I hate testing my tank! Please Help

[mattseattle]

Only Pinpoint that I've seen. I asked Curt @ Neptune about him adding one to the Aquacontroller line and he said the calcium probes are too inaccurate for him to even think about doing that. I think that is why only Pinpoint has one so far...just not accurate enough for us.

 

[ronj]

i have a milwaukee ph pen.... i have only had it for about 2-3 months, but it seems to be pretty accurate....i do have a question though... there were no instructions w/ it, but the package said to always keep the probe wet w/ water... so does this mean that i have to keep it wet even if i need to carry it w/ me somewhere???? i can never leave it out of water???

 

[Brenden]

Ron here you go. http://www.americanmarineusa.com/phmonitor.html
from their instructions

Keep the sensing surface of the probe WET at all times. If the probe is to be transported or stored, the plastic cap must be filled with storage solution (4.00 calibration fluid + potassium chloride crystals) or 4.00 calibration fluid prior to being installed onto the probe.

Shallowreef: the CA monitors are a pain in the butt. Testing is much more acurate and easier than the maint a monitor requires. Once you get a routine for dosing CA you should not have to test often anyways.

 

[ronj]

i am glad you showed me that.. i had no idea... right now i keep mine in a shot glass w/ RO water....by the way, why is everyone changing their avatars????? lol.... i don't know anyone anymore

 

[ronj]

are those the instructions for milwaukee ph meters????? i only saw Pinpoint...are they the same company???

 

[My2heartboys]

Okay. Who else besides pinpoint makes a calc monitor?

Shallowreef, what about doing your testing over 2-3 days and then a week from the last test start it all over? I'm thinking that if you can break it up a little bit, it will be easier for you.

Just a thought

Anne

 

[Frankie]

I am color stupid so i get my little girl to tell me when its changed color. i was mixing up purple thinking it was blue with the salifert cal. test :/ Since then testing is fun and i have my 7 year old intrest going. Soon i wont have to test cause ill have her doing it! Get a kid! it works!

 

[DonW]

I dont mind the tank, just testing ca and alk. Its the hot tub I hate testing.

Don

 

[olsaltybastard]

I just ordered Elos Ca and alk test kits. They should be here in a few days, though I will be away until Monday. Pricing was reasonable, and from what I understand from doing some research, they are quite accurate.

 

[shallowreef]

Well i figured i'dbring this back to life.

I gave up on testing my salifert Mg all together. I tried testing it in the sunlight and then i tried letting my fiance who is not so color blind as i am and she couldn't read it either. So i threw it out and am now having a fish store near me test it every other week. Why can't anyone else come out with a easier to use test kit that is reliable?

 

[james734]

I have to agree with the testing. It's the biggest pain. Not sure why they cannot make test kits with more of a color swing. I'm fighting Nitrates right now and the Salifert test goes from 10 to 25. The color difference is enough to tell that you're not at 10 but you're not a 25 either. What is it? Is it 15, 20, or somewhere in between that? I don't know. Or if someone could come up with a little affordable electronic tester. Something like hand TDS meter. You calibrate it once in a while and it's good. Of course this might not be possible. I'm not a chemist so I have no idea. But I do agree this whole color matching or wating for a color swing to figure out the results is a PTA.

 

[shallowreef]

Well thanks ato my chemical lab here at work (that i just foundout about) I will be able to test my tank in PPB. So i am going to be ditching all of my test kits soon except for the basics.

 

[pnikiel]

I hope this thread isn't dead yet...

I've had awful experiences with three different home test kits. Instant Ocean and Seachem both led me to bad places. So I threw them away and bought some Salifert kits. A lot of people on this thread and others like them a lot. And they also put me in a bind.

My Salifert kits said I had low Mag, high Alk, low Cal and a NO3 problem. I have a couple of suffering corals and a cyno problem. So I took a sample to the lfs and they found that my Alk is a bit low, my Cal is through the roof and my nitrates are perfect. The use the NuraFin Master Series kit.

So I'm thinking I'm just going to go to them weekly for a test.

But here's the question... How do I know they're more accurate than the kits I've thrown away?

 

[Sk8r]

Do you have a color-vision issue? Sometimes it helps to put the tube on a very white base under very strong light, because there is an opacity change as well as color.

Really, you need to run the cal and alk test at least once a week, mg once a month, and the others aren't that critical. Sort of as-you-think-of-it.

My fave method is to establish certain corals that react to certain things: mushrooms turn squirrel when the alk is off. Button polyps staying closed or frog failing to expand in low cal. If the bubble has feeders out once a day or so, conditions are good. In the absence of tests that read easily, 'bellwether' corals are a good thing, corals that have reactions you can read as easily as looking at your tank. If the polyps are out on the valida, that's a good thing and alk and cal are nicely balanced. Etc.
HTH.

 

[shallowreef]

Not for me i still hate testing my tank but now once a week i bring my water to work and have it tested in the lab and find out what i'm at using Parts Per Billion. So i canned all of my testing supplies and only run a pH monitor.

 

[DonW]

I hope this thread isn't dead yet...

I've had awful experiences with three different home test kits. Instant Ocean and Seachem both led me to bad places. So I threw them away and bought some Salifert kits. A lot of people on this thread and others like them a lot. And they also put me in a bind.

My Salifert kits said I had low Mag, high Alk, low Cal and a NO3 problem. I have a couple of suffering corals and a cyno problem. So I took a sample to the lfs and they found that my Alk is a bit low, my Cal is through the roof and my nitrates are perfect. The use the NuraFin Master Series kit.

So I'm thinking I'm just going to go to them weekly for a test.

But here's the question... How do I know they're more accurate than the kits I've thrown away?

I have my water lab tested three time per year, salifert have always been real close but have always been on the low side for alk ca and mg. So I just keep things up on the higher end of the acceptable range.

Don

 

[pnikiel]

What kind of lab do you go to for this. I'd like to try to find one locally.

 

[DonW]

What kind of lab do you go to for this. I'd like to try to find one locally.

Look under labs in the yellow pages. Most places that do enviromental testing will test your tank for you.

Don

 

[shallowreef]

I never thought of doing that.

Don whats the best way to transfer water to a lab or LFS with out contaminating the sample? Is it better to put in the fridge for a little while before leaving?

 

[DonW]

I never thought of doing that.

Don whats the best way to transfer water to a lab or LFS with out contaminating the sample? Is it better to put in the fridge for a little while before leaving?

I use spectra labs. They require that you use the little container that they supply. Enviromental sample containers can be had on the internet but I just use the ones they supply. I take the sample and take it my shop, from there it gets picked up and sent to the lab.

Don