Need help with water tests which one is accurate??

[immaman1992]

I have api freshwater testing drop kits and I have the tetra brand testing strips. The api kit read 10 nitrates but the strips read 200+ nitrates. I feel like that's what is slowly killing my cories. I did a 60% water change and the water strip tests still came out 200+ nitrates. I tested my tap water and the nitrates come up at 0 to 5. So I tested certain portions of my tank water with tap water and in order to get nitrates down back to normal according to the testing strips I'd need to do a 90%-95% water change. How would you guys recommend I do this? As long as the fish are in there the nitrates will continue to build up. What do I do and why are they so high?????? There's no ammonia and no nitrites so that's good at least. All other levels are normal as well. I have 4 hifin black skirt tetras, 1 teen bristlenose pleco, 7 assorted cories, and 1 adult female red crown bovilian ram in the tank right now. All seem to be doing well enough but I can tell the ram is really irritated at times.

 

[pagoda]

Generally speaking the liquid tests are the more accurate than the test strips (less chance of accidental contamination with the liquid, thus less chance of insane results that make zero sense)

 

[darkcat]

Did you shake the bottle number 2 for nitrates for 30 seconds and the tube for 1 minute? Like above, I think the api is correct.

 

[immaman1992]

Generally speaking the liquid tests are the more accurate than the test strips (less chance of accidental contamination with the liquid, thus less chance of insane results that make zero sense)

So I should take my results of 5 to 10 ppm nitrates with the liquid drops over the 200+ nitrates from the testing strips? Mind you I tested my tap water and it came out to 0 nitrates so I know the strips work to at least some degree.

Did you shake the bottle number 2 for nitrates for 30 seconds and the tube for 1 minute? Like above, I think the api is correct.

I didn't know I had to shake the bottles. I only have been shaking the test tube the liquid is in with water. Is that why I'm getting inaccurate results? I'll have to do it when I get home. If that's the case and api comes up the same I'll have to do a series of emergency water changes. 200+ nitrates is way too high. No clue how they got that high.

 

[darkcat]

Yes! You must shake the bottle. Update us when you get home!

 

[immaman1992]

Yes! You must shake the bottle. Update us when you get home!

Yes I will do that! At least I know ammonia and nitrites will never be able to live in that. Lol.

 

[86 ssinit]

How often do you change water and how much do you change.

 

[immaman1992]

How often do you change water and how much do you change.

I do 10 to 15% change every 2 weeks. Maybe that is not enough. I started by doing a huge 50% change Saturday night. I'll do another 50% on Tuesday.

 

[MyFishAddiction]

Yeah, thats not really enough. Try more like 30-50% a week

 

[immaman1992]

Yeah, thats not really enough. Try more like 30-50% a week

Okay

 

[coolio3991]

I do 10 to 15% change every 2 weeks. Maybe that is not enough. I started by doing a huge 50% change Saturday night. I'll do another 50% on Tuesday.

Yeah so my tank isnt cycled but I do 3 water changes a week. I have a 20g long, i change 10-15g wait a bit see how the fish are then i do it again in the same day. I have high ammonia in my tank but I suggest you do the same water change schedule tile you stat being able to keep nitrate levels under 40ppm. Preferably look up each fish in you tank and see what the max ppm is for the fish and keep it under the fish with the lowest max. It will keep all your fish happy. I suggest getting a python water change hose. I can do a 10-15g water change in under 10 minutes and I can add water that's within 1 degree of what the tank had in it before hand. 1 tip for using it is dont drain the water from the hose if you do the currant might be to strong for your fish. If the tube is filled with water it slows the currant down and many of your fish will actually enjoy playing in it. My zebra danios love swimming against the currant while I fill the tank. Just make sure you add declorinator right when you start to fill your tank.

I have api freshwater testing drop kits and I have the tetra brand testing strips. The api kit read 10 nitrates but the strips read 200+ nitrates. I feel like that's what is slowly killing my cories. I did a 60% water change and the water strip tests still came out 200+ nitrates. I tested my tap water and the nitrates come up at 0 to 5. So I tested certain portions of my tank water with tap water and in order to get nitrates down back to normal according to the testing strips I'd need to do a 90%-95% water change. How would you guys recommend I do this? As long as the fish are in there the nitrates will continue to build up. What do I do and why are they so high?????? There's no ammonia and no nitrites so that's good at least. All other levels are normal as well. I have 4 hifin black skirt tetras, 1 teen bristlenose pleco, 7 assorted cories, and 1 adult female red crown bovilian ram in the tank right now. All seem to be doing well enough but I can tell the ram is really irritated at times.

Do you have live plants in the tank? If not I highly recommend getting some. They look way better than fake and they will absorbe nitrates helping make it so you can do fewer water changes. With a cycled tank. Also make sure you read the directions that come with the api freshwater test kit. Because if you dont then the test isnt accurate, and make sure you time things properly to insure accuracy. the api liquid test kit is hands down the most accurate test I've found.

 

[immaman1992]

Yeah so my tank isnt cycled but I do 3 water changes a week. I have a 20g long, i change 10-15g wait a bit see how the fish are then i do it again in the same day. I have high ammonia in my tank but I suggest you do the same water change schedule tile you stat being able to keep nitrate levels under 40ppm. Preferably look up each fish in you tank and see what the max ppm is for the fish and keep it under the fish with the lowest max. It will keep all your fish happy. I suggest getting a python water change hose. I can do a 10-15g water change in under 10 minutes and I can add water that's within 1 degree of what the tank had in it before hand. 1 tip for using it is dont drain the water from the hose if you do the currant might be to strong for your fish. If the tube is filled with water it slows the currant down and many of your fish will actually enjoy playing in it. My zebra danios love swimming against the currant while I fill the tank. Just make sure you add declorinator right when you start to fill your tank.

Do you have live plants in the tank? If not I highly recommend getting some. They look way better than fake and they will absorbe nitrates helping make it so you can do fewer water changes. With a cycled tank. Also make sure you read the directions that come with the api freshwater test kit. Because if you dont then the test isnt accurate, and make sure you time things properly to insure accuracy. the api liquid test kit is hands down the most accurate test I've found.

Good idea.

 

[coolio3991]

Good idea.

Thank you. I've got a heavily stocked tank so I do 3 water changes a week but I change 10-15g 2-3 times each day I do water changes.
What do you use to do the water changes?
Also what declorinator do you use?
Do you have live plants in your tank if so what kind. I recomend fast growing low maintenance plants like java furn, red flame moss, amazon swords, I've had a ton of luck with red and green cabomba. they grow like crazy and with 1 or 2 bunches you can fill every tank you own with it in a few months. Once they start to grow to tall clip it replant the clipping I have to clip the cabomba almost every 8 days lol. I will try taking a picture of hoe it looks now I have an older picture from about 1 month ago. I haven't purchased any more cambomba since that picture was tank so it's a good way to show hoe well it grows.

 

[StarGirl]

So I should take my results of 5 to 10 ppm nitrates with the liquid drops over the 200+ nitrates from the testing strips? Mind you I tested my tap water and it came out to 0 nitrates so I know the strips work to at least some degree.

I didn't know I had to shake the bottles. I only have been shaking the test tube the liquid is in with water. Is that why I'm getting inaccurate results? I'll have to do it when I get home. If that's the case and api comes up the same I'll have to do a series of emergency water changes. 200+ nitrates is way too high. No clue how they got that high.

The Nitrate test you put in drops from bottle #1 then shake bottle #2 for 30 seconds. Put the drops in and shake the vial for 60 seconds. You have to really shake bottle 2 very vigorously. Wait 5 minutes to see what color it is. The longer it sits it will get darker so 5 minutes.

 

[immaman1992]

Thank you. I've got a heavily stocked tank so I do 3 water changes a week but I change 10-15g 2-3 times each day I do water changes.
What do you use to do the water changes?
Also what declorinator do you use?
Do you have live plants in your tank if so what kind. I recomend fast growing low maintenance plants like java furn, red flame moss, amazon swords, I've had a ton of luck with red and green cabomba. they grow like crazy and with 1 or 2 bunches you can fill every tank you own with it in a few months. Once they start to grow to tall clip it replant the clipping I have to clip the cabomba almost every 8 days lol. I will try taking a picture of hoe it looks now I have an older picture from about 1 month ago. I haven't purchased any more cambomba since that picture was tank so it's a good way to show hoe well it grows.

I use prime to declorinate, I have 1 Java fern and 1 of something else but they are both dying probably because of nitrate poisoning. For the water changes I use a manual suction funnel to take the water out into a bucket and then a tap water funnel to funnel the water back in with a long hose. I try to regulate the temp as the water goes in by my digital thermostat.

The Nitrate test you put in drops from bottle #1 then shake bottle #2 for 30 seconds. Put the drops in and shake the vial for 60 seconds. You have to really shake bottle 2 very vigorously. Wait 5 minutes to see what color it is. The longer it sits it will get darker so 5 minutes.

I'll try that when I get home. I've been using it improperly all this time lol.

 

[coolio3991]

I use prime to declorinate, I have 1 Java fern and 1 of something else but they are both dying probably because of nitrate poisoning. For the water changes I use a manual suction funnel to take the water out into a bucket and then a tap water funnel to funnel the water back in with a long hose. I try to regulate the temp as the water goes in by my digital thermostat.

I'll try that when I get home. I've been using it improperly all this time lol.

You should definitely get a python look on amazon they have an api version of it for half the price. It has made water changes way faster. And you should definitely get more plants they will help. A lot. And do water changes of 50% twice a day every other day for a few weeks you should see the levels drop tremendously

 

[immaman1992]

You should definitely get a python look on amazon they have an api version of it for half the price. It has made water changes way faster. And you should definitely get more plants they will help. A lot. And do water changes of 50% twice a day every other day for a few weeks you should see the levels drop tremendously

I definitely do need more plants the two I have are tapped out I'll have to take them out and put in like 5 or 6 new ones

 

[immaman1992]

Yes! You must shake the bottle. Update us when you get home!

Yes the drops as well is reading a color darker then the darkest in the book and that's at 160 nitrates. I have to reduce it big time. I don't know how the ram is surviving this. I will do another 50% water change. And then Wednesday night I'll do another one until it drops to at least 40 to 60 nitrates.

 

[darkcat]

Just take it slow. If the nitrates decreases too fast, they can die because of the sudden change. I think they adapted to the high nitrates if they're surviving. So, I recommend you doing water changes daily or every other day, maybe like 10 to 25% water changes slowly.

 

[immaman1992]

Just take it slow. If the nitrates decreases too fast, they can die because of the sudden change. I think they adapted to the high nitrates if they're surviving. So, I recommend you doing water changes daily or every other day, maybe like 10 to 25% water changes slowly.

I did a 50% Saturday night and just did a 70% like not even 5 mins ago. I'll do smaller ones from now on. My next change I want it to be either Wednesday night or Thursday afternoon.

 

[immaman1992]

Just take it slow. If the nitrates decreases too fast, they can die because of the sudden change. I think they adapted to the high nitrates if they're surviving. So, I recommend you doing water changes daily or every other day, maybe like 10 to 25% water changes slowly.

My strip test is now saying 40 and the api drop test is saying between 10-20. I have it back down to normal. I expect it to raise a little bit in the next 24 hours as it swishes in with the water trapped under the gravel. But not by much. One of my baby cories died within the time frame of the water changes but everyone else is safe and swimming around happily.

 

[coolio3991]

My strip test is now saying 40 and the api drop test is saying between 10-20. I have it back down to normal. I expect it to raise a little bit in the next 24 hours as it swishes in with the water trapped under the gravel. But not by much. One of my baby cories died within the time frame of the water changes but everyone else is safe and swimming around happily.

Sorry about your loss. I know it can be hard to loss a pet. I just lost a blue shrimp that I've had for 3 months. That quickly grew to be my favorite pet. He survived my betta and the way he did was what made me really like him. And survived the dwarf crayfish that killed multiple other shrimp. But I'm glad you have gotten the water under control keep it up its worth it for sure. I've lost a lot of shrimp so far to pour water conditions which really sucks but I'm finally managing to keep the ammonia levels down so hopefully I wont loss any more.

 

[immaman1992]

Sorry about your loss. I know it can be hard to loss a pet. I just lost a blue shrimp that I've had for 3 months. That quickly grew to be my favorite pet. He survived my betta and the way he did was what made me really like him. And survived the dwarf crayfish that killed multiple other shrimp. But I'm glad you have gotten the water under control keep it up its worth it for sure. I've lost a lot of shrimp so far to pour water conditions which really sucks but I'm finally managing to keep the ammonia levels down so hopefully I wont loss any more.

I'm sorry.

Thank you for sharing, mainly I'm worried about my crown bovilian ram. She's a bit sensitive to the water.

 

[Bettaholic]

I'm really sorry about your cory, I love mine too . I just got a python $20 cheaper on Chewy so I spent an extra $10 and got my dog a toy to get free shipping so I still saved $10. Just FYI in case you want to shop around.

 

[coolio3991]

I'm sorry.

Thank you for sharing, mainly I'm worried about my crown bovilian ram. She's a bit sensitive to the water.

I understand something you can do is set up a smaller tank and put the ram in by itself do small water changes every day on its tank till the bigger tank is cycled. Especially if you already have a quarantine tank that would help insure its survival.

 

[immaman1992]

I understand something you can do is set up a smaller tank and put the ram in by itself do small water changes every day on its tank till the bigger tank is cycled. Especially if you already have a quarantine tank that would help insure its survival.

It's already cycled nitrates we're just too high.

 

[immaman1992]

I'm really sorry about your cory, I love mine too . I just got a python $20 cheaper on Chewy so I spent an extra $10 and got my dog a toy to get free shipping so I still saved $10. Just FYI in case you want to shop around.

I usually go to my local fish stores in my state instead to help keep them open. Worst case scenario I order online.

 

[MacZ]

Test strips are not inaccurate but prone to user error. Brands to avoid: Tetra and API. The latter, I am almost positive, are bad on purpose so people buy the liquid test kit out of frustration. I myself use JBL (with and without the reader app, as I have some problems with distinguishing certain colour shades.) and I would also recommend Sera. Both are higher quality than Tetra and API and are quite reliable (provided the general handling is correct).

What to make sure when using teststrips:
- The water on the test fields must not mix. Any mix between two test fields and you can forget those two readings. It's best to just hold it against a paper towel right after dipping into the water. Especially NO3/NO2 and KH/pH are prone to that problem and show the strongest reactions when mixed.
- Secondly they are only accurate within a certain scale. Many strips have only a scale with big steps and whole ranges per step.
- Only the readings exactly after 60sec (+10) are accurate. If you wait too long or read too early the results are off.
- They are sensitive to longer open times of the package. Leaving the tube open for more than 5-10min may ruin the whole batch depending on your air humidity. Also the older the less reliable.

They are designed for quick and/or general tests, not accuracy. It's for checking if a reading is above/below a certain level, if chlorine/NO2 are present or if the water is rather hard or soft. For most fishkeepers (new and advanced alike) that don't do setups that require high accuracy this is enough. For high-tech planted tanks with finetuned fertilizers, advanced shrimpkeeping and saltwater setups they are definitely only good for quick checks.

E.g. for my blackwater tank I only use them to quick check the overall NO3-Level. NO2 doesn't show up anyway, GH/KH are below general detection level and pH is below the range. Chlorine is usually not in the tap, only when the public system has been compromised they flush with chlorine for a day or two. In a bad year this happens maybe twice. And the RO unit removes it anyway.
So I test pH with a drip test and I use a TDS/EC meter aswell.

 

[ChrissFishes01]

Test strips are not inaccurate but prone to user error. Brands to avoid: Tetra and API. The latter, I am almost positive, are bad on purpose so people buy the liquid test kit out of frustration. I myself use JBL (with and without the reader app, as I have some problems with distinguishing certain colour shades.) and I would also recommend Sera. Both are higher quality than Tetra and API and are quite reliable (provided the general handling is correct).

What to make sure when using teststrips:
- The water on the test fields must not mix. Any mix between two test fields and you can forget those two readings. It's best to just hold it against a paper towel right after dipping into the water. Especially NO3/NO2 and KH/pH are prone to that problem and show the strongest reactions when mixed.
- Secondly they are only accurate within a certain scale. Many strips have only a scale with big steps and whole ranges per step.
- Only the readings exactly after 60sec (+10) are accurate. If you wait too long or read too early the results are off.
- They are sensitive to longer open times of the package. Leaving the tube open for more than 5-10min may ruin the whole batch depending on your air humidity. Also the older the less reliable.

They are designed for quick and/or general tests, not accuracy. It's for checking if a reading is above/below a certain level, if chlorine/NO2 are present or if the water is rather hard or soft. For most fishkeepers (new and advanced alike) that don't do setups that require high accuracy this is enough. For high-tech planted tanks with finetuned fertilizers, advanced shrimpkeeping and saltwater setups they are definitely only good for quick checks.

E.g. for my blackwater tank I only use them to quick check the overall NO3-Level. NO2 doesn't show up anyway, GH/KH are below general detection level and pH is below the range. Chlorine is usually not in the tap, only when the public system has been compromised they flush with chlorine for a day or two. In a bad year this happens maybe twice. And the RO unit removes it anyway.
So I test pH with a drip test and I use a TDS/EC meter aswell.

YES! Someone who gets it!

I don't use test strips for their accuracy - it's about conveniency. If the tank is doing well, but it's been a while since I've tested, I'll dip a strip in for peace of mind instead of dragging out the Red Sea and Salifert kits.

 

[MacZ]

YES! Someone who gets it!

Surprise, surprise!

I've started in the hobby when there were basically only teststrips available and at best you got liquid tests for pH and NO3. And who manufactured the strip tests first? Sera and Tetra. Both companies from where I live. Sera's Headquarters are 75km from here.

 

[ChrissFishes01]

Surprise, surprise!

I've started in the hobby when there were basically only teststrips available and at best you got liquid tests for pH and NO3. And who manufactured the strip tests first? Sera and Tetra. Both companies from where I live. Sera's Headquarters are 75km from here.

Sera products in general are very nice - there's a lot to be said about how well-made most German products are, at least with the ones I've encountered here in the States.

 

[MacZ]

I'm quite bummed out by Tetra in recent years and the latest generation of Eheim heaters (just because the have become more prone to user error, not to malfunction). Otherwise there is little to complain. What I especially like: Most offer almost exclusively no-nonsense products, that actually have purpose and do what they promise.

 

[immaman1992]

Well either way api and tetra tests helped me save my fish tank so they can't be that off by a crazy amount. Plus I'm kind of getting my setup upgraded slowly overtime with the more expensive stuff that is $25+. I do what I can with what I have. I eventually want to get a outter tank canister filter.

 

[immaman1992]

I just got gifted a marineland magniflow 100 gallon canister filter. That should replace crappy walmart filter lol it keeps getting clogged.

 

[MacZ]

Remember to move the filtermedia to the new filter or you will have to completely cycle the new filter from scratch.

 

[immaman1992]

Remember to move the filtermedia to the new filter or you will have to completely cycle the new filter from scratch.

I setup the canister filter just now but I forgot to place in the securing plate on top for the fine filter pad. I can hear the ceramic rings swishing around a bit under that pad but should I be worried about the filter messing up or can I be worry free until I open it next for cleaning? I tried opening it but I got water everywhere lol.

 

[MacZ]

I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with the model you're using.

 

[immaman1992]

I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with the model you're using.

Well for anyone that may know it is this piece placed on top to secure the fine filter pad and ceramic rings. I forgot to put it in before I primed it with water. Thanks.
Nevermind I made a mess and put the piece in and cleaned up. It's working great and should vastly improve my tank conditions. I also put the old bio sponge and 2 of the old filter pads in there as well, I ripped them off of the plastic holder media from old filters.