Test Kits

[LauraD]

Now that I have advanced into the area of testing my paramenters a little more deeply I am finding that I "really hate test kits"!!! I swear I spent a week changing water every day because I couldnt decide if my Ammonia was elevated or not....Is the color chart pink? or purple? Drives me nuts! Why cant there be a test kits that are DEFINATIVE!????
Recently I moved onto Salifert's CA kit. I heard that everyone seems to like this brand. I am adding B-Ionics to get my CA/ALK levels up in my 92 so I can fire up my CA reactor for the first time. After a week of feeling pretty good about my results, Jason comes home and says "the syringe has a big bubble in it". Try and try we cant suck up CA-3 solution without a bubble.
The test kit says that it is normal to have a bubble in front of the piston and that it wont influence the test results. Can this be? I am willing to believe them, but Jason is convinced it has to interfer with the results.
Question: do you all have this problem with the "air bubble"?
LauraD

 

[sledge75]

The air bubble is standard when using a syringe. However, it won't affect the results as long as you don't use the entire syringe of Ca-3. Since the air bubble stays at the top and only liquid gets dripped during the procedure, you are measuring the amount of liquid used in the titration. The position of stopper from the beginning of the test to the end measures the amount of liquid dispelled; the air stays at the top and thus does not contribute to the volume change in the syringe. It is only the volume of liquid that makes a difference and that is what is measured. Hope that was fairly clear.

 

[LauraD]

Sledge75: Thanks for your reply. Your explanation makes perfect sense to me! Actually that was my gut feeling and explained it (not as elegantly as you did) to Jason this morning. He wasnt convinced so I posted for other opinions! lol! As long as the bubble is above the final reading and I am not using ALL the solution in the syringe, it will not interfer! Thanks.
LauraD

 

[starrfish]

Hi Laura - I think your frustration with test kits is common in the reefing world! It's difficult to tell the actual color change in a lot of kits. Forget about the ph kits - I got a ph monitor because I just couldn't see the color difference. As sledge75 indicated, the "bubble" in the Salifert Calcium test is standard.

 

[LauraD]

Daire, Well I feel better then! Thanks.
How is your new set up coming along?