Hannah vs api ammonia: .2api/1.8 hannah

[Trillaman954]

Hannah vs api ammonia: .2api/1.8 hannah which one should I trust?

 

[taricha]

show us the hanna reacted vial? super dark green?

 

[Trillaman954]

show us the hanna reacted vial? super dark green?

Yes it was super dark green. I threw it away

 

[taricha]

I lean toward the hanna here, but read the hanna directions one more time, and see if it's being done correctly.
Is there any reason to think there could be ammonia, or is this like a well established tank running for months with no reason to have ammonia?

 

[MnFish1]

Hannah vs api ammonia: .2api/1.8 hannah which one should I trust?

No clue which one you should trust. but If you read the API instructions, your ammonia is 0 - though with the picture and lighting it could be 0.25

 

[MnFish1]

PS - the way to tell the 'true' one is to do a third test with a different brand, rather than try to guess.

 

[Trillaman954]

I lean toward the hanna here, but read the hanna directions one more time, and see if it's being done correctly.
Is there any reason to think there could be ammonia, or is this like a well established tank running for months with no reason to have ammonia?

Tank is 3 months. I had a live rock in a separation cube for my mandarin who I was trying to put on frozen food. I split it in half, maybe 2 pounds, and put it in the sump. It made the water kind of cloudy.

 

[Trillaman954]

is this what I was missing? If so these where my results

 

[taricha]

No. Both API and hanna show total ammonia. NH3+NH4.
I can explain API missing low easier than hanna missing high, if you are sure you did hanna test right.

 

[MnFish1]

is this what I was missing? If so these where my results

The point here he is trying to make is that both tests read total NH4, but you can use the calculator on the website to figure out the free NH3. Additionally, what is on the Hamza page is a little off. IMHO, API does not have a specific problem reading ammonia instead users do not adequately read the instructions on the kit. which state:

"The tube should be viewed in a well-lit area against the white area of the card. The closest match indicates the ppm (mg/L) of ammonia in the water sample."

In other words just because the ammonia test may appear slightly more green than the 'zero level' if the color is nearly yellow - the reading is not 0.1 or 0.15 or some other estimate. The reading is 'zero'. Likewise if the color is closest to 0.25 - but slightly more green, than the card, the reading is not 0.3 etc, the reading is 0.25 ppm.

 

[Trillaman954]

Hannah was off

 

[taricha]

Thanks a bunch, @Trillaman954 . Any chance you could run the hanna test again just for my curiousity and take a pic of the reacted sample after 15 minutes.
(Not that it matters. Just curious.)

 

[Trillaman954]

Thanks a bunch, @Trillaman954 . Any chance you could run the hanna test again just for my curiousity and take a pic of the reacted sample after 15 minutes.
(Not that it matters. Just curious.)

I’ll test again after I do another spin