Ammonia test kit options?

[Sleepydoc]

What have people had good luck with as far as ammonia tests? From what I can find:

• Salifert - I used to use this, but the difference between 0 and a significant amount of ammonia is a slight shade of off-white in an already cloudy liquid making it hard to use a the low end. Only measures total NH3/NH4+
• Red Sea - easier to read at the low end but takes 15 minutes to develop and still only measures total NH3/NH4+
• API - I haven’t used it but have read questions about it’s accuracy and it doesn’t appear to be clear at the low end. only measures total.
• SeaChem - can read both free and total ammonia but takes up to 30 minutes to develop
• Geisemann - new; looks similar to Red Sea.
• Hanna - fresh water only. :(

Looking at the options, it looks like the Red Sea is still probably the best. I’d prefer something that reads both free and total since I don’t have a pH probe in my QT and I haven’t found my salifert pH test to be terribly accurate, but maybe the best is to simply assume about 10% free ammonia and use > 0.1 ppm total as my threashold for action.

 

[taricha]

[*]Hanna - fresh water only. :(

Just because they say "not approved for saltwater" doesn't mean the test kit won't work. I say this because Hanna's checker for iron and silica both are not approved for saltwater, yet I use them and they outperform the other hobby kits that I've seen.
(I have no experience on the specific ammonia question though)

 

[Sleepydoc]

Yes - I thought of that. I could do like Hotrocks did and get their freshwater checker and start testing to see if it works with salt water, but right now I don’t have the time to do it. I also need to monitor my QT now.

 

[Dan_P]

What have people had good luck with as far as ammonia tests? From what I can find:

• Salifert - I used to use this, but the difference between 0 and a significant amount of ammonia is a slight shade of off-white in an already cloudy liquid making it hard to use a the low end. Only measures total NH3/NH4+
• Red Sea - easier to read at the low end but takes 15 minutes to develop and still only measures total NH3/NH4+
• API - I haven’t used it but have read questions about it’s accuracy and it doesn’t appear to be clear at the low end. only measures total.
• SeaChem - can read both free and total ammonia but takes up to 30 minutes to develop
• Geisemann - new; looks similar to Red Sea.
• Hanna - fresh water only. :(

Looking at the options, it looks like the Red Sea is still probably the best. I’d prefer something that reads both free and total since I don’t have a pH probe in my QT and I haven’t found my salifert pH test to be terribly accurate, but maybe the best is to simply assume about 10% free ammonia and use > 0.1 ppm total as my threashold for action.

There is the Nessler test (Salifert, Hanna) and the salicylate method (Red Sea, API). Sea Chem does something else. According to Hach, the Nessler method can work in seawater but the Mg needs to be stabilized (I assume chelated) and sensitivity is lowered 30% by the chloride. Red Sea uses citrate to minimize preciptation, giving the test solution a clearer appearance than API.

I struggle to see color differences at the low end with the salicylate method and use either a visible spectrometer or a Hanna Checker to read the color intensity. I used to use the Alkalinity Checker with the salicylate method but now I am looking into the Phosphate Checker for possible increased sensitivity.

 

[Sleepydoc]

Interesting that Hanna uses the Nessler method - it’s cloudy enough that it would significantly impact light transmission, so I’d think it would be more difficult for them to get a reading on it. Maybe it’s clearer in fresh water?

I just googled a pic of the API card for reading saltwater results - it looks identical to the Red Sea (and at least very similar to the Geisemann kit) which makes sense. The low end isn’t the easiest to read, but I find it easier than the salifert test. Green to yellow is easier for me to distinguish than cloudy-white to cloudy-off white.

I looked up the instructions online for the SeaChem kit - it involves using a disk that you drop in the well of tank water that you’ve added a reagent to; sounds similar to the ammonia badge that you leave in the tank, but I’m not sure what the reagent is.

I’ll have to experiment using my phosphate and Alk checkers to see what kind of results I get. Realistically, you only need to know from 0 to 0.2 or maybe 0.4. If it’s above that you need to act, no matter what the level is. Regardless, since the Hanna checkers use light transmission, a salicylate test kit will probably be the best bet. I may order the geiseman kit to compare it.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

What have people had good luck with as far as ammonia tests? From what I can find:

• Salifert - I used to use this, but the difference between 0 and a significant amount of ammonia is a slight shade of off-white in an already cloudy liquid making it hard to use a the low end. Only measures total NH3/NH4+
• Red Sea - easier to read at the low end but takes 15 minutes to develop and still only measures total NH3/NH4+
• API - I haven’t used it but have read questions about it’s accuracy and it doesn’t appear to be clear at the low end. only measures total.
• SeaChem - can read both free and total ammonia but takes up to 30 minutes to develop
• Geisemann - new; looks similar to Red Sea.
• Hanna - fresh water only. :(

Looking at the options, it looks like the Red Sea is still probably the best. I’d prefer something that reads both free and total since I don’t have a pH probe in my QT and I haven’t found my salifert pH test to be terribly accurate, but maybe the best is to simply assume about 10% free ammonia and use > 0.1 ppm total as my threashold for action.

Don't forget NH3 most important to check from time to time. I use seachem kit. But others will comment to.
If you use alot of good live rock, shouldn't have to check often for NH3.

 

[Dan_P]

Interesting that Hanna uses the Nessler method - it’s cloudy enough that it would significantly impact light transmission, so I’d think it would be more difficult for them to get a reading on it. Maybe it’s clearer in fresh water?

I just googled a pic of the API card for reading saltwater results - it looks identical to the Red Sea (and at least very similar to the Geisemann kit) which makes sense. The low end isn’t the easiest to read, but I find it easier than the salifert test. Green to yellow is easier for me to distinguish than cloudy-white to cloudy-off white.

I looked up the instructions online for the SeaChem kit - it involves using a disk that you drop in the well of tank water that you’ve added a reagent to; sounds similar to the ammonia badge that you leave in the tank, but I’m not sure what the reagent is.

I’ll have to experiment using my phosphate and Alk checkers to see what kind of results I get. Realistically, you only need to know from 0 to 0.2 or maybe 0.4. If it’s above that you need to act, no matter what the level is. Regardless, since the Hanna checkers use light transmission, a salicylate test kit will probably be the best bet. I may order the geiseman kit to compare it.

Keep in mind that the salicylate method gives a cloudy test solution theat needs to be centrifuged for light transmission readings. Even the Red Sea gives a less than clear solution which can be quite variable. Syringe filtering does not seem to be an option.

 

[Sleepydoc]

Keep in mind that the salicylate method gives a cloudy test solution theat needs to be centrifuged for light transmission readings. Even the Red Sea gives a less than clear solution which can be quite variable. Syringe filtering does not seem to be an option.

How are you dealing with the cloudiness issue and the Hanna Checkers?

 

[taricha]

Speculation: I know the hanna checkers can handle stray background color that's not from the test kit IF you can have the blank "C1" with the same background color.
I wonder if scattering plus color is as nicely behaved as color plus color.
I haven't tried it - in just guessing that the cloudiness may be something you can work around if you can have a blank "c1" with the same cloudiness (scattering) but no color.

 

[Sleepydoc]

Yeah, the hanna checkers essentially measure the absorption delta. normally '0' is calibrated with plain tank water, but you could calibrate it with whatever you want. If you use an ammonia-free salt water sample as a control then theoretically the precipitation would be about the same and affect the absorption equally and cancel each other out. Of course it depends on the light wavelength and absorption spectrum. It would be interesting to start making some standardized solutions of known concentration with salt water and pure ammonia and do some testing to see if it's workable. Like I said in my initial post, you're only really worried about total concentrations of 0 to 0.2 or 0.4. Beyond that, it's a mater of degrees and how fast it's killing your fish.