API test kit Colors Confusion

[Hamza Hamid]

Hello Mates I just received the test kit of API saltwater today. Very unhappy with the color confusion is it only me or anyone else experience the same issue. Please see the photos and rate the numbers as per your understanding. Thank guys.

 

[Reeferdood]

0 ppm nitrite
pH 7.6 (low)
nitrate 5 ppm
ammonia needs to be redone..
Are you cycling a new system?

 

[Hamza Hamid]

0 ppm nitrite
pH 7.6 (low)
nitrate 5 ppm
ammonia needs to be redone..
Are you cycling a new system?

No its been like 4 months now. 3 clown fishes are doing good in 6 gallon nano tank ocean fre 24L.
Done the test for first time because i want to add corals soon.
Nirate 5 is ok to have if no how to reduce?
Why PH is low how to increase?
will do ammonia again and share the results.

 

[Reeferdood]

You should not have any ammonia present right now, likely a testing error. Nitrate is ok at 5, don't forget about looking at phosphate as well.
Your pH can be brought up by more circulation, a skimmer, surface agitation or simply by opening a window. You need to also check your calcium, alkalinity and magnesium to get a clearer picture of what is going on in your box of water. Test them and post the results so someone can help ya out!

 

[Hamza Hamid]

You should not have any ammonia present right now, likely a testing error. Nitrate is ok at 5, don't forget about looking at phosphate as well.
Your pH can be brought up by more circulation, a skimmer, surface agitation or simply by opening a window. You need to also check your calcium, alkalinity and magnesium to get a clearer picture of what is going on in your box of water. Test them and post the results so someone can help ya out!

I also ordered the API reef test kit waiting for shipment, hope that includes all the additional test we are looking at right?

 

[40B Knasty]

The kit can get iffy over time. If you want to eliminate color confusion. Invest into ELOS kits. Only test kit certified by NIST( National Institute of Standards and Technology) I have the pH which is amazing. Nitrates and Pro Phosphate. (make sure it is the "Pro" Phosphate kit).
As for your ammonia test. How long did you let it sit before you took the picture? It is clear to start and after 5 minutes should be at least the yellowish green at 0ppm.
With that nitrate bottles. Make sure you shake the living heck out of them before adding drops to the vile or the test kit will become faulty.

 

[jrill]

Hello Mates I just received the test kit of API saltwater today. Very unhappy with the color confusion is it only me or anyone else experience the same issue. Please see the photos and rate the numbers as per your understanding. Thank guys.

Remember that the vial must be held against the white card to read the vial. It can make a difference for some folks when reading it.

 

[Hamza Hamid]

The kit can get iffy over time. If you want to eliminate color confusion. Invest into ELOS kits. Only test kit certified by NIST( National Institute of Standards and Technology) I have the pH which is amazing. Nitrates and Pro Phosphate. (make sure it is the "Pro" Phosphate kit).
As for your ammonia test. How long did you let it sit before you took the picture? It is clear to start and after 5 minutes should be at least the yellowish green at 0ppm.
With that nitrate bottles. Make sure you shake the living heck out of them before adding drops to the vile or the test kit will become faulty.

I waited for 10 mins after test and took pictures. I shaked the tubes after the test not before.
Let me do Ammonia and nitrate again. Will share soon.
Thanks for the tip for ELOS kit but currently i would not buy, my wife may kill me lol.[emoji12]

 

[Hamza Hamid]

Remember that the vial must be held against the white card to read the vial. It can make a difference for some folks when reading it.

Great tip will try and share.

 

[40B Knasty]

I forgot to mention. The laser etched line on an API test kit vile can very inaccurate. I have one that is 4ml at the 5ml laser etched line. That also can be a cause of an inaccurate test result. ELOS kits come with a 5ml syringe. So you can not get the amount of water needed in the vile to start the test wrong.

 

[40B Knasty]

I waited for 10 mins after test and took pictures. I shaked the tubes after the test not before.
Let me do Ammonia and nitrate again. Will share soon.
Thanks for the tip for ELOS kit but currently i would not buy, my wife may kill me lol.[emoji12]

Well you can always say to her,"hun I can spend $20 on an accurate test kit or spend even more money on the fish to replace the ones that are dead. I don't want to kill anything. So it is a great investment to keep our beloved pets alive."
Then she will be amazed with the love and care you put into what you do and agree to your tanks needs. You can also break it down to"If I spend $24 dollars on a kit and it lasts me 2 years. That's 24 months. So it is only 50¢ a month hun. I am sure we can handle 50¢ a month worth the investment for the next 2 years." See now you are golden

 

[40B Knasty]

 

[Hamza Hamid]

I forgot to mention. The laser etched line on an API test kit vile can very inaccurate. I have one that is 4ml at the 5ml laser etched line. That also can be a cause of an inaccurate test result. ELOS kits come with a 5ml syringe. So you can not get the amount of water needed in the vile to start the test wrong.

You mean i need to take exactly 5ml of water to get the accurate results?

 

[40B Knasty]

You mean i need to take exactly 5ml of water to get the accurate results?

That’s exactly it. However many drops it is to 5ml of tank water.

 

[Hamza Hamid]

That’s exactly it. However many drops it is to 5ml of tank water.

Will try and make sure its 5ml of water then test.

 

[Hamza Hamid]

That’s exactly it. However many drops it is to 5ml of tank water.

Will try and make sure its 5ml of water then test.

 

[Hamza Hamid]

Well you can always say to her,"hun I can spend $20 on an accurate test kit or spend even more money on the fish to replace the ones that are dead. I don't want to kill anything. So it is a great investment to keep our beloved pets alive."
Then she will be amazed with the love and care you put into what you do and agree to your tanks needs. You can also break it down to"If I spend $24 dollars on a kit and it lasts me 2 years. That's 24 months. So it is only 50¢ a month hun. I am sure we can handle 50¢ a month worth the investment for the next 2 years." See now you are golden

Agreed let me try is it available in UAE or I may need to buy overseas and cost me more for shipping. Thanks mate.

 

[40B Knasty]

Will try and make sure its 5ml of water then test.

Checkout this video at 3 minutes in. It will show exactly how bad the laser etched line is for some of the API Test kit viles.

 

[Hamza Hamid]

I forgot to mention. The laser etched line on an API test kit vile can very inaccurate. I have one that is 4ml at the 5ml laser etched line. That also can be a cause of an inaccurate test result. ELOS kits come with a 5ml syringe. So you can not get the amount of water needed in the vile to start the test wrong.

Hello Bro. I have done test again. Can you rate the colouring now please. i think PH is low and ammonia is high. What can i do to decrease it? may be 3 fishes are more need to remove 2 and keep only 1. Please let me know thanks mate.

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello.

I have the same test kit and I use a medical syringe that measures 5ml. It’s more accurate than the test tubes. But yes these tests take some practice. They are very sensitive and prone to mistakes. I will say it helped me to bring water and My test kit in, and test my water with my kit and theirs. They did one and I did one side by side.

Now this proved some good things, now for nitrates example you must shake 30 seconds before you drip bottle two in. Yes lol I use a stop watch for accuracy. But then shake like crazy for one minute. These are actually very very important. My lfs shop and I did ten tests side by side. Same water , they did it their way just how they normally do it, and I did it exactly by the book. Couple of things first off our tests didn’t match up at all after three tried, all three of theirs were different using the same test kit. All three of mine were the same (lots and lots of test tubes). Then we switched kits and mine came out the same and again all three of theirs were different. So this eliminated me having a bad test kit. Finally after they actually followed the exact procedures did the tests actually come out fairly close, at least now in the same category color. Now this was only for nitrates, and some on phosphates. Now another thing is that’s it’s not super clear how your suppose to hold the test tube to the color chart. If you place it directly it will cast a shadow and Make it darker, plus you need a bright light as well as a dim light casts a shadow.

I have found under my bright kitchen lights if I hold about 1/2 3/4 inch from the paper is fairly accurate. Now I say fairly because still even after you wait five minutes for nitrates and three for phosphates if you hold this to close your 40 ppm could look like 80 ppm and your 40 could also be around 20-30 ppm.

Now as far as the norm for nitrates I would love to do a lab experiment to finally put this to rest. I have had great color and growth with 20 ppm and also 5 ppm. People really need to just watch their tank every day and see how the corals are doing. They will definitely say when they are mad, and sadly it’s an extremely fast super fast notification.

I trust very few with my water tests, and hence the reason I have started my own. As far as anything any alk swing calcium swing salinity etc is bad and can have drastic effects. I don’t have any automation dosing pumps etc. I do dose my alk and calcium, and I did have to use Red Sea no.3rd and no4 to bring my nitrates down from 20-40ppm because even water changes up to 40 was doing nothing and that was over a month 40 per week. Yes if you use this Red Sea no3 no4 you can not stop suddenly ween it off once your at the desired level. I also stopped using my phosphate reactor (I only have enough in their for 100 gallon) because I don’t want to strip my water. But now that I am almost out of the Red Sea I will turn it back on.

I strongly believe active water changes are the best remedy, from my own personal experience. People have had great luck with other methods but I want it simple and less variables. After the last dosage I will continue weekly water changes and see how the tank goes. If it starts to creep up I will dose small amounts if needed.

I would maybe go to your local Walmart or whatever you have or even a pharmacy and ask for a syringe that can handle 5ml. Then use that as your source for 5ml instead of the marks on the tubes. Besides lol they wear off pretty quick anyway.

Sarah