jwcarlson Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 I don't know if I am doing something wrong or what, but I simply cannot read pH. Testing my aged tap water the color is perfect showing my 8.2-8.3 pH. But on these apistogramma tanks... One of it makes sense unless it's off scale low. But in that case the colors don't make sense, I don't think? Picture makes them look much closer to chart colors than in person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerceptivePesce Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 On 3/8/2023 at 9:06 PM, jwcarlson said: I don't know if I am doing something wrong or what, but I simply cannot read pH. Testing my aged tap water the color is perfect showing my 8.2-8.3 pH. But on these apistogramma tanks... One of it makes sense unless it's off scale low. But in that case the colors don't make sense, I don't think? Picture makes them look much closer to chart colors than in person. The blue water tube is the normal pH test results? And the OJ water tube is the high range pH test results? If so, it looks like your pH is 7.8 in the picture. That makes sense because the blue water result is a deeper blue which suggests your pH is off the charts for the normal pH test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcarlson Posted March 9, 2023 Author Share Posted March 9, 2023 It is bright yellow looking in person. No where near 7.8. ACO test strip was orange/yellow, wondering if off chart low? Unfortunately, I tossed all my litmus strips a few years back. Not that it would be any better. You are correctly assigning the test results though. For reference the color on the high range test looks closer go the 6.0 color on the regular range than any color on the high range chart. I know thst doesn't mean anything, just trying to clarify how unlike the results are to the ranges shown. I would agree that the regular range test looks off chart high in my experience. Here's ACO strip for reference. This had sat out a bit, there was more green on KH and a bit more orange on pH square. But more or less this looks about like it did after one minute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knee Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 On 3/8/2023 at 7:32 PM, jwcarlson said: It is bright yellow looking in person. No where near 7.8. ACO test strip was orange/yellow, wondering if off chart low? Unfortunately, I tossed all my litmus strips a few years back. Not that it would be any better. You are correctly assigning the test results though. For reference the color on the high range test looks closer go the 6.0 color on the regular range than any color on the high range chart. I know thst doesn't mean anything, just trying to clarify how unlike the results are to the ranges shown. I would agree that the regular range test looks off chart high in my experience. Here's ACO strip for reference. This had sat out a bit, there was more green on KH and a bit more orange on pH square. But more or less this looks about like it did after one minute. Looks like it's even below 6.4 and barely any KH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcarlson Posted March 9, 2023 Author Share Posted March 9, 2023 The trouble is my 8.3 looks like 6.8 on the coop strips, but yes this looks low. KH when I tested was at 3 degrees, I think. These are Apistogramma breeding tanks so using RO/tap mix, though admittedly heavy on RO as the tap water is ao stinking hard. I sprinkled a little bit of oyster shell in a bit ago because I am nervous. Fish are fine, but worried I am going to have a pH crash because of how soft I have it mixed. These pH tests looked quite similar when I last checked these tanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knee Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 What about those digital ph meters? The only annoying thing about those is that they have to be recalibrated often Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 (edited) On 3/8/2023 at 7:06 PM, jwcarlson said: Looks right around 7.6. There is a shadow, but that's what I see. On 3/8/2023 at 7:52 PM, jwcarlson said: The trouble is my 8.3 looks like 6.8 on the coop strips, but yes this looks low. KH when I tested was at 3 degrees, I think. These are Apistogramma breeding tanks so using RO/tap mix, though admittedly heavy on RO as the tap water is ao stinking hard. what does the result look like on the ACO strip if you don't mind? On 3/8/2023 at 7:32 PM, jwcarlson said: Looks like the test is contaminated / not valid. Here is the method to try to alleviate that. Edited March 9, 2023 by nabokovfan87 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerceptivePesce Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 I have digital, API tube, and aco strips on hand. In my experience the API and digital results are in a similar range, and the aco strips always test lower, like around a full point lower. I posted this observation in another thread not long ago, and someone else agreed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerceptivePesce Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 pretty close to 7.8.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennie Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 (edited) API test kit seems very confusing on ph ngl. Highly recommend the Sera one if you don't mind getting another. It tests for 100 times and it is worth the money imo. I'm glad I got it as a seperate test. I was going crazy trying to read strips as well lol You literally drop 4 drops and directly read it from the chart. You put it on the paper and look from the top. It looks like this Edited March 9, 2023 by Lennie 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcarlson Posted March 9, 2023 Author Share Posted March 9, 2023 This one is a little more comprehensible. But I personally don't trust the ACO pH pad necessarily. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 On 3/9/2023 at 3:30 AM, jwcarlson said: This one is a little more comprehensible. But I personally don't trust the ACO pH pad necessarily. It looks accurate and the results make sense. GH is low Kh is ~20 PH is 6.0-6.4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcarlson Posted March 9, 2023 Author Share Posted March 9, 2023 On 3/9/2023 at 12:17 PM, nabokovfan87 said: It looks accurate and the results make sense. GH is low Kh is ~20 PH is 6.0-6.4 I don't disagree, I am just disappointed that the only pH test that makes sense is the one I trust least. 🤣 Still wondering if it's off scale low, but would think the color would be closer to the 6.0 color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knee Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 On 3/9/2023 at 10:19 AM, jwcarlson said: I don't disagree, I am just disappointed that the only pH test that makes sense is the one I trust least. 🤣 Still wondering if it's off scale low, but would think the color would be closer to the 6.0 color. I had one Tetra test strip left I compared them with the ACO strips yesterday. They're similar except for the PH. ACO strip is showing me lower ph as well 🤷♂️ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 On 3/9/2023 at 10:19 AM, jwcarlson said: Still wondering if it's off scale low, but would think the color would be closer to the 6.0 color. I would read it as 6.2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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