Possibly a bad test kit led me to believe i had super high nitrates....

rotarygeek

rotarygeek

Member
Ok so alot of you have probably read my thread about sugar dosing. In that thread i started with nitrates that were darker than what the card would read. I started dosing sugar, and saw definate results with it, but nothing too extreme. I ordered a reefmasters test kit, and it came with another kit for nitrates, so i decided to test them both side by side today. They came up really really different. The old one (maybe 6 months old) read between 80-160 ppm and the new one reads about 15ppm. So now im wondering how long this old test kit has been bad. This caused me to start dosing sugar in the first place. I also had the water tested at a LFS close by, and they came up with imbetween 10-20 also, so im pretty sure its the old test kit gone bad. Now i spent a good amount of time that i didn't have to waste on taking notes and tests during the sugar dosing test, and i guess its all for nothing becuase i was doing it with a bad test kit. So in the end, my nitrates are down to 15ppm.
 
rotarygeek

rotarygeek

Member
Oops, forgot to add more than just the rant....
I wanted to get my nitrates down so i could try some zoa's. So with my nitrates down to accepteable levels i guess i can get a frag now. Do you think Zoa's would do ok under 1 24" t5ho light? I think it has a 20k bulb in it.... If that won't work, i have a super actinic I can use too. Ill place it high up on the rocks if it would work. Also on the other side of the tank i have a 20" pc 50/50 daylight/actinic fixture, so if it will work on that side of the tank, i might try them over there.
 
adesimone1

adesimone1

Member
We always buy a new test kit when the nitrates seem higher then usual but we also have 2 tanks to compare to 1 with a heavy bioload and 1 with a little bioload. We also have been dosing with vodka and we are very happy with the results. You will be fine adding zoos they don't need strong lighting and they do like a little dirty water. Both my tanks have alot of zoos the 210 is running 3 400 mh and T5 actinics and the 70 gallon is straight T5's but they will do well under pc lighting also.
 
prime311

prime311

Active Member
APi Nitrate test kit standard deviation +/- 200
I'm so sick and tired of people recommending them with comments like 'well I've never had any problems....'. Guess what, people post on these boards time and again issues with API kits, issues I also have personally experienced. They suck and people need to wake up and realize this.
 
jerryatrick

jerryatrick

Active Member
Listen up Geek boy, go get some zoa's and purchase a salifert nitrate test. As stated above, both your lighting fixtures allow you to keep zoa's.
 
prime311

prime311

Active Member
Originally Posted by don1234
http:///forum/post/2758877
What type of test kit would you recommend?
Salifert, Elos, Hagen, Sera, to name a few. Its best to remember you generally get what you pay for with these things so when you cheap out and get API or test strips then you're risking inaccurate results. Although even quality products aren't perfect, you could easily spend thousands of dollars for a real top of the line professional lab quality test kit, but I think its pretty safe to say the more valuable the kit the more accurate your results will be.
 
kazara

kazara

Member
I am starting to think my Red Sea tests for Nitrates is wrong to. I just got it and it is showing my Nitrates at 200 or more. My test strips show 40. Anyone use Red Sea marine lab?
 
rotarygeek

rotarygeek

Member
Originally Posted by JerryAtrick
http:///forum/post/2758820
Listen up Geek boy, go get some zoa's and purchase a salifert nitrate test. As stated above, both your lighting fixtures allow you to keep zoa's.
Lol where were you like a month and half ago. You know i feel pretty dumb right now for not testing the test kit in the first place. On payday ill get a better nitrate test, but unless I here some other semi-horror stories about all the other test kits, ill stick with them till they run out. And your sure ill be able to keep zoas under either one of my lights? Positive? Cuz thats really the only coral that peaks my interest right now. But who knows later on I might have to upgrade again.
 
jerryatrick

jerryatrick

Active Member

Originally Posted by RotaryGeek
http:///forum/post/2759617
Lol where were you like a month and half ago. You know i feel pretty dumb right now for not testing the test kit in the first place. On payday ill get a better nitrate test, but unless I here some other semi-horror stories about all the other test kits, ill stick with them till they run out. And your sure ill be able to keep zoas under either one of my lights? Positive? Cuz thats really the only coral that peaks my interest right now. But who knows later on I might have to upgrade again.
Post your tank size and dimensions and the specifics of your lights.
 
prime311

prime311

Active Member
My API kits(I had 3) 2 bad Nitrate tests(reported too low), 1 bad Phosphate kit(reported 0 which was wrong), and 2 ammonia tests that often game me random unreadable Ammonia test levels(ie color not even on chart, which was annoying but at least better then giving me the wrong color).
 
rotarygeek

rotarygeek

Member
Tank size is a standard 55 with seperate lights. On the right side i have a 24" t5ho single light strip from hagen with either 20k or super actinic bulbs to change between. Then on the left side i have a 20" pc fixture from Current. its a single bulb that has 50/50 daylight/actinic with a moonlight.
 
spiderwoman

spiderwoman

Active Member
Salifert did indeed have a bad test batch I think last year. I do trust Salifert the best and have completely gone with them. I've used API and Instant Ocean Reef Kit, but by far the most accurate is Salifert.
 
jerryatrick

jerryatrick

Active Member
Originally Posted by RotaryGeek
http:///forum/post/2759923
Tank size is a standard 55 with seperate lights. On the right side i have a 24" t5ho single light strip from hagen with either 20k or super actinic bulbs to change between. Then on the left side i have a 20" pc fixture from Current. its a single bulb that has 50/50 daylight/actinic with a moonlight.
If you place the zoas high in the tank I think you will be alright. I have zoas at the bottom of tank that are shaded and are still growing with bright color.
 
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