything direct but did see a few on eBay. Still thinking.
A review would be great.
jarrod0987
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Got it, Tried it. Sucks so far!!
Seems easy enough to do. Right range. Easy to read color chart. Little expensive but might be a nice way to see if you water is missing K or way overdosed.
Hard to get this kit and it costs around 30$. I had to buy mine from the only US distributor directly. PM me if you need more info.
I tested it on Aquarium water that I have been dosing K in, On RODI water, and the Same RODI water that had been soaking with CC for a week. They all show the same 18 ppm, Even the DI water. The test did not seem to increase when I added a drop of potassium solution directly to the vial. I may play with it later but for right now it's 2 thumbs down. Expensive, Hard to get, Doesn't work.
Seems easy enough to do. Right range. Easy to read color chart. Little expensive but might be a nice way to see if you water is missing K or way overdosed.
Hard to get this kit and it costs around 30$. I had to buy mine from the only US distributor directly. PM me if you need more info.
I tested it on Aquarium water that I have been dosing K in, On RODI water, and the Same RODI water that had been soaking with CC for a week. They all show the same 18 ppm, Even the DI water. The test did not seem to increase when I added a drop of potassium solution directly to the vial. I may play with it later but for right now it's 2 thumbs down. Expensive, Hard to get, Doesn't work.
jarrod0987
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UPDATE:
Playing around with RODI water and Flourish Potassium Additive the test seems to be working but in reverse of what the color card says. I will email Easy Life and see what they say.
Playing around with RODI water and Flourish Potassium Additive the test seems to be working but in reverse of what the color card says. I will email Easy Life and see what they say.
jarrod0987
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Got email back from Company. They say my kit is bad and they are sending a free replacement.
Yikes! Did they say why or how or anything??
jarrod0987
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They said if Bottle 1 is exposed to extreme heat or cold it can go bad. Sounds about right. I have heard horror stories about how things are warehoused outside with no shade all year long etc in some cases.
Ah, handy tip! Wouldn't surprise me. Seen some comments along those lines where it gets very hot over summer.
jarrod0987
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Update
I received a lot of free goodies and 2 brand new K test Kits from Easy Life.
The seals were broken on one which I assume they tried it themselves before sending it out to replace a bad kit. So I assume it worked right for them. I used that same one.
I ran the following tests:
Tested tank water, got bright yellow color. Perhaps 17 ppm according to chart which only shows a weak yellow as an option.
Tested sink water dechlorinated with activated carbon block filter. Same 17 ppm. Suspicious but possible.
Tested RODI water and got darker color. About 5 ppm at best. Should have been 0 ppm but I would accept is as close enough. it would be OK as long as I know that is what happens at 0 ppm.
Tested RODI with 2 drops of Flourish Potassium Added to the 2 ml sample of tank water. Should have been clear but got light green color. I am sure it is just too much for the test to read properly. Lot's of color test malfunction at overdose levels.
I decided that so much K was probably throwing off the test and causing the green color. I decided to add some K to my tank then retests. I used 5 ml of Flourish Potassium to about 15 gal of actual water. I let it stir for 20 minutes with the pumps. I retested.
Before I got a bright yellow color. This time I should have got very clear. I got the yellow color again but it was slightly more clear.
I conclude that the chemicals are actually working this time. I just think the color card isn't very good. I supposed a person could make some standard K solutions to use instead. I think the test would be accurate with that method. Making all those Potassium standards is a pain though. A person could could probably make there own color chart of they did go to all the trouble of making the standards.
I have asked the company to advise me if there are any ions that might be causing interference or if my method is wrong. I am following the instructions of course.
I would like to say that even though the color card sucks this company has gone through great lengths to try to make me happy. When I advised them of the problem they shipped out a new kit immediately. They are in The Netherlands and I am in the US. It came back so they reshipped with a different carrier. It came back to them again. They shipped a 3rd time with upgraded service and it finally got through. They gave me some nice bottles of ferts and liquid Carbon. They gave me 2 replacement K test kits as well. They have been good at answering my email. All this must have been a lot more then what I paid for the Kit so I am not asking for a refund. I am happy with what they did for me. I hope they get the color card worked out. For those of you who really want a working K test for your planted tank I would still buy this product if I had the skills to make standard solutions and a color card. It would be cheaper then a 200$ colorimeter etc. You could also just eyeball it and know about where you were. Close enough is good enough with K. Just to tell you weather you had any K in your water or not.
I received a lot of free goodies and 2 brand new K test Kits from Easy Life.
The seals were broken on one which I assume they tried it themselves before sending it out to replace a bad kit. So I assume it worked right for them. I used that same one.
I ran the following tests:
Tested tank water, got bright yellow color. Perhaps 17 ppm according to chart which only shows a weak yellow as an option.
Tested sink water dechlorinated with activated carbon block filter. Same 17 ppm. Suspicious but possible.
Tested RODI water and got darker color. About 5 ppm at best. Should have been 0 ppm but I would accept is as close enough. it would be OK as long as I know that is what happens at 0 ppm.
Tested RODI with 2 drops of Flourish Potassium Added to the 2 ml sample of tank water. Should have been clear but got light green color. I am sure it is just too much for the test to read properly. Lot's of color test malfunction at overdose levels.
I decided that so much K was probably throwing off the test and causing the green color. I decided to add some K to my tank then retests. I used 5 ml of Flourish Potassium to about 15 gal of actual water. I let it stir for 20 minutes with the pumps. I retested.
Before I got a bright yellow color. This time I should have got very clear. I got the yellow color again but it was slightly more clear.
I conclude that the chemicals are actually working this time. I just think the color card isn't very good. I supposed a person could make some standard K solutions to use instead. I think the test would be accurate with that method. Making all those Potassium standards is a pain though. A person could could probably make there own color chart of they did go to all the trouble of making the standards.
I have asked the company to advise me if there are any ions that might be causing interference or if my method is wrong. I am following the instructions of course.
I would like to say that even though the color card sucks this company has gone through great lengths to try to make me happy. When I advised them of the problem they shipped out a new kit immediately. They are in The Netherlands and I am in the US. It came back so they reshipped with a different carrier. It came back to them again. They shipped a 3rd time with upgraded service and it finally got through. They gave me some nice bottles of ferts and liquid Carbon. They gave me 2 replacement K test kits as well. They have been good at answering my email. All this must have been a lot more then what I paid for the Kit so I am not asking for a refund. I am happy with what they did for me. I hope they get the color card worked out. For those of you who really want a working K test for your planted tank I would still buy this product if I had the skills to make standard solutions and a color card. It would be cheaper then a 200$ colorimeter etc. You could also just eyeball it and know about where you were. Close enough is good enough with K. Just to tell you weather you had any K in your water or not.
Sounds really good.
Would you have a link for their website? Also what range of k is covered?
Would you have a link for their website? Also what range of k is covered?
jarrod0987
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Potassium — English
The way the test works with using cotton and a mini pipette is a PITA. I think filter paper is just a better way. Creating your own color chart will be required for accuracy but you can probably get a yes or no result just from eyeballing it.
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