The API nitrate test is just plain garbage. Not worth the arm strain of shaking it. Just toss it in the trash and buy a quality test.
API test kits - shelf life and accuracy *PICS*
- Thread starter jcardona1
- Start date
Keep in mind "Shelf Life" means in the untampered packaging... Once you open it, it is no longer surviving off of it's "shelf life"...
I've always heard/followed that they are reliable for 1 year after opening. I nkow I've read that on a label and/or in an instructional manual, but I have no idea how many years ago that was nor on what brand it was...
It's very true that at higher concentrations it is very difficult to utilize the scale... one common method is to dilute the tank water with "clean" water. If you get 30 ppm when using a 50/50 mix, you have 60 nitrates in your tank... Mix water prior to testing, not after...
JsChall, what would you consider a quality Nitrate test?
I've always heard/followed that they are reliable for 1 year after opening. I nkow I've read that on a label and/or in an instructional manual, but I have no idea how many years ago that was nor on what brand it was...
It's very true that at higher concentrations it is very difficult to utilize the scale... one common method is to dilute the tank water with "clean" water. If you get 30 ppm when using a 50/50 mix, you have 60 nitrates in your tank... Mix water prior to testing, not after...
JsChall, what would you consider a quality Nitrate test?
nc_nutcase;3929977; said:
TBH I haven't used anything else yet (don't bother testing nitrates any more) but red sea looks a whooooole lot better.
Personally I don't want my nitrates over 40ppm.It goes over sometimes but when it's red I just change it. I could care less if it says 40 or 60 or 180...red equals a WC for me.
I have one of those and it pisses me off cuz im colorblind, but it gives me a sorta good idea, then i can just ask somebody for the correct color.
After reading this I went and tested my test kits. I had a brand new kit not been opened cause I still had my old kit from many years ago. My Nitrates test was way off. I just tossed it. I know I can just do a little math but tossing it was easier.
Thanks for this post. I guess my waters are lower in nitrates then I thought.
Thanks for this post. I guess my waters are lower in nitrates then I thought.
Another thing to consider with API nitrate test kit is that for the 2nd bottle to work properly, it needs to be shaken way more than the other bottles. If it has been sitting for any extended period of time it will give a false low reading because it has settled and hardened. It needs to be shaken and tapped on a counter/table to loosen it up before it will actually read correctly.
I bought an API kit and was getting really low nitrate readings, even after going longer than i should without a water change. Knowing i should have higher nitrates than 5 or 10, i looked into and found that out. I did enough tests before finding this out that i am worried i might have made the composition wrong because now its almost always really high according to other test kits. Just another thing to keep in mind when it comes to APIs crappy nitrate test.
I bought an API kit and was getting really low nitrate readings, even after going longer than i should without a water change. Knowing i should have higher nitrates than 5 or 10, i looked into and found that out. I did enough tests before finding this out that i am worried i might have made the composition wrong because now its almost always really high according to other test kits. Just another thing to keep in mind when it comes to APIs crappy nitrate test.
