api test kit instructions

should be a picture guide on the bottles. shows drop amount shaking time and wait period. Try clicking the MSDS info may have it there idk...http://www.aquariumpharm.com/Products/Product.aspx?ProductID=67

The instructions are on the cards.

Ammoina: 8 drops each bottle
Nitrite: 5 drops (only 1 bottle)
Nitrate: 10 drops each bottle
Low PH: 3 drops (only 1 bottle)
High PH: 5 drops (only 1 bottle)

All tests use 5ML's water (1 teaspoon)

What we use to do at the store was cheat a bit to make the tests last longer.
More specifically the Ammonia and Nitrate.

All the tests require 5 ml's (1 teaspoon) of water for the test. We would measure out 2.5 Mil's instead and only use half the amount of drops.

IE: Ammonia takes 8 drops of each bottle (2 bottles) for 5 ml's we would use
2.5 ml's and 4 drops of each bottle. For the Nitrate instead of 10 drops for the 5 ml's we would use 5 drops of each of the 2 bottles for 2.5 ml's of water.

Granted we were doing upwards of 100 tests a day in the store (over 200 tanks) plus customer tests and the average home user will never be remotely close in amount of tests but still. I have 11 tanks running at home now and I use this method and have increased my life span of my kit from 5-6 months to about a year.

One more thing about your test kit. Bottle #2 for the nitrate has to be very well shaken. More so than any other bottle or it will give you a false reading.

This is true especially when new. The mixture tends to settle on the bottom and needs vigorous aggitation if it has been sitting for awhile. I can't count how many customers have had problems with this particular issue
.

rbishop said:

I wouldn't recommend adjusting the instructions per the manufacturer.

Click to expand...

Actually it was our AP rep who suggested that we could do it when the complaint about the cost of testing for the store was brought up.
We originally were asking if they had a larger industrial amounts of each test for the store. Of course he added that we should not tell customers as it will affect our sales.

We did numerous testing in the store with no change in results which showed that he was correct. After all we were dealing with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise plus the supplemental costs if he was wrong.

I do however understand what you are saying and for the most part agree with certain exceptions.

Thanks Bob.

One more thing.
Feel free to tell them to contact me if they so desire so I can go into greater deatil about what was said etc...