Call me color blind

[b4tn]

But I am having a real hard time with telling the colors apart with my test kits. I have tried tetra test, JBL, and now I have seachem. The colors are just to hard for me to tell apart. I need to get fairly accurate results for nitrate and phosphate. With my seachem nitrate kit I have a hard time telling the difference between 10 and 30 ppm there has to be a better way!

 

[TCTFish]

In general...the lighter the color the less the element. 10ppm will be much lighter and more transparent than 30ppm. I'm gonna say that's true for most if not all tests. Zero is clear. As more of the element is measured, the more color shows in the test water. So even if someone is color blind, the different shades of grey will vary respectively LOL

HTH

 

[Jchillin]

I use the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals tests, which are based on the same principle of color scale. The only ones that are the opposite is kh/gh, which start dark and become clearer.

Until I got used to the various shades, I had my wife confirm my test results.

 

[Xzap]

I called API's Help Desk about this and they told me the proper way to view the test results was to hold the tube against the white background on the test card and view it with a light source coming from behind you.

Thx,

dave

 

[malkore]

Also be aware that flourescent lighting, especially screw-in power compacts, can make color viewing even harder. normal tubes are very greenish and will make yellow's look darker (like Seachem phosphate test). screw in's will add tons of yellow, making blues look greenish (like AP's pH test).

Xzap has it right for most test kits..view with strong 'neutral' light from behind, tube on the white card.
For seachem phosphate, have strong light in the room, but block the glare from light bulbs so you can read the color most accurately.

 

[fishyrican]

Malkore, I had never thought to factor in the light source, although it makes perfect sense now that you say it.

And as JChillin says, I still use my wife's eyes if it is close.

 

[b4tn]

I want something electronic! Its just to hard for me to tell the difference in some of these charts.

 

[travis simonson]

I actually am color-blind and, for low-end test kits, I like Aquarium Pharmaceuticals NO3 test kit (because the gradient goes from yellow to red, which aren't hard for me to tell apart) and Seachem's PO4 test kit (which goes from yellow to green). LaMotte's kits are my favorites because they come with a comparator which allows you to simply match the test color with a sample test vial. Much easier than matching a color on a piece of paper