Jason

Hello everybody,
I need advice on the most accurate nitrate testingkits. I bought some Nitrite & Nitrate test strips from API. When I tried matching up the color it seemed really high ( between 80 -160 mg/L ), as you can all imagine I freaked out a bit and did a water change. I kept thinking that it wasn't accurate so I bought Nitrate test from Hagen/Nutrafin and then tested it again. The Nutrafin test was between 10 and 20 mg/L. I immediately compared it with a new test strip from API and that test showed between 40 and 80mg/L. What is the most accurate test kit? And it seems quite subjective when you have to match colors, doesn't it? Any advice?

gm333

Liquid and powder test kits are a lot more accurate than strips in all of the tests. Buy a master liquid test kit in the future this way you will have all the tests you need to accurately diagnose problems.

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Jason

Thanks for the response, GM333. I figured everybody would have an opinion on this. What about Jungle test strips? Still not very accurate? I would already agree that test strips are not the way to go, however, the ranges of the colors on say Hagen test are from 10 to 20 to 50 to 110. I guess it gives you a general idea and I guess that you would hope that it will be between 10 and 20, but I have to say that maybe not the most accurate either. I am looking at a PINPOINT Nitrate Monitor From Drs. F and S with an accuracy + or - 1. That seems as accurate as they come. Has anyone bought or used this monitor before and what do you think of it. Or, are there other test kits out there that are easier to match up the colors with a smaller range of numbers. I would definitely appreciate anyones opinions on this.

BJP

You may be able to locate something a lot more expensive and accurate through the drinking water/water filtration/water treatment industry. The monitor you listed sounds interesting. If you try it and it works well let me know and I'll get a half dozen for myself.

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Jason

These PINPIONT Nitrate Monitors are $250. plus to recalibrate it every so often you need Calibration standard @ $15.00, along with an AC adapter for another $10.00 So for around $300.00, this could all be mine . My wife and I are on the verge of "hardcore" fish keeping ( 7 tanks ), and I know for a fact that there are "hardcore" fishkeepers on this forum, so I"m thinking that some one has tried this monitor. Please give me an honest review. Or, tell me how one would decipher between say 20 and 50 on these liquid tests with reagents. If you ask 3 people on trying to match colors you would most likely get 3 different answers. Obviously there are many test kits and I would love to hear which ones everbody uses and which are the best in their opinion. Brand names, I need brand names please . Thanks in advance.

BJP

Don't let money scare you away. There's another paycheck coming. For something priced in that range though you'll probably have to ask in the saltwater forum to find someone who's used one. Freshwater people don't fear nitrate. It's just a guide that says it's time for another water change or larger percentages than we've been doing.

If you're really letting the tank sit around with that much accumulated waste and want to know more exactly try a simple dillution test. Mix one part tank water with however many parts clean water it takes to dillute the results back down to a color range you can identify. Test then do a little math. That may be one part tank water, 9 parts clean water. Experiment a little.

Another option is to just clean the tank. When all brands say zero, take the gravel vacuum out and finish refilling.

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