API Master Kit!!!

[jwurm]

YAY! I finally got an API Freshwater Master Kit! No more strips for me (well except the ones I have left... I want to use them all up before I open the kit).

My guppies are being treated for ich (salt & heat), but since the bout of ich (and the subsequent meds that I was originally using) disrupted my cycle, I'm going to be doing water changes every other day probably until my nitrites level out.

Right now here are my readings about 30mins after doing a 50% water change:
GH: 120ppm
KH: 60ppm
pH: 6.6
NO2: 8ppm (yikes!)
NO3: 30ppm

The NO2 reading is actually down from what it had been, but I'm monitoring the guppies closely and they don't seem to be affected too much by the high amount (probably because of the salt).

In about a month, I want to start finally adding to my tank (that is, if my tank finally re-cycles and my ich is gone).
Here are some things that I'm considering:
Black Mollies
ADF
Kuhli Loaches
Maybe an Oto of some sort...

What does everyone think?

[jbeining75]

I think you are very smart for getting the API Master test kit. If it were me I'd cut my losses ans throw the test strips in the trash. Your tank will love ya more........... The strips could be giving you false readings....................

[jwurm]

Well, I would just toss them, but I only have like 10 left and seeing as I'm testing 2x a day right now while my tank cycles, I figure I'm only using them for 5 more days. As long as the strips aren't tell me my water is fine when it really isn't (which I know they aren't because I tested my tap with them) then I can deal for now.

[jbeining75]

If your tank is cycling that makes it even worse.... Do a test with your API Master test kit and see how far the numbers vary......

[plow]

I wouldn't throw the strips away, not just for the sake of it anyway, not until you KNOW your API test kit is working properly.

You wanna read this thread to see my recent experience with their nirtate tests, Im not a happy camper. [Only Registered Users Can See Links.] check my comments pages 3 and 4

At the moment, I am relying to strips to give me honest readings, they have been very good to me, and lets be fair, its very hard to do them wrong.

The API tests solutions leave so much open for error, exactly 10 drops of bottle 1 followed by exactly 12.5 drops od bottle 2 after shaking it for exactly 85 second on the vertical and only at 6 oclock at night that sort of thing.

In my opinion it is the nice shiny blue packaging that sells their test kits. (My wife is a graphic designer for a packaging company and you get to hear what people buy and why... it a total sham. See-through soap for example is nowhere near as good as normal soap that you cant see through. But the clear stuff sells better cos its nicer to look at in clear plastic bottles all shiny and green or red and so people buy it, even though the formula is worse and one company I know of actually changed their soap formula and made it worse just cos they knew that suckers like us would buy it if it was see through)

The API test kits also cost a fortune and require much more time to do a test compared to strips and thats just for one result.

I do beleive they are good, I do use them myself, however my very long winded point is..

Dont underestimate the test strips, they are fast, impossible to get wrong and in my experience just as accurate, and in comparison to API nitrate test, FAR more accurate. That was just my experience anyway.

I will keep using test strips in the future for sure.

[zeon]

I thought the same thing when I used test strips way back when. You might as well toss the strips in the trash. You will get more accurate readings with the API liquid kit. :thumb:

[cabrego]

I have results from test strips to vary signficantly when compared to liquid test. For the last few day
s I have been spent alot of time running multiple tests with API liquid vs. tetra strips vs. Jungle(strips). While, the strips are very quick and easy, they are more expensive and I believe them to be far less accurate when measurements of nitrates and nitrites are of concern.

Ph, and my seperate ammonia strips do pretty well and the water hardness was consistent enough between the strips.

For example, liquid told me my nitrates wer around 30, while the strips told me it was closer to 100.

or Liquid told me nitrites were 2ppm while strips told me 30ppm.

just my 2cents.

[Pr0eve]

the liquid is the best, as long as you do not contaminate the test. strips do not work very good. and plow what is wrong with having Nitrate in your tank? that just show you that you have bacteria doing it job.

[plow]

the liquid is the best, as long as you do not contaminate the test. You have to be careful with liquid tests, that they are done correctly, thay are open to user error. With strips they are nearly impossible to do wrong.

strips do not work very good.

dont agree with that statement at all. I have found them to be very accurate. pH is the only indicator on strips I am a little doubtful on.

and plow what is wrong with having Nitrate in your tank? that just show you that you have bacteria doing it job.
You cant have read much of the info I posted..

I am cycling, there is nothing wrong with having nitrates in the tank while cycling, It is the end goal, thats why I want to know how much nitrate there is. The information needs to be accurate, thats my problem, the results with API test kit have been inconsistent.

during my cycle the nitrate results have slowly increased until about day 18 they dropped dramatically, and this is the second tank I have cycled using the ammonia method and API test kits, and the second time it has happened.

Using the test strips I have got consistent results.. logical results. Right now my API test kits shows a nitrate value of 5 mg/l, but 4 days ago they were sitting around 60 mg/l. I have not done any water changes.

Test strips are showing a nitrate reading of over 100mg/l, as they should be, and as you'd expect.

[Pr0eve]

well, as I know if your rates dropped you may have set back the cycle. and what does 100MG/L translate to PPM? cuss 100PPM is really high..


my test strip I used were never accurate.

[Pr0eve]

you sound angry.

[plow]

well, as I know if your rates dropped you may have set back the cycle.


nitrates dont dissappear, they accumulate, thats why water changes are necessary. Plants can consume a small amount

and what does 100MG/L translate to PPM? cuss 100PPM is really high..


its the same unit.. ppm = mg/l

It is very high, I have been using a very high ammonia dosage, I've been dosing 8 mg/l for nearly 20 days now... if all of this was converted you'd expect 160 mg/l using the simple NH3 to NO2 to NO3.

So getting 5mg/l on day 20 for nitrates is wrong. Esp since I begun with a seeded filter.

[Levi]

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[plow]

you sound angry.

I was a bit frustrated you didn't read my info properly before saying that its ok to have nitrates.. that wasn't what I was trying to say.

sorry it is morning and im waking up.

Im not angry.. I promise.

[shockshockshad]

I will tell you the reason that test strips are not accurate. Water changes the color, so humidity does too. That moment when the strip hits the air, BAM it's changed.

It is okay to have nitrates when they are under 20, but once they get over that it's not good. Over 40 and you have dead fish.

[plow]

Here is a post that I put up on another thread which i think applies here aswell.. API nitrate test has not been accurate for me.

Yesterday I bought seras nitare kit, API's test strips and thought I'd try them all along side each other with API's nitrate kit.

The results for nitrates were
test strips: 160 mg/l
Sera solution: 200 mg/l
API solution 5 mg/l (the odd one out?)

What I noticed is that Sera solutions have four stages of determining nitrates.
The first goes up to 40 mg/l, the second up to 80, third up to 160 and fourth up to 400 mg/l

So it basically says if your solution goes over the maximum indication then you need to do it again by diluting the water 50% and trying again. you keep doing this, diluting the sample with 'distilled' water until you get a reading that is within the range and that tells you what your nitrate level is.

This is totally logical so I thought I would dilute my sample and try it with API solution, and what do you know it worked, a 20% sample mixed with 80% water gave a reading of 40 mg/l.

Conclusion? API test solution was only accurate for me for very low concentrations of nitrate. Anything above 60 mg/l it was totally inaccurate, even though their scale goes up to 160 mg/l on their test card.

Have to say, thats pretty crap, especially since people will use these test kits while doing a fishless cycle like I am where you would expect high concentration of nitrate. However for low concentrations of nirate it seemed to work..

So the test strips were far better than API solution for anything over 60 mg/l.

Also why would you design a test solution to be accurate for such low concentrations of nitrate? Low nitrate readings have never harmed any fish and so the information given is pretty much useless. surely it would be better to have a test kit that worked well for high nitrate levels which are harmful for fish.