API freshwater test kit question

[Bischoff88]

Does anyone know if cleaning the test tubes with tap water can alter results?

When first bought the kit I was getting results and a couple days later I have been getting nothing. I just get that everything is at 0 ppm which I know isn't correct. I rinse the tubes out, no soaps or detergents, and I use Prime with my water changes.

Over the weekend I guess I'll use a bottle of water to clean them but I was just curious if anyone had any idea what was going on.

 

[Delapool]

Never noticed anything amiss there. I just rinse in the tap water and tap the tube over a towel a few times.

 

[Jmunroe]

Yeah no problems rinsing here either. Of your tank is cycled you should be getting 0 readings for ammonia and nitrites but you should be getting a nitrates reading. Are you shaking the #2 bottle really good of the nitrate test for 2 mins and beating on something. It is notorious for settling out and giving false readings. Also if the kit is expired it tends to give a false low reading.


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[Grumble69]

Another possibility for 0s across the board is if it is a planted tank. Earlier this year I had set up a planted tank (no fish) in an old aquarium. My plants were taking up every bit of nitrates. As I started fertilizing and adding fish, it did eventually get to 20ppm.

 

[BBradbury]

Water Testing Kit

Does anyone know if cleaning the test tubes with tap water can alter results?

When first bought the kit I was getting results and a couple days later I have been getting nothing. I just get that everything is at 0 ppm which I know isn't correct. I rinse the tubes out, no soaps or detergents, and I use Prime with my water changes.

Over the weekend I guess I'll use a bottle of water to clean them but I was just curious if anyone had any idea what was going on.

Hello Bis...

Use distilled water to clean your test tubes. Check the expiration date of the kit and review the testing procedures. It would be a good idea to have the local pet store that carries fish test your tank water too, just to get a second opinion.

Once the tank is up and running for several months and you get into the habit of removing and replacing half the tank water every week for small tanks or every two weeks for larger ones, testing becomes a bit less important.

B

 

[enrgizerbunny]

Cleaning the test tubes in tap water is fine, but if you think it is affecting results, then rinse them in tank water before testing, you'll ensure accurate results. This is what API recommends on their KH/GH kit.

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[mrvincent]

Clean test tube with tap, then rinse it with tank water, so results won't be altered by the residual water from the tap.

 

[HeatherW]

yep! what enrgizerbunny and mrvincent said! rinse your tubes with regular tap water and let them dry out (I turn mine upside down) and then when you go to test again just fill them up and empty them out a few times in the tank - should be good to go!
if you really think your results are off take them into the LFS and see what they test it at. should give you some peace of mind that your results are accurate

 

[Aquariumfish123]

Or couldn't you rinse in distilled water?

 

[enrgizerbunny]

Or couldn't you rinse in distilled water?

Yes that would definitely work. I'm just cheap.

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[Delapool]

Yeah no problems rinsing here either. Of your tank is cycled you should be getting 0 readings for ammonia and nitrites but you should be getting a nitrates reading. Are you shaking the #2 bottle really good of the nitrate test for 2 mins and beating on something. It is notorious for settling out and giving false readings. Also if the kit is expired it tends to give a false low reading.


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Does it have an expiry date anywhere? I'm stuffed it I can find one but figure there must be.

 

[Jmunroe]

The dates are on the bottles themselves.


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[Delapool]

Got it lol - staring straight at me. 2017 and 2018 expiry. Longer than I expected but good for a bit yet. Thanks.

 

[WisChris]

Another possibility for 0s across the board is if it is a planted tank. Earlier this year I had set up a planted tank (no fish) in an old aquarium. My plants were taking up every bit of nitrates. As I started fertilizing and adding fish, it did eventually get to 20ppm.

Grumble69…I am having this challenge in determining if my tank has cycled. Set up 7 weeks ago and still getting 0-0-0. I started a thread this morning, "26 g won't cycle?"
So I am not sure if I can move forward with my desired fish, or I need to keep waiting to see nitrites & nitrates? I would like to hear more about your experience, feel free to PM me. Thanks!

WisChris

 

[trennamw]

If tapwater skews results and a rinse in tank water is best, wouldn't distiller or bottled be even worse? It sounds like the goal is to have water "residue" closest to the water you are testing.

 

[Jmunroe]

Rinse in tank water before you do a test them rinse well under the tap after use to get rid of all chemical residue. You should have no problems this way.


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[Proteus55]

I have had the same problem with getting readings; I banged the 2nd nitrate bottle all over the place, shook the tube by a timer, waited 5, and finally scared up something (4ppm), but I question this kit's overall reliability despite all the fans here and elsewhere. I know test strips are dirty words, but I finally got a small set of them (I know they don't keep well) and got some logical results. Fish are all healthy and happy after two months, but it was a rough cycle. I would have preferred the fishless cycle, but I thought seeding my 55 with my 37's media would expedite the process. All is well that ends well at least for now. Still, I am suspicious of the API test kit and likely wouldn't get another. I understand that my experience may be an outlier.

 

[mrvincent]

IMO I just don't care about the way I rinse it... I rinse it under tap, then take directly the sample with aquarium water... Anyways, what's the difference between 20 or 21 ppm nitrates readings ?...

The way you wash the samples will make a difference if you try to test low values like nitrates or phosphates in reef aquariums, where there's a lot of difference between >0.25ppm and 5 ppm.

 

[Grumble69]

Grumble69…I am having this challenge in determining if my tank has cycled. Set up 7 weeks ago and still getting 0-0-0. I started a thread this morning, "26 g won't cycle?"
So I am not sure if I can move forward with my desired fish, or I need to keep waiting to see nitrites & nitrates? I would like to hear more about your experience, feel free to PM me. Thanks!

WisChris

If there's no fish in the tank, you can test whether your tank has cycled. Add a very small amount of ammonia until you reach 2ppm. And if your tank is cycled, you should have 0 ammonia and nitrites within 12-24 hours. Note: you don't want to use an ammonia cleaner with additives. This is the pure, clear ammonia. And a 26g tank is just under 100K ml. So to get 2ppm, it would only tank .2 ml. ...I'd start with maybe a couple of drops in the tank, wait 30 min, and then test it to see what what your ammonia is.

---

I was confident that it wasn't a problem with my nitrate test kit because I was detecting them just fine in a 2nd tank I had. The primary tank was using a filter that I've had for almost 10 years and I had a lot of new plants that was clearing everything.

 

[Bischoff88]

Thank You all so much for the advice!

I took water to my local pet store last weekend to have it tested and they got the same result. I wasn't as far along in the cycle as I thought I was, Newbie mistake on my part. However, your responses really did give me some great pointers.

One week later I'm moving into the bucket brigade portion of the nitrogen cycle, so if I'm not on here probably working or doing a water change.

Thanks Again,

Brad