Doc Wellfish master test kit

D

darkstar974

erin go bragh
Jan 9, 2006
15
0
0
50
Youngstown Ohio
I have a Doc Wellfish master test kit and when i check the amonia it is always off the chart. but when i check it at the lfs it's either nill or .25 . My question is could the test kit be bad also when reading the directions for the test kit they mention salt added to the aquarium could this affect my readings?

Dark
 
Dr. Wellfish wants you to buy his products and so endorses his brand of salts as a cure all for everything. Do not put salt in your aquarium unless you are keeping brackish water fish, and in that specific case, you need marine salt, not aquarium salt. Over time the salt will affect your fish negatively and shorten their life span.

No, salt will not affect your readings unless you are testing for GH.

What type of kit is the LFS using? Are they strips or test tubes?

Roan
 
It's possible the your test is inaccurate. How old is it?

Also, are you treating your tank water with a product like Prime, or any other product that binds or neutralizes the ammonia? In that case, it's possible that your test kit is reading the "neutralized" ammonia as well, and the LFS' test is not. This FAQ about Prime and testing for ammonia talks about this issue.
 
Well I did not add salt and I do use prime after reading really good things about it on this forum I did not know about cycling. I have water tested with both the strips and liquid at two different lfs the strips registerd .25 while the liquid registerd 0 no nitrates and nitrites

Dark
 
Yes, the liquid tests are better than the strips, but even the tubes can be inaccurate depending on the chemical products used in the tank.
 
mishi8 said:
Yes, the liquid tests are better than the strips, but even the tubes can be inaccurate depending on the chemical products used in the tank.
Click to expand...
Actually, when it comes to the ammonia reading and test kits, I sincerely doubt that the LFS is using anything but salicyate or Nessler kits, which will give total ammonia (NH3) and not free ammonia (NH4+) readings. Kits, like SeaChem's Ammonia kit that read both NH3/NH4+, are not cheap and not nearly as easy to use.

Roan
 
Roan Art said:
Actually, when it comes to the ammonia reading and test kits, I sincerely doubt that the LFS is using anything but salicyate or Nessler kits, which will give total ammonia (NH3) and not free ammonia (NH4+) readings. Kits, like SeaChem's Ammonia kit that read both NH3/NH4+, are not cheap and not nearly as easy to use.

Roan
Click to expand...

I don't doubt that. :)
 
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