wonton55912

my readings for ammonia are eiter 0 or .25. has this ever happened before? i tested 4 times and got the same wacky result.

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bubblynutter

i would say it looks closer to 0.5 from here, but hard to tell without a white backing...

Shawnie

why is that weird? its .25 or .50 and with your tanks not being cycled and so overstocked, its very normal

wonton55912

my tank is cycled though and i didnt overstock it this is my 10 gallon
uhhhh its yellow on the bottom

bubblynutter

I would suggest that the tube needs to be shaken if the colour distribution is uneven.

Chemical tests are designed to give one colour readings. Whether those colours match EXACTLY to the charts is another point, but if the colour isn't even, give the vial a shake for about 5 seconds, then read it again.

wonton55912

i shook for 5 seconds then waited 5 mins then got that result

Lucy

I'm not sure why this is a poll.

bubblynutter

just out of curiosity, did you thoroughly rinse the tubes in between tests?

Also, make sure you use the supplied stopper to shake the vial, as using fingers will affect the results.

Other than that - I'm out of suggestions.

wonton55912

it was a mistake. could you please remove it?

Lucy

I can't remove the poll but I closed it.

wonton55912

thank you lucy

Shawnie

did you redo the test after washing the tube out good and shake it well?

wonton55912

yes i did

Shawnie

if you had any green, id say you have ammonia and your tank isnt cycled...whats the lot # on the ammonia bottle?

wonton55912

it was made in 08 but i have 4 numbers 2 for each bottle
bottle 1: 1711b-05-1008 1711a-04-0806
bottle 2:1712b-05-1008 1712a-04-0806

Shawnie

the ones that end in 06 are not good.they are outdated and probably giving you false readings.....

wonton55912

ummm i have 2 numbers for each bottle

Shawnie

ummmm the ones that end in 0806 are not good....they were made in aug of 06 and they are ONLY good for 3 years..

Tigerfishy

Yes, but the last 4 digits are the month and year, eg mines are all 0809, so Aug 2009, yours seem to be 0806, so Aug 2006. The last 2 digits are definitely the year of production.
I'm not sure, but I think anything over 2 years should be disposed, but I know some members get rid after a year to be safe.

EDIT: Ninja'd by Shawnie!!!

wonton55912

there are 2 numbers on each bottle one on the front and one on the back

i bought them 2 months ago

should i belive 08 or 06

Shawnie

ALLOT of members have bought kits recently that are already expired....and yours are expired...id take them back to the store and ask for a refund or a new kit ordered....some bottles will have different dates on them but ALL the 06's are expired

wonton55912

06 and 08 are on the SAME bottle just different sides of it
i read this from the bottle
c 2008 mars fishcare norht america

Shawnie

wonton.....the lot# on the FRONT of the bottle on the right hand side (I think) is the one you need to go by

wonton55912

its not out of date so what happened

Shawnie

its a bad test kit IMO id see if they can exchange it for a more updated one....especially if its doing it over and over...I wouldnt trust it if it were me

Morgan111

dont most test kits say shake for 30 seconds then wait 5 min?

wonton55912

the real lot # is
83a1109

FishVixen

Can you check your tap water with it to see what kind of reading you get. If it also seems out of range I would return the test kit. In any case I would be doing daily water changes just in case you have any ammonia in the tank.

wonton55912

k i will test the tap. it worked well the first 2 months

tap didnt change color

Shawnie

wonton can you please edit your last post if no one has replied since you have ....thank you!