How on earth do you interpret nitrate tests?

[LucasRe]

Is it just me or is this impossible?

 

[Quietman]

I might be missing your point. It's hard to tell without being there in direct light, but I'd call that 20ppm. Very possible.

I'm assuming there's more to this...did you just start your tank up, early in cycle...need some more information on your tank to assist.

 

[LucasRe]

Tanks been running for about 6 months. The nitrates got quite high early on (around 50), I got it down to what I thought was 20 and started dosing nopox to also reduce phosphates. Phosphates have since dropped from 1 to 0.06, but I just feel like I can't accurately interpret nitrate colour charts. It seems little lighter than other tests Ive done so Im leaning towards something lower than 20 but higher than 10.

 

[Quietman]

Probably right then, pics are not going to show same color intensity as you can see. That's very possible and good job dosing the NoPox correctly, very easy to overshoot to zero.

I used to use the RS nitrate but shifted over to Nyos, the yellow indicator was much easier for me to interpret. RS is fine test though.

 

[ReefRusty]

I find salifert easy to use personally. But just maybe because I also use the calc and mag to be consistent with 1 brand

 

[blasterman]

Its the red sea kit. Even BRS knocked it for being tough to distinguish results.

I prefer the salifert.

 

[Quietman]

I should clarify...the Nyos is easier for me to read at lower nitrates < 5 ppm. When I compared to RS, they were same levels, just easier for me to read between, 1-3 -5 ppm on the Nyos.

 

[Zer0]

Originally I gave up on trying to figure out nitrate test kit color cards, so I got the Hanna digital nitrate meter. But, I then kinda gave up on that test kit as well because you have to use like 3 different reagents, inject the solution into a filter pad, etc... So then I went back to Salifert nitrate test kits. I would say, if you just want to get a general idea of where your nitrates are, then the color-card test kits are a better approach. If you want to get granular with your tests, then I would say the digital meters are better because if you use them correctly, they leave no doubt and tell you exactly what your nitrate levels are.

 

[Darren in Tacoma]

Nitrates are either high, low or ok. In my tank I would call that high. That is about as scientific as I get with nitrates.

Also, Hannah just came out with a high range nitrate tester if you want numbers.

 

[Righteous]

Also, Hannah just came out with a high range nitrate tester if you want numbers.

I have the Hanna Low Range and can attest to the accuracy. I’d expect the new High Range to be just as good if you’re really curious.

But I also think a ballpark of “high” for the reading is more than accurate. Accuracy in the higher range is less of an issue. Where accuracy is more of a concern is the low end where the difference between 1ppm and 0ppm can mean perfectly healthy or dinos and sick corals.

 

[gbroadbridge]

I might be missing your point. It's hard to tell without being there in direct light, but I'd call that 20ppm. Very possible.

I'm assuming there's more to this...did you just start your tank up, early in cycle...need some more information on your tank to assist.

Hard to say without 6000k lighting, but I'd say 20

 

[blaxsun]

Is it just me or is this impossible?

Well, there’s a shadow in the center of the vial - so I’d call it 15. Usually when it’s between colors you split the difference.

 

[blaxsun]

Nitrates are either high, low or ok. In my tank I would call that high. That is about as scientific as I get with nitrates.

Also, Hannah just came out with a high range nitrate tester if you want numbers.

I’d call anything in excess of 50 “high”. 10-20 is probably “medium”, and 5-10 is “low”. Anything under 5 I’d consider “ultra low”, and anything over 100 “ultra high”. There are a lot of successful reef tanks in the 10-15 range, too.

 

[jordan10]

I’d call anything in excess of 50 “high”. 10-20 is probably “medium”, and 5-10 is “low”. Anything under 5 I’d consider “ultra low”, and anything over 100 “ultra high”. There are a lot of successful reef tanks in the 10-15 range, too.

I have to agree with you there. My No3 stays round 20s and look at my build tread. I see no ill effects on my reef.

But my 2 cents I hate the color charts to so got the Hanna No3 checker when first released. And way to many steps to use. So back to color charts.

 

[blaxsun]

I have the Red Sea but find the range too limiting. The Nyos has over 3x the range and is a lot easier to read (yellow vs. pink).

 

[Dkeller_nc]

Tanks been running for about 6 months. The nitrates got quite high early on (around 50), I got it down to what I thought was 20 and started dosing nopox to also reduce phosphates. Phosphates have since dropped from 1 to 0.06, but I just feel like I can't accurately interpret nitrate colour charts. It seems little lighter than other tests Ive done so Im leaning towards something lower than 20 but higher than 10.

What others are alluding to in their replies to your thread is that precise interpretation of nitrate levels in a tank aren't necessary. When you think about water chemistry test results, there's a hierarchy of importance and need for accuracy. Certainly there's room for interpretation and/or disagreement, but in my opinion the order of importance, and therefore the need for accuracy, is as follows:

Tank temperature
Water specific gravity and/or salinity
Alkalinity
Calcium
Magnesium
pH (but only in a general sort of way, and only if the values are way off the typical 7.9-8.4 range)
Phosphate
Nitrate

The above list is the way I'd rank the test values in order of importance assuming that you're interested in growing coral in general and SPS in particular. Others with different objectives could reorder and/or eliminate some of those. For a FOWLR tank, for example, you really couldn't care less about alkalinity, calcium and magnesium, and you'd only care about phosphate and nitrate if you had companion invertebrates in the tank and/or you had an algae problem.

Bottom line, I'd say that nitrate <20 ppm is fine for a new tank, with the eventual goal to hover around 5 ppm if/when the reefer gets sensitive SPS species, such as acropora. There are absolutely folks that have a real desire to know nitrate levels down to a precision level of +/- 0.1 ppm, but that desire says more about the personality of the reefer than the needs of the corals in the tank. That's partly why most of us are OK with the +/- 1-3 ppm accuracy/precision of tests like Salifert - there's plenty of evidence that SPS corals just aren't that sensitive to the exact level so long as the nitrate/phosphate levels aren't zero.

 

[fachatga]

I used to have redsea and got that color all the time to. The number is high but impossible to tell what. Use salifert or nyos. So much easier to Ballpark results. Redsea just isn’t good for nitrate. IMO

 

[fachatga]

Your plight is so familiar. Lol. This test just sucks

 

[blaxsun]

None of the non-digital kits are going to give you highly accurate nitrate readings. It's basically going to be "best guess" or "open to interpretation" based on how well you view the color palette. I think the whole idea is to let you know whether you're in the ballpark so you can gauge and plan accordingly.

Red Sea: 0, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50
Salifert: 0, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100
Nyos: 0, 1, 3, 5, 12, 25, 40, 65, 95, 160

 

[blaxsun]

Your plight is so familiar. Lol. This test just sucks

Somewhere between 20-30, would be my guess.