Never blindly trust your test kits

[blasterman]

Yep....we've all been bitten by the 'screwed_up_test_kit_fairy' at one time or another.

 

My best 10gal tank has been going gang busters for several months with perfect water params and eveything growing great. After a light upgrade I noticed my alk started dropping, which I attributed to more nutrient intake. I compensated of course using my two part buffer (Kent, which I plan on changing, but wanted to use up first).

 

After about a month and a half I started noticing some issues with softies and some dreaded RTN on one of my Acro frags. At first I attributed this to my additional LEDs, but when your GSP starts closing up you have problems. Water change didn't help - Zoas spend half the day retracted and skirts are shriveled. What the Hell?

 

So I grab Mountain Dew bottle full of tank water and head down to the local reef shop knowing I'd get a good razzing and otherwise in a foul mood. All the basics check out good obviously, but when it came to Alk/dKH/calcium I get the bad news. "Dude, our test kit doesn't go that high, or you brought us a bottle full of paint stripper. Must be those LEDs's yer runnin'". Yeah....hahah.

 

So I get home, toss my alk test kit in the trash, and order another one. Massive 30% water change. Oh, here's the real funny part. I have a couple 5 gallon jugs and use city water in my freshwater tank and R/O for the reef. I grabbed the wrong jug and used city water for the water change.....

 

I realized the mistake when two days later the only way I can see in my tank is looking through the snail trails on the glass because algae is so thick thanks to the massive phosphate influx. I think they were trying to spell 'r-e-t-a-r-d backwards. This, combined with the sudden alk/calcium drop also caused a die off from something and then trace ammonia started to show up....grrrrrr. Another water change - 20% this time and proper R/O water. Tank is now starting to settle.

 

Moral of the story....if you think you have a bad test kit, or it's old, toss it and get a confirmation check. I realize that for some of us it's like asking for directions, but it sure saves a lot of hassle.

[fiction101]

I always compare my new test kits with other local reefers. This way you're usually comparing different brands of test kits.

[Weetabix7]

What brand was your bad Alk test kit?

[Amphiprion1]

I've unfortunately had similar issues in the past with several kits, including what are usually considered "superior" brands. Those tests include alkalinity, magnesium, and calcium.

[ReefEscape]

I dip a "test strip" every month or two in addition to my regular liquid test and compare them to each other - just in case.

[blasterman]

What brand was your bad Alk test kit?

 

 

Mmmm, can't remember. Labels had long since peeled off. Wasn't API - something more expensive, but I don't recall it being a premium kit.

 

After my calcium kit expired I tossed it, but since I don't run a reactor and calcium has always run parallel with alk for me with two-parts, I haven't bothered since.

 

Yeah....and if I had a REAL clue I could have simply tested a fresh salt mix and realized something was FUBAR.

[rizakaniza]

Wowzers, you have inspired me to take a water sample to the LFS today!

[cruiZe]

Oh, here's the real funny part....

 

wow, be careful !