Test Strip Accuracy?

candelloro · Jun 17, 2019

Hi all! I have been running a 2.5 gallon Pico tank for about a month now and added fish around the second week (I know I’m impatient). I currently only have one watchman goby and 4 hermits and I feed every other day. For the past two weeks since owning the livestock my API 5 in 1 test strips have given me the same results each time with parameters where they should be and I test 3 today and all of a sudden my nitrate and nitrite is off the charts at 200+ ppm and 10 ppm respectively. Anyone have any experiences with inaccurate test strips? I feel like if my readings are really where they’re at then my fish and crabs should have passed a while ago.

Hemmdog · Jun 17, 2019

Any test by api is inaccurate, especially the test strips.

candelloro · Jun 17, 2019

Hemmdog said:
Any test by api is inaccurate, especially the test strips.

Thanks for the input. I freaked out cause the colours on my strip weren’t even on the chart anymore

ScottR · Jun 17, 2019

Hemmdog said:
Any test by api is inaccurate, especially the test strips.

The only test that’s useful by API in a reef tank (IMO) - is the ammonia test when cycling. Their tests will test for both NH3 and NH4.

But I agree with @Hemmdog the general consensus in this hobby is API isn’t really accurate.

candelloro · Jun 17, 2019

ScottR said:
The only test that’s useful by API in a reef tank (IMO) - is the ammonia test when cycling. Their tests will test for both NH3 and NH4.

But I agree with @Hemmdog the general consensus in this hobby is API isn’t really accurate.

Again thanks, I was baffled as I am pretty sure one small fish and 4 hermits couldn’t produce enough waste for nitrates to spike up to 200 ppm in the span of 2 days

ScottR · Jun 17, 2019

candelloro said:
Again thanks, I was baffled as I am pretty sure one small fish and 4 hermits couldn’t produce enough waste for nitrates to spike up to 200 ppm in the span of 2 days

In a properly cycled tank with feeding under control, it shouldn’t. There are other sources of nitrates besides fish waste. Overfeeding or use of non RODI water. My tap water has well over 25ppm nitrates.

luckylepgw · Jun 17, 2019

I got the api reef master test kit, have regretted it ever since

Lasse · Jun 17, 2019

ScottR said:
In a properly cycled tank with feeding under control, it shouldn’t. There are other sources of nitrates besides fish waste. Overfeeding or use of non RODI water. My tap water has well over 25ppm nitrates.

I do not agree - internal in a tank - there is no other sources of nitrate besides nitrification. all other NO3 have to been added from the outside.

candelloro said:
Hi all! I have been running a 2.5 gallon Pico tank for about a month now and added fish around the second week (I know I’m impatient). I currently only have one watchman goby and 4 hermits and I feed every other day. For the past two weeks since owning the livestock my API 5 in 1 test strips have given me the same results each time with parameters where they should be and I test 3 today and all of a sudden my nitrate and nitrite is off the charts at 200+ ppm and 10 ppm respectively. Anyone have any experiences with inaccurate test strips? I feel like if my readings are really where they’re at then my fish and crabs should have passed a while ago.

However - even if in my opinion is that test strips should never ever be used - I have to send out a warning signal in this case. I think that your nitrification cycle has stuck before the second step NO2 -> NO3 and that you are building up NO2 for the moment. NO2 is not as toxic in saltwater as it is in freshwater because of the high chloride content of sea water. It blocks the uptake of NO2 from the water. However – if it is present – it is a stress factor and should be as low as possible

Why do I believe this? You get high levels of both NO2 and NO3 and the high NO3 is caused by the NO2. Nearly all NO3 test will be is disturbed by nitrite in the water – it will give a false reading.

No panic – this will not kill your fish, but you should take actions that partly reduces the NO2 level and which promotes the start of the second step of nitrification. In this case many people recommend a WC – I do not do that. Instead – stop feeding. The good thing is that you will not have any free NH3 in the water – that step is working because you get NO2 – it is converted NH3/NH4 in the first step. However, if you continue to feed – you will add more NH3/NH4 that will be converted to NO2 and you will build up more NO2 if the second step not working.

Together with stop to feed you should add some nitrification bacteria active in the second step – it means Biospira spp or/and Nitrobacter spp,

1. You can get it in a bottle – be sure it contains any of these genera.

2. You can get it from a working aquarium – salt or fresh. Take some superficial sand from a working aquarium or squeeze the sludge from a working filter into a few litres of water (fresh water or saltwater). Shake and let it settle for a minute or thw, pour into a new container. Put this in the refrigerator and pour some of this water into the aquarium every day

3. Move a working filter from another aquarium

4. Get out in forest or unfertilized lawn and take some superficial soil. Put a hand or two in around 2 – 3 litres of water. Shake and pour it through a coffee filter and store the filtrate in the refrigerator. Pour some every day into your aquarium

I think that you can use your strip in order to see when your NO2 level is near zero and you can start feed again. If you feel sorry for your fish – you can feed it with 3-6 frozen adult artemia every third day – but not more and no dry food. If your light is on – the hermit will found food in form of algae.

Please see my article – 15 steps.

Sincerely Lasse

ScottR · Jun 17, 2019

Lasse said:
I do not agree - internal in a tank - there is no other sources of nitrate besides nitrification. all other NO3 have to been added from the outside.

However - even if in my opinion is that test strips should never ever be used - I have to send out a warning signal in this case. I think that your nitrification cycle has stuck before the second step NO2 -> NO3 and that you are building up NO2 for the moment. NO2 is not as toxic in saltwater as it is in freshwater because of the high chloride content of sea water. It blocks the uptake of NO2 from the water. However – if it is present – it is a stress factor and should be as low as possible

Why do I believe this? You get high levels of both NO2 and NO3 and the high NO3 is caused by the NO2. Nearly all NO3 test will be is disturbed by nitrite in the water – it will give a false reading.

No panic – this will not kill your fish, but you should take actions that partly reduces the NO2 level and which promotes the start of the second step of nitrification. In this case many people recommend a WC – I do not do that. Instead – stop feeding. The good thing is that you will not have any free NH3 in the water – that step is working because you get NO2 – it is converted NH3/NH4 in the first step. However, if you continue to feed – you will add more NH3/NH4 that will be converted to NO2 and you will build up more NO2 if the second step not working.

Together with stop to feed you should add some nitrification bacteria active in the second step – it means Biospira spp or/and Nitrobacter spp,

1. You can get it in a bottle – be sure it contains any of these genera.

2. You can get it from a working aquarium – salt or fresh. Take some superficial sand from a working aquarium or squeeze the sludge from a working filter into a few litres of water (fresh water or saltwater). Shake and let it settle for a minute or thw, pour into a new container. Put this in the refrigerator and pour some of this water into the aquarium every day

3. Move a working filter from another aquarium

4. Get out in forest or unfertilized lawn and take some superficial soil. Put a hand or two in around 2 – 3 litres of water. Shake and pour it through a coffee filter and store the filtrate in the refrigerator. Pour some every day into your aquarium

I think that you can use your strip in order to see when your NO2 level is near zero and you can start feed again. If you feel sorry for your fish – you can feed it with 3-6 frozen adult artemia every third day – but not more and no dry food. If your light is on – the hermit will found food in form of algae.

Please see my article – 15 steps.

Sincerely Lasse

I’m sorry @Lasse I don’t understand your disagreement. I said nitrates can be added from water added to your tank from the tap. You seem to have disagreed? Please elaborate.

ScottR · Jun 17, 2019

Lasse said:
I do not agree - internal in a tank - there is no other sources of nitrate besides nitrification. all other NO3 have to been added from the outside.

However - even if in my opinion is that test strips should never ever be used - I have to send out a warning signal in this case. I think that your nitrification cycle has stuck before the second step NO2 -> NO3 and that you are building up NO2 for the moment. NO2 is not as toxic in saltwater as it is in freshwater because of the high chloride content of sea water. It blocks the uptake of NO2 from the water. However – if it is present – it is a stress factor and should be as low as possible

Why do I believe this? You get high levels of both NO2 and NO3 and the high NO3 is caused by the NO2. Nearly all NO3 test will be is disturbed by nitrite in the water – it will give a false reading.

No panic – this will not kill your fish, but you should take actions that partly reduces the NO2 level and which promotes the start of the second step of nitrification. In this case many people recommend a WC – I do not do that. Instead – stop feeding. The good thing is that you will not have any free NH3 in the water – that step is working because you get NO2 – it is converted NH3/NH4 in the first step. However, if you continue to feed – you will add more NH3/NH4 that will be converted to NO2 and you will build up more NO2 if the second step not working.

Together with stop to feed you should add some nitrification bacteria active in the second step – it means Biospira spp or/and Nitrobacter spp,

1. You can get it in a bottle – be sure it contains any of these genera.

2. You can get it from a working aquarium – salt or fresh. Take some superficial sand from a working aquarium or squeeze the sludge from a working filter into a few litres of water (fresh water or saltwater). Shake and let it settle for a minute or thw, pour into a new container. Put this in the refrigerator and pour some of this water into the aquarium every day

3. Move a working filter from another aquarium

4. Get out in forest or unfertilized lawn and take some superficial soil. Put a hand or two in around 2 – 3 litres of water. Shake and pour it through a coffee filter and store the filtrate in the refrigerator. Pour some every day into your aquarium

I think that you can use your strip in order to see when your NO2 level is near zero and you can start feed again. If you feel sorry for your fish – you can feed it with 3-6 frozen adult artemia every third day – but not more and no dry food. If your light is on – the hermit will found food in form of algae.

Please see my article – 15 steps.

Sincerely Lasse

Can anyone else elaborate? I’ve generally looked up to Lasse but is he right about nitrates? I’ve always known that over feeding and tap water causes spike in nitrates? So basically I can use tap water and overfeed and not worry about nitrates?

ScottR · Jun 17, 2019

ScottR said:
Can anyone else elaborate? I’ve generally looked up to Lasse but is he right about nitrates? I’ve always known that over feeding and tap water causes spike in nitrates? So basically I can use tap water and overfeed and not worry about nitrates?

#reefsquad

dbjonesjr · Jun 17, 2019

There is something we should keep in mind. The tank is extremely small therefore nutrient stability will not be great. API test kits show a false reading of high nitrates when there are extremely high nitrites. I have had this issue myself. It seems as though you may be having a nitrite spike and that is why your nitrate test is reading so high.

ScottR said:
Can anyone else elaborate? I’ve generally looked up to Lasse but is he right about nitrates? I’ve always known that over feeding and tap water causes spike in nitrates? So basically I can use tap water and overfeed and not worry about nitrates?

Addressing this is difficult. You are correct in stating that nitrate can enter the reef aquarium through tap water but the chances of this happening are extremely low. The United States has a maximum acceptable level of 10 mg/L of NO3 while the World Health Organization considers the maximum acceptable level to be 50 mg/L. So even if tap water was being used it would certainly not be 200 mg/L. We should also not forget that nitrates would be the last concern if tap water was being used.

Ron Reefman · Jun 17, 2019

candelloro, where do you get your top off water and how has it been treated (if at all) before it goes into your tank to replace evaporation?

ScottR, I'm a bit confused by Lasse's statement as well. But I think it's a misunderstanding of what he is saying, or trying to say. I don't claim any chemistry expertise.

ScottR · Jun 17, 2019

dbjonesjr said:
There is something we should keep in mind. The tank is extremely small therefore nutrient stability will not be great. API test kits show a false reading of high nitrates when there are extremely high nitrites. I have had this issue myself. It seems as though you may be having a nitrite spike and that is why your nitrate test is reading so high.

Addressing this is difficult. You are correct in stating that nitrate can enter the reef aquarium through tap water but the chances of this happening are extremely low. The United States has a maximum acceptable level of 10 mg/L of NO3 while the World Health Organization considers the maximum acceptable level to be 50 mg/L. So even if tap water was being used it would certainly not be 200 mg/L. We should also not forget that nitrates would be the last concern if tap water was being used.

How would this translate to ppm though? When in this hobby we go off of test kits, using mg/L seems to not be easy to measure as a hobbyist.

dbjonesjr · Jun 17, 2019

ScottR said:
How would this translate to ppm though? When in this hobby we go off of test kits, using mg/L seems to not be easy to measure as a hobbyist.

mg/L = ppm
We should be careful to speak on subjects that we are not particularly well versed in.

Lasse · Jun 17, 2019

Lasse said:
I do not agree - internal in a tank - there is no other sources of nitrate besides nitrification. all other NO3 have to been added from the outside.

With internal I mean inside the tank. With beside nitrification I meant beside the transformation of NH3/NH4 into NO2 and further to NO3. With added from the outside I mean external source as contaminated water. I probably should have write I do not fully agree

You are right that tap water can give high nitrates - but that´s an external source - not internal. Overfeeding can also give high nitrates but that´s because bacteria break down the organic N and release NH3/NH4 that will be converted to NO3 trough the nitrification cycle (if not algae or other organisms have taken up the NH3/NH4 first) What I try to state - there is nothing that internal can release pure NO3 into the water without the exeption of the nitrification cycle (as I know of) but of cause NH3/NH4 released of any organism can be transferred into NO3 by the nitrification cycle

Do it get clearer?

Sincerely Lasse

ScottR · Jun 17, 2019

dbjonesjr said:
mg/L = ppm
We should be careful to speak on subjects that we are not particularly well versed in.

Thanks. I’m an idiot in this hobby

ScottR · Jun 17, 2019

Lasse said:
With internal I mean inside the tank. With beside nitrification I meant beside the transformation of NH3/NH4 into NO2 and further to NO3. With added from the outside I mean external source as contaminated water. I probably should have write I do not fully agree

You are right that tap water can give high nitrates - but that´s an external source - not internal. Overfeeding can also give high nitrates but that´s because bacteria break down the organic N and release NH3/NH4 that will be converted to NO3 trough the nitrification cycle (if not algae or other organisms have taken up the NH3/NH4 first) What I try to state - there is nothing that internal can release pure NO3 into the water without the exeption of the nitrification cycle (as I know of) but of cause NH3/NH4 released of any organism can be transferred into NO3 by the nitrification cycle

Do it get clearer?

Sincerely Lasse

I think it’s time I leave REEF2REEF. Too many big heads.

glb · Jun 17, 2019

I’d suggest adding some beneficial bacteria like Dr. Tim’s One and Only. After that, I think you need better test kits, especially in a tank that small where changes happen so quickly. Here’s what I use: Nitrates, Mg, and Ca: Salifert; Alk and po4: Hanna Checkers; salinity-refractometer. It’s worth the investment and I think absolutely critical for long term success. Good luck!