My New Test Kit Arrived, Here Are The First Lot Of Results

[emzyp]

The tank water i am testing is a 160L tropical community tank (which has danios,gouramis, platies and clown loach in.) it has a few live plants,bogwood and sand substrate

The test kit i am using is the API freshwater master test kit(which i got off ebay for £16, i thought that was a bargain!)
I have found this test kit much more accurate than my old one which was the INTERPET easy tablet test kit as i found with the API kit it is much easier to match the tubes with the colour chart.

The results are as follows:

PH 7.6 (i used the normal ph solution 2nd time round because the high ph solution didnt really match up with any colours on the chart whereas the normal ph one did)

Ammonia 0ppm

Nitrite 0ppm

Nitrate 30ppm ( i say 30 because looking at the colour chart it wasnt quite 20 and wasnt quite 40, so ive put it in between)



My question is do these look like okay results?

i do have to say it was good fun testing it all,it was like being back at school in a science lesson, with the test tube bottles!!

 

[maximinimus]

Looks good, if you like the API kit you should have a look at the Hagen master test kit, it has around 20 different chemicals and proper test tubes

 

[jnms]

Looks good, if you like the API kit you should have a look at the Hagen master test kit, it has around 20 different chemicals and proper test tubes

To be honest I have the hagen mini master test kit, and I don't like there colour charts very much, I find the range of colours is extremely difficult to distinguish...

 

[jnms]

The tank water i am testing is a 160L tropical community tank (which has danios,gouramis, platies and clown loach in.) it has a few live plants,bogwood and sand substrate

The test kit i am using is the API freshwater master test kit(which i got off ebay for £16, i thought that was a bargain!)

When did you order your kit? I ordered mine from eBay on Tuesday - for £16 delivered so probably from the same supplier...

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah they sound spot on, always good to test your tap water too to get an idea of the baseline, it's especially useful in determining target nitrate levels, some people have tap water nitrate of 40ppm so obviously it's no good saying to them that it should be below 20.... it's just not possible, so if you know what your tap water reading is you can determine if it's significantly higher in the tank or not. if it's climbing up much more than 20ppm over the course of a week (from after the water change until just before the next one) then you need to think about upping your maintenance routine

 

[emzyp]

yeah they sound spot on, always good to test your tap water too to get an idea of the baseline, it's especially useful in determining target nitrate levels, some people have tap water nitrate of 40ppm so obviously it's no good saying to them that it should be below 20.... it's just not possible, so if you know what your tap water reading is you can determine if it's significantly higher in the tank or not. if it's climbing up much more than 20ppm over the course of a week (from after the water change until just before the next one) then you need to think about upping your maintenance routine

thats a good point! thanks Miss Wiggle, i will test my tap water- i didnt know it may have a nitrate reading all ready

 

[emzyp]

yeah they sound spot on, always good to test your tap water too to get an idea of the baseline, it's especially useful in determining target nitrate levels, some people have tap water nitrate of 40ppm so obviously it's no good saying to them that it should be below 20.... it's just not possible, so if you know what your tap water reading is you can determine if it's significantly higher in the tank or not. if it's climbing up much more than 20ppm over the course of a week (from after the water change until just before the next one) then you need to think about upping your maintenance routine

thats a good point! thanks Miss Wiggle, i will test my tap water- i didnt know it may have a nitrate reading all ready

tap water result NitrAte 5.0ppm

 

[Miss Wiggle]

cool, I'd say you should aim to keep nitrate below 30ppm ish based on your tap water

 

[jnms]

Hey emzyp when did you order your kit? Just wondering cuz I am still waiting delivery of mine...so wanting to get an idea of how long delivery takes...

 

[emzyp]

Hey emzyp when did you order your kit? Just wondering cuz I am still waiting delivery of mine...so wanting to get an idea of how long delivery takes...

well i suppose it depends who you have ordered it off and how quick they are with posting, i only waited 3 days, which is good.