Water Testing (1 Viewer)

[dobber99]

1. How long does a PH probe last and dependability :?

2. Accuracy of a refractometer vs. a swing arm type :?

3. A brand of a good calcium test kit :?

4. A LFS which can test your water using quality equipment, so I can
compare the values on my test kit :?

Thanks
John

 

[Guest]

i dont know answer to number 1 because i dont have a ph probe but ill try my best with 2-4..

2-refractometer is almost always better and way more accurate then a swing arm one. the only problem is they are expensive :-x

3-lamotte or salifert are what i use their test kits are professional grade. once again quite expensive but you cant go wrong with them

4-LFS use reg or cheap test kit, at least the one i go to auqatic world and aquarium world they use the one you can buy at their fish stores. to me those test kits are ok to test for ammonia and nitrite during for cycle phase but later on when you start to test for calcium, alkinlinity, ph , phosphate or nitrate i would be more comfortable using the higher end test kits. they cost more but for the peace of mind i think it is a fair trade off.

Hope this answer some of your question.

 

[Wildfire]

1. How long does a PH probe last and dependability :?

2. Accuracy of a refractometer vs. a swing arm type :?

3. A brand of a good calcium test kit :?

4. A LFS which can test your water using quality equipment, so I can
compare the values on my test kit :?

1) Depends on the maker and brand. Pinpoint (for example) lifespan (usable) for me was about 6 years.

2) Both are accurate, depending on how good you are at reading them. I have a swing arm, and can read it to 3 decimal places, usually being with .0005 of what my friend's refractometer reads. (i.e. if I say it's 1.0257 then the refract reads somewhere between 10.251 and 1.0262) My swing arm is the $9 type, bought 8 years ago.

3) I prefer the Red Sea line, but I think they are all good. The kind I like the most are the titration test kits. They don't just mix up a chemical and read a color chart. You actually, a drop at a time, work towards the solubility concentration point until you get a change.

4) Any of them should. I know that Aquartic World (is that the right one) on 290 up North does gratis water testing.....

good luck!

 

[Guest]

1) Depends on the maker and brand. Pinpoint (for example) lifespan (usable) for me was about 6 years.

Really? I thought I read that the Pinpoint probes last a year or two. That would be great if they really do last that long, since the probe is about 2/3 of the cost of the monitor.

How do you know when the probe is bad? Does it just stop reading, or won't hold the calibration, or what?

 

[dobber99]

water test

Thanks for the feedback. One more thing, has anyone used a pocket PH meter, and are these meters as accurate and dependable as a pinpoint pH monitor?

John

 

[incysor]

I've got a pocket, battery operated ph meter. So far, (about a year), it's measured accurately. I've never really trusted it, so I back it up with a salifert ph kit, and regularly get my water tested at Global. John and Sergio have always been great about testing my water, and know what they're doing, as opposed to a couple other places I've had my water tested and the kids couldn't read the tests properly. This of course led me to believe my tests were wrong, and that my problem was something else, until I got my water tested at global, and they told me that my tests, and my meter were correct and advised me how to correct my issues. Now things are back to normal.

 

[dobber99]

water test

Thanks for the info

 

[Guest]

as opposed to a couple other places I've had my water tested and the kids couldn't read the tests properly

Reminds me of the time I had my water tested at Aquarium World (standard practice when returning a dead fish under warranty), and the girl told me that my alkalinity was too low. I asked her what the reading was - she said 25. I told her that makes no sense and asked her what the units were - dkH or meq/l - and of course she didn't know. Had to get a manager, who explained it was 2.5 (even she didn't know what units, but it was meq/l). I then got to argue with her that it was within the acceptable range, although at the low end of the range.

She also didn't want to honor the warranty because my salinity was too high - at 1.025. I explained to her that it was a reef tank, and most people keep them close to NSW levels. They recommend 1.019, even for reef tanks. I eventually convinced her to honor the warranty, but be warned - they do have a chart there that shows what range your parameters have to be in for the warranty to be honored, and most of us would be outside of the range on salinity, so technically they could deny the claim.

Anyway, sorry for the hijack. Carry on.

 

[incysor]

Yeah, I love their warranty....I first started looking around at the stores, and thought well, this is a cool store, but their prices are ridiculous. I have bought a couple fish from them that I couldn't find anywhere else, I got the little warranty card and thought it was cool. The next time I went it I asked for more info on it, and they gave me a list of parameters for that your water needs to be at...And the first thing I noticed was that their salinity was lower than accepted guidelines. I asked them about it and they said that 1.025 was high. I then went over and got a book off their shelf and showed them that in fact it isn't. They just kinda suddenly go busy and didn't have time to talk to me about it any more. I don't buy anything from them unless I've tried everyone else first. As far as I'm concerned their warranty is bogus. Anyone return dead fish to them without any hassles?

Brian

 

[Guest]

Yeah, I love their warranty....I first started looking around at the stores, and thought well, this is a cool store, but their prices are ridiculous. I have bought a couple fish from them that I couldn't find anywhere else, I got the little warranty card and thought it was cool. The next time I went it I asked for more info on it, and they gave me a list of parameters for that your water needs to be at...And the first thing I noticed was that their salinity was lower than accepted guidelines. I asked them about it and they said that 1.025 was high. I then went over and got a book off their shelf and showed them that in fact it isn't. They just kinda suddenly go busy and didn't have time to talk to me about it any more. I don't buy anything from them unless I've tried everyone else first. As far as I'm concerned their warranty is bogus. Anyone return dead fish to them without any hassles?

Brian

I went on a streak where I lost 3 fish in a row from them - all the replacements kept dying, wild caught ocellaris, so not too surprising. They gave me no problems returning them.

Then a few months later I bought a flame angel from there that appeared to be doing great - was eating well, no visible signs of disease, actually seemed quite healthy. Then after about 4 days, I just checked on it before going to work that morning and it was dead. That's the one they gave me a hard time about.

I guess if they are going to be so bone-headed about the salinity, you could always mix a little RO water in with your sample before taking it up there, to bring the salinity down. I didn't say that out loud, did I?