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47 minutes ago, BigRedd said:

Dang what did you do to get the Nitrates that high? Never seen the red before, looks about 80 to me.

I usually use this:  and hold the color up to the screen 52nppcgm4o211.jpg

 

I honestly have no idea I’m trying to figure it out to the only thing I can come up with is a faulty test since this tank just had a water change on Friday the only other thing I can thing of is the tank is bare bottom for a baby axolotl so there is no bb in the substrate since  well there is none also I know it can’t be over feeding since there is no extra food in the tank since it is tong fed and I take out poop as soon as I see it

Edited by Angelfishlover
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2 hours ago, Angelfishlover said:

I honestly have no idea I’m trying to figure it out to the only thing I can come up with is a faulty test since this tank just had a water change on Friday the only other thing I can thing of is the tank is bare bottom for a baby axolotl so there is no bb in the substrate since  well there is none also I know it can’t be over feeding since there is no extra food in the tank since it is tong fed and I take out poop as soon as I see it

I think you answered your own question. Verify with some test strips, but personally I do not press it against the paper. Not enough light gets through and it will always look darker.

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5 hours ago, Angelfishlover said:

I honestly have no idea I’m trying to figure it out to the only thing I can come up with is a faulty test since this tank just had a water change on Friday the only other thing I can thing of is the tank is bare bottom for a baby axolotl so there is no bb in the substrate since  well there is none also I know it can’t be over feeding since there is no extra food in the tank since it is tong fed and I take out poop as soon as I see it

Yeah I only use the freshwater API kit to test for ammonia. I use test strips to test for hardness, and nitrates. Too much work to do it for other things that a test strip can easily handle. 

 Could be maybe you didn't quite administer the test correctly? That's what I'm hoping for. Beneficial bacteria should still colonize in the filter, what type of filter do you have? 

Edited by BigRedd
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40+ on Nitrates are all the same to me on the api card. I think that's why everybody says keep nitrates below 40. It's because once it reads 40 it could just as easily be 160, so better to just change that water out lol. I use these images that I found linked on a youtube video. I'm probably not allowed to post the link but if you google "How to read the API Master Test Kit colours" you should be able to find it.

ammonia.png

nitrite.png

nitrate.png

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I'm with the 80ish group here.  When testing, reading against a solid bright white background is beneficial when the test results are questionable.  For what it is worth, I test under daylight lighting, holding the vial directly against the color chart.  When read thru the vial, the color bar closest to disappearing is the correct reading.

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2 hours ago, Tanked said:

 I test under daylight lighting, holding the vial directly against the color chart.  When read thru the vial, the color bar closest to disappearing is the correct reading.

Clever. I'll try that. The API color charts are so frustrating! 

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6 hours ago, BigRedd said:

Yeah I only use the freshwater API kit to test for ammonia. I use test strips to test for hardness, and nitrates. Too much work to do it for other things that a test strip can easily handle. 

 Could be maybe you didn't quite administer the test correctly? That's what I'm hoping for. Beneficial bacteria should still colonize in the filter, what type of filter do you have? 

It’s an aqueon hob filter meant for a 30g but the tank is a 10g and there is extra media in the filter when I get a chance I will re test

Edited by Angelfishlover
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22 minutes ago, Angelfishlover said:

It’s an aqueon hob filter meant for a 30g but the tank is a 10g and there is extra media in the filter when I get a chance I will re test

I'm not trying to assume you did it incorrectly, but I remember whenever I do those tests for anything other than ammonia, I have to consult the instructions. Did you shake the liquid you add 2nd vigorously for 30 seconds before adding the 2nd drops for the Nitrate test? I believe if you don't do that, the results won't be accurate. 

You also need to shake it for a minute after you add the 2nd dose to ensure accurate results (hence why I use test-strips, too much shaking for me)

Also, just out of curiosity, what are your ammonia and Nitrite levels at? I'd imagine if your ammonia and Nitrites aren't spiked, it could be user-test error. 

Edited by BigRedd
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This is a huge problem with the API tests. I have better than average color vision and I cannot compare a vile of red liquid to their color chart and come up with a reasonable guess as to what the nitrates are.  How are the coop test strips with respect to readability?

Cheers,

Chris

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3 hours ago, Grassypeak said:

This is a huge problem with the API tests. I have better than average color vision and I cannot compare a vile of red liquid to their color chart and come up with a reasonable guess as to what the nitrates are.  How are the coop test strips with respect to readability?

Cheers,

Chris

I've found that reading the chart on a computer and putting the vial up against a white background works well as the light coming from the monitor passes through the vial and allows for easy reading. 

52nppcgm4o211.jpg

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11 minutes ago, Daniel said:

Adobe Photoshop says it is between 40 and 80 and a little closer to 40 than to 80.

so that agrees with this former printer that has excellent color accuity. having been a printer for many years, ive seen it all with how people see color. a lot of people cant see minor variations in reds, and browns in particular.

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5 minutes ago, lefty o said:

so that agrees with this former printer that has excellent color accuity. having been a printer for many years, ive seen it all with how people see color. a lot of people cant see minor variations in reds, and browns in particular.

That’s cool that you were a printer! Nobody has eyes for color like printers.

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22 hours ago, BigRedd said:

what are your ammonia and Nitrite levels at? I'd imagine if your ammonia and Nitrites aren't spiked, it could be user-test error. 

For what it's worth, I once had 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite, with nitrates over 100. I guess the bacteria were doing a great job of chewing through the ammonia and nitrite, but the resulting nitrate had no way of leaving the tank. (Life made it impossible to do water changes, and I had no plants at all.)

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I still think that there should be a better way to register the results than red VS. ever so slightly more red.  These reds are both  in the range where we really want to know the exact answer.  I wonder if you can use a Hanna Checker with fresh water.  Then again if the test strips are easy to read and reasonably accurate that would probably be even better.  I'd really like to know what my EasyGreen dosing is doing to my nitrates and API is not helping me.  I can't imagine that most people don't have the same problem.  When we do the color vision test in my class I almost always beat all of my students.  I can see the difference between the reds on the chart but comparing the liquid color to the chart color is really just a shot in the dark.  The computer screen idea is a good one but the colors of the chart are very close and the color of the liquid has a different quality than the color block on the chart.  They never match in my mind.

Cheers,

Chris

 

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