Nitrate test

[Charney]

Who makes the best nitrate test kit? I have API and I don't like it.

 

[jeep07]

this isnt going to answer your question completly. But i know a guy who has been in the hobby for 30 years and he says screw test kits, he tests the water by putting some on his finger and tasting it.....yah, I know its weird lol.

 

[Jc1119]

this isnt going to answer your question completly. But i know a guy who has been in the hobby for 30 years and he says screw test kits, he tests the water by putting some on his finger and tasting it.....yah, I know its weird lol.

and how does tasting it distinguish between having 10ppm and 100ppm? Levels are what your looking for, not a taste test....keep in mind also that about 30 years ago, alot of people believed you shouldnt do water changes because they were harmful to your fish

I use the api master kit. Seems to work ok at getting in the ballpark.The api test strips are pretty inaccurate IMO

 

[Hot Slime]

API is a pretty good test kit brand. What don't you like abou it? I like them better then the other I have used.

 

[Spiritofthesoul]

this isnt going to answer your question completly. But i know a guy who has been in the hobby for 30 years and he says screw test kits, he tests the water by putting some on his finger and tasting it.....yah, I know its weird lol.

No comment

 

[Charney]

For some reason my nitrate test kits by API seem to expire or stop working really quickly. I am pretty sure it is not me. They work great for a couple of months. After a couple of months it seems that my husbandry goes from great to incredible and I have no nitrate in any of my aquariums! Then i have to purchase a new kit.

 

[lipadj46]

this isnt going to answer your question completly. But i know a guy who has been in the hobby for 30 years and he says screw test kits, he tests the water by putting some on his finger and tasting it.....yah, I know its weird lol.

I think I just got less smart

 

[lipadj46]

For some reason my nitrate test kits by API seem to expire or stop working really quickly. I am pretty sure it is not me. They work great for a couple of months. After a couple of months it seems that my husbandry goes from great to incredible and I have no nitrate in any of my aquariums! Then i have to purchase a new kit.

It does not go bad that quickly you just need to shake bottle 2 very violently to break up the crystals. If you don't then all the solute can crystallize and it won't give results and it gets hard to get back into solution because you can't break up the block of ppt.

 

[joe jaskot]

If you keep up with your water changes, there is no need to test for nitrates. If possible, keep some live aquatic plants in the tank to use them up. Kept fish for 30+ years and never tested for nitrates.

 

[Jc1119]

If you keep up with your water changes, there is no need to test for nitrates. If possible, keep some live aquatic plants in the tank to use them up. Kept fish for 30+ years and never tested for nitrates.

Sorry, but that just not true. Many local water supplies have high levels of nitrates. I too have kept fish for over 30 years and having lived in 4 different states i can tell you all water supplies are not created equal. The plant idea is great, but would have little effect in my mbuna setup which sits at a ph of about 8.3. Very little plant life in Lake Malawi.....

Plus testing for nitrates will give you an idea of how often you should do regular water changes depending on how you stock. Heavy stockers need more frequent changes than light stockers and a good test kit will tell you wether weekly changes are enough without guessing. And for some of us who breed nitrate sensitive fish such as loricariids, guessing and hoping for the best isn't good enough