dga Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 why might i get such different results when using different testing manufactures? heres my deal: using a one and a half year old seachem kit testing calcium levels, i get 275ppm. using a newly purchased API kit gives me a 380ppm reading. i have tested several times each and am dilligent on counting drops per vial etc... i used the reference liquid to check the results with the seachem and it checks out. are the chemicals to old? are API kits bad (american pharmaceuticals inc) Link to comment
nanoreef11 Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 why might i get such different results when using different testing manufactures? heres my deal: using a one and a half year old seachem kit testing calcium levels, i get 275ppm. using a newly purchased API kit gives me a 380ppm reading. i have tested several times each and am dilligent on counting drops per vial etc... i used the reference liquid to check the results with the seachem and it checks out. are the chemicals to old? are API kits bad (american pharmaceuticals inc) Make sure that the drops are consistant in size. To do this you need to hold the bottle vertical. The other test kit my be a little old. Make sure to shake the bottles well. API is what I use and it seems to give me good results. (It's aquarium phamaceuticals inc.) Link to comment
ReefKing Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 API's are the best kits IME. Link to comment
Rocket Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 The reason is half life. Chemicals loose there "traits" as they age. So your test kit won't have the accuracy it once did. API are one of the best affordable daily test kits on the market. Salifert would be the top. They have specialized test kits the other companies simply do not make. Like copper, oxygen, silicate, Boron. Link to comment
dga Posted December 13, 2008 Author Share Posted December 13, 2008 Make sure that the drops are consistant in size. To do this you need to hold the bottle vertical. The other test kit my be a little old. Make sure to shake the bottles well. API is what I use and it seems to give me good results. (It's aquarium phamaceuticals inc.) yea, thanks for the spell check. i didnt even realize my error. actually now that i check my records, the seachem kit is over 2 years old. i need to researce this half life effect of the chemicals. Link to comment
Sergeant-G Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 I use sailfert for my alk and CA, and I use API for all the other params. I choose to be more accurate in the ca and alk range so I can tell how much my tank is using and if I need to dose Link to comment
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