One of my ingenius schemes

[IovaykInD]

I'm talking about Aquarium Pharmaceuticals here. With the test kits...it tells you to fill it up with water to a certain line. What if you fill it up to half that line, and add half the amount of drops of indicator? That means you could use the test kit double the amount of times that it states!!

Isaac

 

[tttnjfttt]

The only possible problem I see in that is when you read the color agains the cards. When I read my water tests, I tip the tube sideways so I can look down on it (around a 30 degree angle with the ground). When you tip the tubes, the water will no longer be as "deep" where you are reading it (a mixture of water then air), so the color will look different.

However, when I am testing an established tank, I just eyeball the color of ammonia and nitrite. If you were doing that, I don't see it as a big problem, assuming if the results were wierd in any way you did the test again with the full amount.

 

[Tolak]

Or you could use twice as much water, & twice as many drops.
I've done the half a tube/half the drops thing, you end up with the same results.

Tolak

 

[pica_nuttalli]

most of my tests use 3 drops per x mL. how do you get 1.5 drops?

 

[Tolak]

The one I use most is the nitrate kit, 10 drops from each of 2 bottles. The ammo test is 8 drops. These are per 5ml. Nitrites & ph, being 5 drops, I just use 2 and leave the tube a little shy of halfway. GH & KH, each drop counts as 2. I'm not big on doing water tests, water changes are a different story.

Tolak

 

[Snailguy101]

Wouldn't i be the same results?

 

[sylvia]

The other obvious problem is getting exactly half way. Especialy with the nitrAte test, small differences can be quite significant (due to the nature of nitrAte tests). Still, I don't think it would be anything serious and a slightly wrong reading for nitrAte shouldn't be a real issue.

 

[Tolak]

Half the water & half the drops gives the same results. But if you use twice as much water, & twice the drops, you use the stuff up twice as fast, giving you a really good excuse to go to the lfs.

Tolak

 

[Snailguy101]

^^^oooo so if you would bring that to the lfs with a dead fish they would refund it?

 

[tttnjfttt]

so if you would bring that to the lfs with a dead fish they would refund it?

Uh...where did this come from? The only time the LFS will replace fish is when they are under "warnty". Then they ask you to bring in a water sample because if your ammonia and/or nitrite is off the charts, it is not their fish the died.