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Okay, so last night I was at my LFS and saw a pack of the dipping test strips. This particular pack comes with 5 tests on each strip (NitrIte, NitrAte, PH, General Hardness and Alkalinity) I have a Master Test Kit of the “add drops to a vile of water” kind, and wanted to see if the results varied from each other. I was surprised and worried!!! The “add drops” kit tested:

Ammonia: 0
NitrIte: 0
PH: 7.6

The dip strip blew me out of the water though, it tested:

NitrIte: 0
NitrAte: 80
PH: 8.2
GH: 300+
Alk: 300+

Do you see why I am alarmed? What test do I believe? I have been using the “add drops” kind for 2+ years and am now finding out that my readings could have been wrong this entire time. I immediately did a 50% water change.

I was even more alarmed when I tested my tap water and it tested as follows:

NitrIte: 0
NitrAte: 40
PH: 7.6-8.2 (the color was in between)
GH: 180-300 (the color was in between)
ALK: 180-300 (the color was in between)

Now what am I to do? Is it possible that my tap water has been contaminating my tank this whole time? Is it normal for tap water to have NitrAtes in it? This could be a good thing when I start my Malawi tank, but these parameters just aren’t good for my current community tank…

Please help…

Hi

I've heard/ read/ noticed that those strip tests are often wrong, that's why a lot of people around here and other forums suggest not using them. They could be old, you never know. Stick with the drops kinds of tests, they'll give you a better idea.

That being said, most tests except for the most expensive kinds are usually off by some amount. In his 72 gallon planted tank Log in the planted forum tetratech describes a way to calibrate your own test so that it gives you better readings of where you are.

---

Back in the saddle!

Well, this is good to know, I started freaking out last night like “we have big problems.” Still it never hurts to do a water change when in doubt. On that note, do the “add drops” kind loose accuracy with time? I have had this test kit for about two years…

The test strips are always off especially the nitrate level but usually the ph and hardness as well. They are only useful to tell if you actually have an ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate reading but not what it is. The drops will lose accuracy but I'm not sure how long it takes. My ph and nitrite solution still seem accurate after 2 1/2years the others I've ran out of and replaced within the past year.

Yes, it is not your drop tests that are inaccurate,
it is the dip tests.
Shows you exactly how poor they are when it comes
to wanting precise readings.
I think those drop tests would probably remain stable and effective for at least 2-3 years, maybe up to 5.


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It's actually really good to finally see someone post a comparison...I'd probably be having half a heartattack too .

Ditto what everyones already said, the dip strips are rather inaccurate....I always had trouble trying to figure out which color they actually were as well:%).
Only reason I bought them is because I didnt know any better at the time , thought it'd be cheaper and easier ...isn't it fun to look back and laugh

^_^
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(Phew...) That makes me feel a little better. I do need to go out and get a "drops" nitrAte test though.

But... I am also having a bit of trouble deciding what kind of PH reading I am getting from the "drops" testing method. I have a PH test & High PH test. Both appear to resemble a color on its respective card. The low PH test seems to resemble 7.6 almost to a match, while the High PH test seems to not really match any to an exact, but looks most like 8.0

7.6 Could be "acceptable" in my tank, but 8.0 is just too high!!! What should I consider?

Last edited by inlikefish at 15-Dec-2005 21:06

I'm trying to remember what the range is on the high range Ph test. If it starts near 8.0 it's likely that that's what's showing up because that's the lowest the the test will read.

So long as your fish are doing well I wouldnt worry too much about it. Unless you're intentionally altering the ph you should see much of any of a swing and therefor less stress on the fish.
hope that made sense....I need more sleep .

^_^
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As far as I know those test strips are just a waste of money they are not even a good guide. There are some good test kits around and there are some very expensive do every thing test kits.

I dont own one at all I just take the water sample to two different LFS and do a double check for safety.

Keith

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If your using an aquarium pharm freshwater master kit the low range ph stops at 7.6 and the high range starts at 7.4. If it looks like the low range is testing at or darker than the highest ph then the low range test is basically invalid. You cannot get a reading of 8.0 using the low range ph test kit so obviously if you tank is 8.0 it won't show up accurate on the low range ph kit. If you test at the highest point of any low range ph test kit then you should retest it with a higher one and use only the reading from the higher ph test kit.

Also I have compared the test strips to aquarium pharm drop tests. The ph always comes out slightly high, the hardness usually comes out high, and the nitrates are always higher on the strips. It does seem to test nitrites fairly accurately but still not worth it.

Last edited by sham at 18-Dec-2005 01:00

I do have the aquarium pharm freshwater master kit and I as I stated before I did test both the low/high PH levels. The reading on the High PH test resembled the reading of 8.0 the most, but not a perfect match. I will assume that the low range PH test was invalid as it looked to be almost an exact (or possibly even darker) reading of 7.6

The reason I am now questioning my PH level is that I am having issues. I just lost one of my three Juli Cories as of this morning. He wasn't looking good last night and had started to thin. He was gone by the time I woke up this morning. Now Cory #2 is starting to look a little ill, and I don't think he is much interested in eating. This behavior and the death of my Golden Ram last week tell me I have a problem. Aside from this I notice the behavior of my two remaining Juli Cories to be a bit sluggish/lethargic... I have two Panda Cories that still seem to be doing well, but I have seen all of the cories sitting motionless in my plants, just resting on them, to me this is not something they "normally" do. To top it off I did see my Bolivian Ram rubbing his gills on the sand just a day ago, and don't know what that is all about.

Okay, so my parameters are holding the same as far as I can tell.

Ammonia:0
NitrIte:0
PH: 8.0???
Temp: 77f

I am going to get a "real" NitrAte test today. Oh yah, I also thought I should say that I introduced a freshwater gold clam to my tank about three weeks ago. Can this have anything to do with any of the problems I am having?

Thanks.

Last edited by inlikefish at 18-Dec-2005 12:51

If they are actually the little 2" or smaller golden clams that have become somewhat popular recently then they shouldn't be causing any problems. I had a whole bunch of those in my tanks for awhile. Any other species though could be a problem. Many other clams increase their population by releasing parasitic offspring that live on the fish for awhile. Usually it doesn't kill the fish though unless they are already weakened.

I don't think a high ph is your problem by itself. I've kept all those fish you mentioned in a ph of 8.0 for quite awhile before I changed water sources. I never had a problem due to ph and some of my pandas are over 2years old now along with my remaining juli. The other juli cories were wiped out by a bacterial infection not by high ph.
Has your ph just recently gone up? Otherwise it sounds more like either a water quality problem or an infection. Unless these are all new fish that came from softer water and you didn't acclimate correctly but it didn't sound like it. Try to get the tapwater tested with the nitrate drops test. 40ppm nitrate is too high for most of those fish to survive or for any fish to stay healthy. Nitrates cause damage if left at that level for very long.

Okay, so I went and got a good NitrAte test kit and it is so. My tap water NitrAtes are too high. The tank tested at 40ppm while the Tap tested at 20ppm. So do we think this is the root of my problem? If so, how do I lower my NitrAtes aside from the frequent water change which I am going to do right now?

I did about a 25% water change and my nitrAte level didn't budge. Should I do another (bigger) water change? What other ways are there for me to lower nitrAtes?

Hi,
Actually a nitrate reading of 40 or less is "OK" for
a freshwater aquarium. Preferably no more than 10 in a
planted tank as the plants use the nitrates to live on.
Tanks with nitrates 100 or above are generally suffering
from Old Tank Syndrome, or just plain not properly
maintained.

You probably will do better with weekly 20% changes rather
than a wholesale change of 50% or greater.

High nitrates can be brought under control, naturally,
through the use of plants. Any of the floating plants will
remove the nitrates as they draw their nutrients directly
from the water column. Generally speaking with the
exception of Horn-wart which requires more intense light,
most of the floating plants will grow with even 1 watt per
gallon because they are floating at the surface directly
exposed to the light.
Chemically speaking you can use a product such as
Nitra-Zorb (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals) but frankly, I hate
to use chemicals when I can involve nature in the problem.
Chemicals cost money and with your water, you will be
constantly purchasing the stuff.

Frank

Last edited by FRANK at 19-Dec-2005 00:13

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I would not keep rams or cories(especially pandas) with 40ppm nitrates. Maybe some fish are ok but I bet the rams will at least suffer if not die off at nitrates above 20-30ppm. You could try adding a bit of hornwort plant to your tanks. It doesn't require much light if left floating and uses up a ton of nitrates. It's very fast growing and you can just trim off the end as needed leaving the nicer new growth to continue growing.