Test Kits...

[benedictj]

Yes provided you do regular water changes. I meant that of the big bad three (ammonia, nitrates, and nitirites) nitirites are the only ones that can't be removed by plants or any other means besides a water change. If you had the right amount of plant/fish ratio and feed the right amount, then ideally a water change would almost never be needed. However, the nitrites need a water change since they can't be used by anything and are harmful to the fish.

Right, okay, yes. But unless you are cycling, you shouldn't have nitrItes ever. The cycle should take care of them. (I have heard there are extreme circumstances where nitrAtes can be converted back into nitrItes. Still, to my understanding that is only if the tank is in a serious state of negligent keeping)).

 

[Harlock]

If you're starting to get serious then I suggest you pick up one of those Hagen Master Kits. It contains all of these tests and more. There are only a few you won't use so even though it costs $60 it's still a great value.

I use the Hagen kit myself and like it. I hear a lot of folks that dig the AP Master Test kit as well, but it doesn;t come with as much as the Hagen, nor look as spiffy (heh, Hagen comes in this blue, foam-lined attache case). The Hagen kit can be expensive if bought from the LFS. Both LFS here sell them for $99.99. I say forget that and order from Big Al's. I paid $39.99. If you're going to be spending money on shipping, may as well get some Prime, Flourish, Flourish Excel and whatever else you know you'll end up using in the long term as well and save even more compared to an LFS.

 

[beviking]

Ditto what Harlock said. Got mine from BigAls too. No measureable PO4 in tap water (kit and water report say so), after dosing K2HPO4 to "x" amount in tank, viola, Hagen PO4 measured "x" ppm.

Iron testing is tricky to say the least. In its chelated form it will be held in the Fe(II) (Fe 2+) form that plants prefer. So if you tested shortly after dosing, you would obtain the correct results. However, this will degrade to Fe2O2 and then spontaneously oxidize to Fe2O3 if there's oxygen present. So, for example, the next day, your kit will be hard pressed to produce accurate results.

I'm not doubting you happy, just that I dose Plantex CSM+B to reach a target of 1ppm chelated iron (Hagens kit tests for non-chelated and chelated), the test kit affirms my calculated dose, and the next day, I still have measureable chelated iron, about .25ppm +/-. My fish are alive so I know there is O2 present. Could this be true or am I believing a false positive?

...I meant that of the big bad three (ammonia, nitrates, and nitirites) nitirites are the only ones that can't be removed by plants or any other means besides a water change....

Just remember, ammonia converts to nitrite, without ammonia, no nitrite.

 

[happychem]

No, I'm sure that the test kits are quite good, and yes, there's obviously oxygen present that was more of a "this will definitely happen" comment. All I meant was not to hang too much weight on them. You're going from 1ppm to 0.25ppm iron over the course of the day, what I was getting at was that there's probably more that 0.25ppm Fe in the water, it didn't all get used up by the plants, you just can't "see" it.

 

[frmrreefr]

Just to kick my .02 in here. I swear by Salifert test kits. I know by personal experience that they have to be some of the most accurate test kits out there next to LaMotte. You WILL pay more for the kits but they are seriously worth it! I know some people will argue that they are only for salt water, but nothing could be farther from the truth. They make their kits to work in both salt and fresh.