An accurate test essential for starting a SW tank
Written: Apr 11 '05 (Updated Jul 07 '05)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Fairly accurate in my testing. Great for beginning of cycle and researching problems.
Cons: range is limited to 1ppm, but see my tip #752. Expires after 18-24 months.
The Bottom Line: A fairly accurate test kit that is useful for both starting a tank, detecting overfeeding and diagnosing problems later. Short expiration, but test kit refills are cheaper than test kit.
|
|
|
| colstudent69's Full Review: Fastest Ammonia Test Kit |
Ammonia:
Ammonia is one of the most toxic chemicals for saltwater(SW) aquariums. It can cause stress on fish and invertebrates in concentrations around .5 parts per millions(ppm). Death to fish and invertebrates begins at concentrations of 1ppm or higher, even lower for long term ammonia exposure. For this reason, testing ammonia when first starting a SW fish tank is essential.
Ammonia concentrations can rapidly spike and when starting a tank this is a test that should be performed daily. The refill package on this test will help keep expenses down. Also, until your ammonia concentration begins to drop you do not need to test the nitrites in your tank, so you can save money that way as well.
This is also a good test kit to have on hand in case something goes wrong with your tank(failed pump, heater, electricity outage, etc). If you experience the death of a large organism in your tank or many small ones, then it is a good idea to test for ammonia.
The ammonia test can also be used to detect overfeeding or inadequate cleaning. If you are not cleaning your tank enough or overfeeding your tank then there will be a detectable amount of ammonia. In an established and stable tank your ammonia should test at zero.
Brian's Helpful Aquarium Tip #752:
Even though the test kit instructions do not say this, and I doubt the company would recommend this, you can dilute the aquarium water with freshly made SW to increase the range this test kit can measure. The color chip in the kit measures up to 1ppm, but sometimes ammonia will spike above that and you don't know what your level is. By diluting the aquarium water by 50% you can test up to 2ppm, 80% is 5ppm, etc By doing this you greatly reduce the accuracy of the test kit, but you get a very rough idea of if your ammonia is 1ppm, 3ppm, 5ppm, etc. This allows you to know how much water you need to make to do a water change.
The Good:
This appears to be a fairly accurate test as I have tested my water with this test kit and then took my water to a local fish store and the ammonia readings were either identical or very close.
Good for tracking the progress of a newly established tank. "I see my ammonia is going down, time to start testing for nitrites and nitrates"
Foil packets keep the chemical test agent fresh much longer than other test kits. I have used these test chemicals over 1 year past their expiration date and they are still accurate.
WARNING: This is not recommended for most test kits and when using expired test kits, you should always double check occasionally with a new test kit or a trip to a trusted local fish store to verify accurate readings.
The Bad:
The test chemicals expired after 18-24 months, and with the infrequent use of this test, when a problem happens and you need it again, they are typically expired. When buying test kits, ALWAYS check the expiration dates and buy the one that is good for the longest amount of time.
The Nitrogen Cycle:
The Nitrogen Cycle is when ammonia is converted to nitrite to nitrate to nitrogen gas and the gas bubbles out of your saltwater aquarium. The nitrogen cycle is most critical to test when starting your tank(new tank syndrome) or when you have a major problem with the tank that results in a lot of death to inhabitants.
Ammonia:
Produced by animals when they eat and poop. Fish are typically the biggest source, but snails, shrimp and crabs all contribute. Also uneaten decaying food can be a major source of Ammonia. Ammonia is very toxic in saltwater aquariums, starting at levels of .5 ppm and and especially at or above 1ppm. It is VERY important to test Ammonia in saltwater tanks when starting them up and if you ever have any major death events. Luckily, ammonia is typically converted to nitrite after 2-4 weeks of starting an aquarium. This function is performed by Nitrosomonas bacteria(a good bacteria!).
Nitrite:
Nitrite is far less toxic to fish in aquariums than ammonia. How if affects other SW reef inhabitants is less well know. However, nitrite is rapidly converted into nitrate by Nitrobacter bacteria(yet another good bacteria). Nitrite is typically only detectable in the first 2-4 weeks of a tank being established and then drops to zero after that.
In an established SW tank that has a stable biological filter, nitrite is not detectable on commercially available tests. So testing Nitrite after your tank is established(assuming no major problems) is a waste of money.
Some reports have been published that show that nitrites in up to 100ppm is not harmful to some saltwater fish. Don't take my word for it though, for further reading, pick up: Stephen Spotte's book "Captive Seawater Fishes" that has an excellent discussion of nitrite toxicity in SW fish.
Nitrate:
Nitrate is even less toxic to SW fish and most other inhabitants(the most notable exception is small polyped stony corals(SPS) that can be quite sensitive to high nitrates). I recommend that nitrates be tested every 1-2 weeks and more frequently if levels higher than 10ppm persist. Unfortunately the conversion of Nitrate to Nitrogen gas by bacteria is a slow process and nitrates will build up to detectable levels in most SW fish tanks, especially if the fish are fed frequently with too much food.
Summary:
In my experience an accurate test that is cheaper than most other test kits. It is most important when you first start up your SW fish tank. If your test kit shows ammonia higher than 1ppm then I would recommend an immediate water change with freshly made(ammonia free) saltwater to reduce the ammonia concentration.
With ammonia being very toxic it is great to have this test kit on hand and useful for helping diagnose problems. If you see your fish laboring to breathe, one of the first things I would test is ammonia as it inhibits the ability of your fish to breathe normally.
Usually available online much cheaper than in local fish stores. Best place I've used recently has been http://www.reefgeek.com
My Other Aquarium Related Reviews:
Testing Equipment:
Salifert pH test kit
Salifert KH/Alkalinity Test Kit
Salifert Calcium Test Kit
Salifert Magnesium Test Kit
Salifert Phosphate Test Kit
Aquarium Pharmaceuticals FasTesT pH Test Kit
Aquarium Pharmaceuticals FasTesT Ammonia-Nitrogen Test Kit
Aquarium Pharmaceuticals FasTesT Nitrite-Nitrogen Test Kit
Aquarium Pharmaceuticals FasTesT Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and pH Test Kit also called the Multi-Master Test Kit now.
Aquarium Pharmaceuticals FasTesT Nitrate-Nitrogen Test Kit
Aquarium Systems SeaTesT Hydrometer
Pumps:
Hagen AquaClear Power Head 201
MAG-DRIVE PUMPS
Rena Air Aquarium Air Pumps
Skimmers:
CPR Aquatic Cyclone Bak-Pak 2R
Aquarium Systems SeaClone Protein Skimmer SCPS-100
Aquarium Supply Stores:
Marine Depot Aquarium Supplies
Drs. Foster & Smith Online Store
Aquariums:
All-Glass Standard Size Aquariums
All-Glass Large Size Aquariums
My Aquarium Advice:
The top 10 things you NEED to start a saltwater aquarium
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
colstudent69
|
 - Top 500 |
|
Member: Brian
Location: Houston, TX
Reviews written: 127
Trusted by: 14 members
About Me:
Instructional Technology Educator
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.