Lying, cheating tester?

[el fabuloso]

Hi! New guy here. Does anyone have any experience with Red Sea's Marine Lab?

 

 

I've been using it to test my water and I think it's been lying to me, maybe even cheating. Possibly both.

 

I waited three days after setup to do a test as I figured the results would be predictable if I test right away (high ammonia, some nitrite, etc.). So when I tested 3 days later I got the following results:

 

- pH: 8.0

- Alk: 2.5 meq/L

- Ammonia: 0.25 ppm

- Nitrite: 0.05 ppm

- Nitrate: 5.0 ppm

 

To give some background on my tank, I have a 3 gal. pico and use RO/DI water (purified drinking water from the store) which I maintain at 80° F with a sG of 1.023 ppt. I have 3 lbs. of live sand and 6 lbs. of cured Fiji live rock so I maintain a 12-hour photoperiod while I'm cycling.

 

On the sixth day I noticed a sudden diatom bloom. I figure at this point ammonia and nitrite must be down and nitrate levels must be high. I ruled out phosphate as I've been topping-off with RO/DI dilegently and NOT tap. I picked up an API Reef Master Test Kit anyway so I can test for other stuff (calcium, phosphate, etc.)

 

When I did my water test I got the same results with the Red Sea tester all across the board! Is this possible with the diatom bloom and all? The nitrate test was the only thing I could compare with the API tester and while Red Sea said my nitrate's at 5.0 ppm (which didn't change from the previous test), API tested at 10 ppm. Oh yeah, and phosphate tested at zero. So I did a 10% water change anyway which got rid of the diatom.

 

Now I'm at day ten and everything's looking good. I was going to pick up a different tester for ammonia and nitrite (possibly API) but still haven't gotten the chance so I continued testing with the Red Sea kit. This time there were changes in the results:

 

- pH: 8.3

- Alk: 2.7 meq/L

- Ammonia: < 0.25 ppm

- Nitrite: 0

- Nitrate: 2.5 ppm (0 ppm according to API)

 

Anyway, I know I'm probably going to get responses like, "You should've gotten a Salifert!" but I didn't think the Red Sea kit was going to be that bad! Or is it just me? Maybe I'm color blind. But this discrepancy is driving me crazy!

 

PS: This site has been a great help these past couple of months. I've been busy reading everything on here and have learned a lot! Thanks to all the great minds on here who've contributed a wealth of information.

 

PSS: I should probably post a tank thread too so you guys can check out my pet rocks.

[StevieT]

They are known to be off, mine read one color too high. The calcium test seems accurate, same with the PH.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...=133582&hl=

 

 

Oh and !!!!

[Weetabix7]

I had very bad experiences with this test kit, especially the ammonia test.

Don't trust it.

 

Seachem isn't bad.

[el fabuloso]

They are known to be off, mine read one color too high. The calcium test seems accurate, same with the PH.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...=133582&hl=

Oh and !!!!

 

Arrgh!!! How did I possibly missed that thread?? So much for doing my homework.

[Greenstar]

Are Corallifes any good?

[StevieT]

Arrgh!!! How did I possibly missed that thread?? So much for doing my homework.

 

 

no worries... the search function here isn't the greatest especially if a word you are looking for is three or less letter like red sea ....

 

Just upgrade to a better test kit.

[el fabuloso]

Done. I got an API ammonia and nitrite tester and can sleep better now. I can't believe Red Sea's ammonia tester was way off... how are they even selling that stuff?? Insanity.

[StevieT]

that was my exact question, how do you sell a product that is so off!!! I used an API to "calibrate" my Red Sea test kits

[sinsister]

i had a funny feeling that my Red Sea kit was off since i'd been using API kits for years and had conflicting results when i tested my tank with both. Having read all that, i think i may as well just ditch the Red Sea kit.

 

Cheers guys, you're a wealth of information!

[Alfwok]

i got the redsea kit too, also didnt work. peices of junk.....i think the few guys who have the very popular newbie starting threads we have all looked at should add the fact to avoid the red sea kits so we know not to buy them......they are popular kits and most likley the cheapest ones at your lfs. remember most of the time the ammount of money youre dishing out is a sign of the quality. P.S. dont buy your kid the $1 toys at the dollar store for christmas cause they are most likley made of pure lead.