Months of Wasted Data

[BisScottie Non-Ya]

I purchased a 60 gallon fish tank off of nextdoor a month or two ago and it came with a bunch of stuff including an API Freshwater Master Test Kit. They didn't have the expiration date (only a lot number) on them so I figured they were fine, but after a few months of testing (Also logging it on Google Sheets) I started to notice a ton of weird results. For example the pH test would be a different color every time I tested it. I decided to reach out to API to see if they were expired, this is what they said

Quote

Hello Scott,

 

Thank you for contacting API Technical Services. We are sorry to hear about your experience. The last four digits of the lot number is the month and year it was manufactured.  All of those regents have a 5yr shelf life.  It looks like they were produced in 2011.  All of them would be considered expired and not yeilding accurate results. 

So all of my water parameter data and diagnosing for the past few months is wrong because the API Master Test Kit I have is expired. I feel like such a fool, but I figured I'd share this will all of you so someone else doesn't go through this. 

[Cory]

Well if it proves anything, it's that test kits aren't required to keep aquariums. A lot of people get hung up on numbers instead of seeing what the fish are doing in the environment. It'll be good to know you'll have a reliable kit going forward though. 

[BisScottie Non-Ya]

2 minutes ago, Cory said:

Well if it proves anything, it's that test kits aren't required to keep aquariums. A lot of people get hung up on numbers instead of seeing what the fish are doing in the environment. It'll be good to know you'll have a reliable kit going forward though. 

That's a really good point! Thanks for pointing out the silver lining 

[Ken Burke]

13 minutes ago, Cory said:

Well if it proves anything, it's that test kits aren't required to keep aquariums. A lot of people get hung up on numbers instead of seeing what the fish are doing in the environment. It'll be good to know you'll have a reliable kit going forward though. 

Yup, it’s easy to get hung up on a target, and miss the big picture.  This leads to chasing parameters instead of consistency, and a whole lotta heart ache.  

[Tanked]

Thanks for the info on the lot numbers.   This might explain why my ammonia is always zero or less.

Were all of the test results weird or just one type of test?

I just measured the ph in my planted tank with an API kit that expired in 2001, one that will expire in 2024, and Tetra test strips.  The results (7.2) were close enough that I could not see a difference.  I repeated this in the community tank with similar results (6.6) The the test strips came out with lower numbers  at 6.8 (planted)  and 6.2 (community)  

How do you measure your samples?

I realized that there is more water in an API 5ml sample today than there was in 2000.  The lines on the vials are in different places!

I also realized that my grocery store medicine doser may not be that accurate.

 

 

 

[BisScottie Non-Ya]

On 11/26/2020 at 2:22 PM, Tanked said:

Thanks for the info on the lot numbers.   This might explain why my ammonia is always zero or less.

Were all of the test results weird or just one type of test?

I just measured the ph in my planted tank with an API kit that expired in 2001, one that will expire in 2024, and Tetra test strips.  The results (7.2) were close enough that I could not see a difference.  I repeated this in the community tank with similar results (6.6) The the test strips came out with lower numbers  at 6.8 (planted)  and 6.2 (community)  

How do you measure your samples?

I realized that there is more water in an API 5ml sample today than there was in 2000.  The lines on the vials are in different places!

I also realized that my grocery store medicine doser may not be that accurate.

 

 

 

I'll have to recheck it! I still have the old test kit. I'll have to do a side by side comparison if you're interested? I measured the dose according to the 5ml line. I might start using a medical grade needle to measure 5ml. My girlfriend is in nursing school so stuff like that is super easy it get (* ^ ω ^) 

[JettsPapa]

On 11/26/2020 at 3:22 PM, Tanked said:

Thanks for the info on the lot numbers.   This might explain why my ammonia is always zero or less.

Were all of the test results weird or just one type of test?

I just measured the ph in my planted tank with an API kit that expired in 2001, one that will expire in 2024, and Tetra test strips.  The results (7.2) were close enough that I could not see a difference.  I repeated this in the community tank with similar results (6.6) The the test strips came out with lower numbers  at 6.8 (planted)  and 6.2 (community)  

How do you measure your samples?

I realized that there is more water in an API 5ml sample today than there was in 2000.  The lines on the vials are in different places!

I also realized that my grocery store medicine doser may not be that accurate.

 

 

 

I probably shouldn't ask, but I can't help myself.  How could ammonia be less than zero?

[Tanked]

17 hours ago, JettsPapa said:

I probably shouldn't ask, but I can't help myself.  How could ammonia be less than zero?

 

17 hours ago, JettsPapa said:

probably shouldn't ask, but I can't help myself.  How could ammonia be less than zero?

It never hurts to ask. 

Home test kits being strictly a guide, I'm allowing for the possibility that zero on the test card is not a true zero ppm.  I 'm not a chemist, so I'm speculating that if the presence of ammonia is shown as green, and the home test kits cannot accurately detect less than .2ppm., they indicate zero. 

My tap water and all of my tanks frequently show a slightly darker, more golden yellow.  So either there is less than zero according to the test card or something else is wrong.  Hopefully someone with a background in chemistry will straighten me out.

[Daniel]

@Coronal Mass Ejection Carl had an interesting post testing the limits of the API ammonia test

 

[Coronal Mass Ejection Carl]

29 minutes ago, Tanked said:

Home test kits being strictly a guide, I'm allowing for the possibility that zero on the test card is not a true zero ppm.  I 'm not a chemist, so I'm speculating that if the presence of ammonia is shown as green, and the home test kits cannot accurately detect less than .2ppm., they indicate zero. 

My tap water and all of my tanks frequently show a slightly darker, more golden yellow.  So either there is less than zero according to the test card or something else is wrong.  Hopefully someone with a background in chemistry will straighten me out.

Oh yeah, each test method has an MDL (minimum detection level). My Hach colorimeter's method for ammonia has a limit of 0.01 mg/L. It's much more sensitive than API in that it will be dark green at 0.5 mg/L.

The hope is that the MDL is lower than what's dangerous to the fish. That's why the 0.25 mg/L reading that a lot of people normally get with the API is so aggravating. Is it 0.25 or is it less?

0.25 could be harmful at higher pH. Or maybe your tank is at a lower pH but your bio filter is on the brink of malfunctioning and you don't know if the 0.25 is an early warning or not.