Is My Api Test Busted Or What Is Going On With My Water?

[daizeUK]

I hope your new bottle gives you less confusing results!  Let us know how it goes!
 
It's true that no hobby test kit is accurate enough to be totally reliable, as TwoTankAmin will happily tell you, the true scientific test kits cost £100's of pounds.  The API kit is still not a bad kit to start off with and I would still recommend it to others myself, even though mine was next to useless, because it's such a simple kit for beginners to use and I guess I was unlucky with mine.

 

[fluttermoth]

I think you have to look at most home test kits as a guide, rather than getting too hung up on figures, although they are still much better than test strips for nearly everything.
 
The tests for pH and nitrite are fairly accurate, the ones for ammonia can give a small false positive; don't worry if it looks between 0 and 0.25ppm (especially if the fish are all acting normally), but do if it looks as if it's between 0.5 and 1ppm.
 
The API nitrate test can give a falsely low result, if you haven't shaken bottle 2 enough, and is also not to be considered accurate to more than 10ppm or so; treat it as yellow/pale orange = fine, dark orange = not too good, red = bad, rather than worrying if it's reading exactly 60ppm or 80ppm.

 

[Crito]

I think you have to look at most home test kits as a guide, rather than getting too hung up on figures, although they are still much better than test strips for nearly everything.
 
The tests for pH and nitrite are fairly accurate, the ones for ammonia can give a small false positive; don't worry if it looks between 0 and 0.25ppm (especially if the fish are all acting normally), but do if it looks as if it's between 0.5 and 1ppm.
 
The API nitrate test can give a falsely low result, if you haven't shaken bottle 2 enough, and is also not to be considered accurate to more than 10ppm or so; treat it as yellow/pale orange = fine, dark orange = not too good, red = bad, rather than worrying if it's reading exactly 60ppm or 80ppm.

Thank you for this Fluttermoth. I have been testing my water (according to your guides) and my ammonia and nitrate seem fine.
My nitrate, however, is always red = bad (I shake it well) I've been doing water changes but it just stays the same. I have now tested my tap water and it is red too (very close if not the same colour) Any thoughts? Thank you!

 

[daizeUK]

UK water is permitted to contain up to 50ppm legally.  Beyond this limit is dangerous for bottle-fed infants.  Often you will find the nitrate content of your water fluctuates seasonally as farmers use fertilisers on their fields.
 
I originally had high tap nitrates and this was the reason I began to plant my tanks, on advice that plants will help to absorb the nitrates.  In the best circumstances (meaning a high-tech tank with strong lighting and high levels of CO2) a fully planted tank can absorb up to about 20ppm of nitrates per week.  Most of our tanks probably don't come anywhere near this, though!
 
I would only worry about these levels of nitrates if keeping nitrate-sensitive or breeding fish.  I think your guppies should be able to handle it just fine.

 

[Crito]

UK water is permitted to contain up to 50ppm legally.  Beyond this limit is dangerous for bottle-fed infants.  Often you will find the nitrate content of your water fluctuates seasonally as farmers use fertilisers on their fields.
 
I originally had high tap nitrates and this was the reason I began to plant my tanks, on advice that plants will help to absorb the nitrates.  In the best circumstances (meaning a high-tech tank with strong lighting and high levels of CO2) a fully planted tank can absorb up to about 20ppm of nitrates per week.  Most of our tanks probably don't come anywhere near this, though!
 
I would only worry about these levels of nitrates if keeping nitrate-sensitive or breeding fish.  I think your guppies should be able to handle it just fine.

Thank you, Daize I love my little guys, at the moment they seem happy but I will be heartbroken if things go wrong.
I have also noticed tiny little snails residing on the plant. I have removed 4 or 5 but may have missed some. Do I need to worry about them?

 

[daizeUK]

I just do the same as you, remove them when I see them  They shouldn't do any harm, unless they start taking over the tank then this can be a sign you are overfeeding the fish, otherwise keep or remove them as you like.

 

[Linear]

Top tip for snails: put a peice of cucumber in the tank and leave it until you see a good load of them on it, then remove the cucumber.
 
With the test kits, the only think that is off for me is the pH but it's relatively accurate, and ammonia is always fine with a slight green tinch <~.25ppm, either witha false positive or otherwise.
 
They are retail kits remember guys, cheap and cheerful, and supprisingly accurate for that market. Don't expect miracles =D

 

[fluttermoth]

Top tip for snails: put a peice of cucumber in the tank and leave it until you see a good load of them on it, then remove the cucumber.

Do put it in a clean jam jar or margarine tub though; the snails often drop off when you lift the cucumber up! If you use a container, you can also try algae wafers and things like that as well as veggies

 

[Crito]

Won't the cucumber foul the water though? How do they get to it, won't it float? Just spotted one on the glass, tiny little thing with its microscopic antennae, travelling upwards at a speed of 1mm/hr, quite cute