Problem with PH

[wildcats]

Hello Everyone!
For a couple of months I have been having problems with my Ph. The tank has been setup for about 3 months and for some reason the ph is off my scale. I am currently using a Hagen Test Kit. Everytime I do the test the color that shows up is between black and dark blue. So i don't know if it's too high or too low. Has anyone ever had this problem?
Any sollutions?????
Wildcat

 

[broomer5]

I'd buy another brand of test kit.
fasTest and Salifert are both good.
Sorry - I've never used the Hagen kit so not much I can add there.
How long has your tank been set up, and has this been a problem from the start ?
Brian

 

[fshhub]

sound like you got a bad tester, even if that color is possible, it would have to be way way way off, to the point taht you couldn't even survive with your hand in there
try another kit, and take a sample to your lfs,j
reagents do go bad, could be what happpened
another thing, have you ever done anyhthing to clean your vial, the only thing ever goning in there should be water and the reagent, or some people use their finger to cover the top when they innvert the vial to mix, body oils are acidic, could someone have done this at any time??
not trying to accuse, just offering opinions as to what you could investigate
HTH

 

[rhearrel]

Definitely sounds like a test kit problem.
I recently got a PinPoint Ph monitor and love it. I can quickly check the Ph at various day parts without the hassle of getting out the testing gear.

 

[predator]

I'm not a friend of hagen anything.I'd look into a diffrent test kit.Red Sea makes a good one.

 

[kenobi]

Red sea is good... But the best would be fast test by aquarium systems.

 

[wildcats]

ok...thank you all for input. I'm gonna get a new ph test kit this weekend and I will keep you updated with my problem.
Wildcat
PS: The tank has been setup for 5 months....

 

[kris walker]

Hey Wildcat, why not take Fshhub's advice and bring a water sample to your LFS when you go to get a new test kit? Just have them check the pH for you to see if your test kit is really bad (which it sounds like it is). It might save you some buckeroos.
sam