Strips or test tube to test water?

[mishi8]

I have a few pipettes that work good for adding water to and taking water out of the tubes, the only problem is that it's difficult to rinse them off. I could be testing water from a Tanganyikan tank at the same time I'm testing water from a discus tank and you don't want to mix any of the water or it will throw off the tests.

I would like to find a few small plastic graduated cylinders because they always have that little spout on the top that makes it easy to pour a tiny bit of water out of the tube at a time. Glass ones would be fine also, if they had a wide bottom.

I use a dropper solely for adding water to the tubes (and the dropper doesn't get used for any other tasks.) I pour them out when I'm done. Because I can accurately add the right number of mLs to the tubes, I don't need to remove any water to get it to the right level on the tube.

I wonder if it's important to use an AP tube for the AP tests though. Wouldn't the shape of the tube (some brands, such as Tetra, are wider) affect the way the resulting test colour looks when comparing to the chart?

 

[carpediem]

I use a dropper solely for adding water to the tubes (and the dropper doesn't get used for any other tasks.) I pour them out when I'm done. Because I can accurately add the right number of mLs to the tubes, I don't need to remove any water to get it to the right level on the tube.

I wonder if it's important to use an AP tube for the AP tests though. Wouldn't the shape of the tube (some brands, such as Tetra, are wider) affect the way the resulting test colour looks when comparing to the chart?

That's a good point... I suppose the wider the tube, the darker the color looks, no?

They should make little plastic bases for the tube to fit into that allows them to stand up better. Even a little test tube rack would be great. Maybe I can find one of those at a scientific supply store. I'm going out today to pick up a few things, I'm going to do some research and see if I can't find a solution :dive2:

 

[mishi8]

That's a good point... I suppose the wider the tube, the darker the color looks, no?

They should make little plastic bases for the tube to fit into that allows them to stand up better. Even a little test tube rack would be great. Maybe I can find one of those at a scientific supply store. I'm going out today to pick up a few things, I'm going to do some research and see if I can't find a solution :dive2:

Let us know if you find a stand. It would definitely be handy to have one. There is a little stand built into the AP kit, but it's cardboard, and I can't see it lasting long if it gets wet.