Jump to content

Test kit replacements

ineke

By ineke
in Water Parameters

 Share

Recommended Posts

  • HOF Member
ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

Posted
  • HOF Member
Posted

Just wondering how often people are changing their test solutions. As I have a few tanks and test monthly I go through some solutions quite quickly but I have noticed the the PH solution tends to need replacing about 6 monthly -I notice results way out of kilter with what I know the tank should be.

I use API master test kit and find it cheaper to replace the whole kit than it is to buy individual solutions. I store mine in a drawer so it is cool and out of the light.

Does anyone else have this problem ?

Is there a recommended time for replacing solutions?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
CNgo2006 Shrimp Master

CNgo2006

Posted
Posted

there should be an expiry date on each bottle..this should be checked before purchase and you may find that some bottles although in the same test kit will have different expiry dates.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • HOF Member
ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

Posted
  • Author
  • HOF Member
Posted

I know about the expiry date thanks and mine are well inside that time but I just wondered if once they are opened the use by time reduces? Otherwise I don't understand why I would get wrong readings once they have been opened for sometime? This has happened 3 times now so maybe once they have been opened they may react to O2 getting in?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jayc Shrimp Guru

jayc

Posted
Posted

One of my pet peeves. Why doesn't anyone sell just the test solution?

I don't need another test tube Mr. API, I already have 20 of them!

Just need the test reagents, and sell it to me at a cheaper price. Surely that glass test tube is costing them $5 of the total price.

 

:quit ur:

 

 

Back to your problem Ineke.

If the kit is within it's use by date, it shouldn't be a problem. Shouldn't.

Is the test tube clean? Are you applying the correct amount of drops?

I read that holding the bottle at 90degs, vs 45degs will drip different amounts of the reagent. So always hold the bottle 90degs.

There is also the possibility of misreading the colour charts. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • HOF Member
ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

Posted
  • Author
  • HOF Member
Posted

I checked all things, made sure everything was clean. Redid the tests with the original reagent then used the new one and got a completely different reading. I usually get a high ph reading from a tank that should be lower as a sign that things aren't right. It seems to happen in exactly the same way - ph almost to 8 when it should be around 6.4. So new reagent used and sure enough I get the proper reading.

I always rinse my test tubes after use then fill with tank water , empty and refill before each test. I don't just take one reading when this happens I do several to make sure I haven't done something wrong. It's not a huge problem I just wondered if anyone else had an issue. The first few times it happened I didn't think the test could be wrong so thought something in the tank must have changed but I couldn't find anything to give a high reading so as I had a new kit anyway thought to retest and found it to be the older reagent in the fault. Now if a tank gives a sudden high reading I retest with new - I usually have spare ph testers from the kit on hand. Just seems strange that it happens so often as I said about 6 monthly. I guess I could write to API and find out what the life of an open container is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Squiggle Shrimp Guru

Squiggle

Posted
Posted

That sounds like a great idea Ineke, find out definitively from the source. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • HOF Member
ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

Posted
  • Author
  • HOF Member
Posted

I have sent an email to the UK company and will let you know their answer. They say they will get back to me in 24 hours. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • HOF Member
ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

Posted
  • Author
  • HOF Member
Posted

apparantly the PH test solution is very stable and should last at least 5 years past the use by date -having said that they still didn't say how long an opened bottle should last. I will have to look into my testing procedure next time I have a problem obviously I must do something wrong occassionally. I have 4 containers of solution so I might just do a test with the same water same tank etc and see if they all read the same.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Join Our Community!

    Register today, ask questions and share your shrimp and fish tank experiences with us!

  • Must Read SKF Articles

    Shrimp Disease and Treatment
    Tibee, Taitbee, Pinto, Mischling, F1, F2

  • Tropical Fish Forum
    Discus Breeding Guide
    Discus Disease and Treatment Guide

  • Posts

    • sdlTBfanUK
      Shrimp molting before eggs are hatched

      By sdlTBfanUK · Posted

      Thats a great photo, beautiful blue bolt, I hope it survived the molt without dropping the eggs! I think I can just about see some black dots (eyes) on the central egg but can't be 100% sure. I used to (and plan to again) do weekly water change of 10-15% but if you do too large or quick (not drip in new water) that would likely trigger a molt. What KH are they in, my new setup is sitting at (and refusing to budge) KH 3 and PH 7.5 so I may have to settle for neocaridina shrimp this time as opposed to the caridina I want, though not looking/deciding just yet, give the tank a bit more of a run in! Tap water here starts at kH 14, tds 320, when filtered goes to KH 0 and PH 6 but when put in the tank keeps going to KH3 and PH 7.5 despite 3 x 50% water changes???? You may be at 'maximum capacity' with only 20L tank especially if the tank is a cube type rather than shallow type?
    • beanbag
      Shrimp molting before eggs are hatched

      By beanbag · Posted

      Right now this tank only has blue bolts and golden bee (red bolts?).  The eggs start off all brown, but at the end, I notice that some are kind of a clear pink-ish color.  So I don't know if that is the egg color of dud or golden bee.  Picture of shrimp only about half hour before molting. The water is always RO + remineralizer, so it should be ok. The tank seems to still be on a "good streak" ever since I started the regimen of weekly water change, monthly gravel vac and plant trim.  The point being to keep the amount of waste low and removing moss / floating plants so that the nitrates go towards growing algae.  At one point, I had three berried females, but only netted about half dozen babies by the end, due to this early molting problem.  There might be about 30-40 shrimp total in 5 gallons, but still very few full-sized adults.
    • ngoomie
      Shrimp and meds containing gentian violet

      By ngoomie · Posted

      Alright, I've done a bit more research on gentian violet's cancer-causing potential but I haven't yet done research on malachite green's to compare. But from reading the California propositon 65 document about GV (North Americans incl. some Canadians will recognize this as the law that causes some products they buy to be labelled with "known to the state of California to cause cancer", including the exact product I bought) it seems that the risk of cancer is related to internal use, either injection or ingestion. Speaking of ingestion, I think GV bans mainly relate to its use in treating fish/shrimp/etc. which are intended for human consumption, because of the above. And in countries where GV isn't banned for this purpose, it does seem to get used on various species of shrimp without causing any issue for the shrimp themselves (at least enough so for shrimp farming purposes). See the following: In February, the FDA Began Rejecting Imported Shrimp for Gentian Violet and Chloramphenicol (2022 article by Southern Shrimp Alliance) FDA Starts New Calendar Year by Refusing Antibiotic-Contaminated Shrimp from Three BAP-Certified Indian Processors and Adding a BAP-Certified Vietnamese Processor to Import Alert (2024 article by Southern Shrimp Alliance) Southern Shrimp Alliance and some other organizations have tons of other articles in this vein, but I'd be here for a while and would end up writing an absolutely massive post if I were to link every instance I found of articles mentioning shrimp shipments with gentian violet and/or leucogentian violet registering as contaminants. That being said, I know shrimp farmed for consumption and dwarf shrimp are often somewhat distantly related (in fact, the one time a shrimp's species name is listed that I can see, it's the prawn sp. Macrobrachium rosenbergii, who at best occupies the same infraorder as Neocaridina davidi but nothing nearer), but this at least gives a slightly better way of guessing whether it will be safe for aquarium dwarf shrimp or not than my bladder snail anecdote from the OP.
    • sdlTBfanUK
      Shrimp molting before eggs are hatched

      By sdlTBfanUK · Posted

      I would hazard a guess that perhaps those eggs were unfertilized and thereby unviable? Did the eggs change colour, usually yellow to grey as the yolks used up, or any eyes in the eggs. Is your water ok, using RO remineralised and the parameters in range, as I have heard others say that if the water isn't good it can 'force' a molt? How is it going overall, do you have a good size colony in the tank, you may have reached 'maximum occupancy' as a tank can only support so many occupants.
    • beanbag
      Shrimp molting before eggs are hatched

      By beanbag · Posted

      Hello folks,  The current problem I am having is that my Taiwan bee shrimp are molting before all their eggs have hatched.  Often the shrimp keep the eggs for 40+ days.  During that time, they lose about half or so, either due to dropping or duds or whatever.  Shortly before molting they look to have about a dozen left, and then they molt with about half a dozen eggs still on the shell.  Then the other shirmp will come and eat the shell.  These last few times, I have been getting around 0-3 surviving babies per batch.  I figure I can make the eggs hatch faster by raising the water temperature more (currently around 68F, which is already a few degrees higher than I used to keep it) or make the shrimp grow slower by feeding them less (protein).  Currently I feed Shrimp King complete every other day, and also a small dab of Shrimp Fit alternating days.  Maybe I can start alternating with more vegetable food like mulberry?  or just decrease the amount of food?
×
×
  • Create New...