dpmpop

Hi guys, it's been a while since I posted anything but I wanted to get some opinions and perhaps save quite a few dollars for aquarium water testing. I have three tanks, 29, 10, and 10 which I use when my fish get pregnant or when I want to experiment with egg layers. I have a test kit from aquarium pharmaceuticals but I cannot stand using 10 drops from each bottle when I want to test for ammonia, nitrates etc. it's easy to see if you have multiple tanks you can go through test kits quite quickly. I don't know if this issue has been covered but from what I've seen it has not. The test tubes that come with this kit are marked at 5 mL and you have to use 10 drops from each bottle. What I do is simply use a syringe and put 1/2 mL of water in the test tube and use one drop of the solution. I believe I can do this because it is still in the right proportion. For every milliliter of water, you need two drops of solution bringing you up to 5 mL per 10 drops. Furthermore with my particular test kit, you do not have to look down through the test tube, but rather hold the tube and look through the side. If your test kit requires looking down through the test tube to match colors, my method will probably not work because you need the depth of 5 mL of water to get an accurate color. Forgive me if this is common knowledge among professionals in this forum, but I came up with this myself and figured I'd share this for newbies like myself. I compared using 5 mL with that awful waste of 10 drops of solution and using my simplified method and the colors matched perfectly. I believe it to be unnecessary and a ploy by the manufacturers of the test kits to make you buy testing solution more often. What do you guys think?

Shawnie

i wouldnt mess with the requirements myself but to each has their own way i guess.....and the 10 drops is only for nitrates ...ammonia is 8 and nitrites are 5..but they give you enough solution to do 100 test...I also have 9 tanks and use the API master kit and I agree its a pain but its part of fish keeping to me

dpmpop

Yeah, I meant to add in there to just do some math and use the right proportion with the other tests that require different amounts of drops. Even the 8 or 5 drops seems wasteful for me. With the 5 mL test tubes, for the eight drop test I use two drops with 1.25 milliliters and with the 5 drop test I'll obviously use 1 mL with one drop. I've even gone so far as to use 1 2/3 mL of aquarium water with the pH test that requires three drops per 5ml.

also forgot to mention that it is a LOT easier to swirl the mixture in the test tube if you only have 1 ml of stuff in there as opposed to using the full 5ml and flipping the tube while covering the end with your finger. this exposes you to whatever cancer-causing agents are in the drops, not to mention altering the test parameters from whatever might be on your fingers. I don't even have to wash my hands afterwards!! with only about 1ml of water and the minimum amount of test drops, It'll swirl in that test tube like johnny walker on the rocks!!

Shawnie

IMO you are spending as much time deciphering the lower amounts compared to the amounts of drops as you are using the proper methods LOL ...but its took tekkie for me to take the time to figure it out im glad it works for you tho! but highly NOT recommended to rely on a kit for beginning fish keepers when not used as the manufacturer suggests...please keep that in mind for anyone reading this and id NEVER put your fingers over the ends of the bottles when you shake them...residue can effect the tests as well if you have something on your hands....

sirdarksol

I agree with Shawnie that this kind of thing is not for a beginner (unless that beginner has a lot of experience in chem class). It's a very valid method, but requires exacting equipment and a lot of patience to make sure the water amount is correct. The reason the tests go with 5ml is that it gives you some room for error. A little bit too much or too little water won't change the concentration of the color all that much. If you've got experience in a chem lab setting, manipulating precise, tiny liquid amounts, then you likely know just how to make the smaller amounts work.

Also agree about the finger on the end of the tube. You should always use the caps that come with the kit. It can change the test results and it can be potentially harmful (one of the reagents is a moderately potent acid). This is stated in the instruction booklet that comes with the kit.

thorpbrian

Seems like you'd have to be much more exact with the measurements this way and to me my time is worth more than the amount of money this would save. ALSO unless your testing about twice a week this way your test kits are probably going to EXPIRE before you run out of solution (I belive 4 years for every thing but PH which is 5).

dpmpop

well, the way I see it, I'm using a syringe anyway because it's a pain to try to get it exactly at the 5ml mark by dumping and scooping water with the tube, I might as well save some test solution with multiple tank testing. Yeah, did 1 yr of general chemistry and 1 yr organic chemistry (easier than general chemistry believe it or not). My test tube caps have always been terrible. I always get some of the test water stuck there when mixing and you can't be sure if you got more test solution or aquarium water stuck there. you could see the color stuck between the tube and the cap and it would leak. that would alter the test for sure because then it wouldn't be in the right proportion for the rest of the tube. thanks for your input guys/gals.

Elvishswimmer

But as was said, with a higher amount there is more room for error, taking into consideration the stuff getting stuck in the cap.

If you are missing .2ml from being stuck in the cap, that is only .2ml from 5ml, or from 10 drops. Really not that much, and from my experience in chem labs, you don't have to be exact for everything. But you should be more exact if you are having to use smaller amounts cause the margin for error is greater.

After getting some of the reagent on my fingers and feeling how slippery it is, I washed my hands really quickly and well, and don't want to get it on my fingers again. Slippery reagents like that tend to equal bad news.

Whatever works well for you, and if you get it to work good that way, then great! But for new people I would recommend following the manufacturers directions, especially if they don't have the proper measureing equipment.