Reading API tests

That's exactly what mine is.. a very light green.

The PH one isn't much better.

 

When i try to read the pH or Alkalinity...the colors are not even on the chart

I hate the API kits..

I think you would need industrial grade machine to get the right measurements...you know those big machine you put in a very small sample and it gives you a chart

+ you have to have a lot of knowledge to make proper judgements on the readings

we can probably use probes to get closer measurements

Honestly i think most people in the hobby have no idea what the hell they are doing...they just know that some combination of things make it work

thats why you get so many different opinions. People will give you all kinds of opinions but cant give you the reason.

Im gona take some chemistry, organic chemistry and biology, including marine biology maybe that will help me under things from a more basic level

I met a guy that had 270 gallon tank and he all kinds of complex equipment with phosphate and calcium reactors and seperate sand bed blah blah blah...he said he's been in the hobby for 20 years and his tank does look pretty awesome ...but when i asked him some basic question about the chemistry of the reactions taking place in the tank....he had no idea what i was talking about

 

... And here I've been thinking for months that I was the only one who had trouble reading those API test kits. I feel better now knowing that I am not alone.

The PO4 test is undoubtedly the worst - color just doesn't match anything. I also find the nitrate test hard to read as well. If I hold the test vial against the card - the color looks much darker (worse) that if I hold it 2" away from the card. Trouble is - I wasn't sure which way was accurate.

I finally purchased a Seachem nitrate test kit to try to determine nitrate levels. This led me to two conclusions 1) I hate the Seachem nitrate test even more and 2) holding the API test's test tube at least 2" away from the card is the more accurate reading.

Z

 

One thing that will throw you off is the light.....i only look at it under bright white light in my closet....when i take it to the living room ....holy crap! the color changes....the lights in the living room are yellowish/orage/reddish ...you know what im talking about

The white florecent light make all the difference

 

lmao ;D

 

My API test says view from the side, I do have an older test kit (API) that was given to me that I used before I got my new kit that says look down to match color. What I do with mine is just do my best guess.

I come from a family who owned a printing company and learned a long time ago that in a situation like this color matching, you always have to remember that shades of color often print differently on different runs, this happens from human error at the press.

 

I can just imagine them printing the wrong colors and thousands of people pulling their hair out

And you know they're not gona do a reacall

 

They probably don't even realize it or know, they just have them printed then packed into the boxes and they get shipped out, it can be a very slight shade, even if they looked at it for some odd/rare reason I doubt they could even tell most of the time.

I bought one of my tanks used and the guy gave me his old API test kit, it has a booklet thing and not cards, yet the bottles are all the same stuff. OMG you should see the color differences between the booklet pages and my cards from my newer test kit!! One day I tested all paramaters with both test kits (and bottles of reagents) to see if the colors came out different with the older reagents (thinking they also may produce different colors because of age or maybe a different make/model) and the water tests from both kits came out to be the exact same colors! I think for the heck of it I'll take pics of both these cards and booklet colors and post them here. It's amazing.

One way you can start to notice these printing differences is in catalogs if you buy clothes or anything else from it, or even a package of an item with a picture on it, then compare it to the real color of the item. never the same!

 

I sometimes wonder if the guy printing the cards is color blind or maybe he shows up to work stoned