test kits and other sciency stuff

[Master of Puffers]

peeps....I'm looking for advice for scientiific equiptment to help me...not a snipeing match about about media ..


SCIENCE puffer people....science

Hard to answer since your question is so general... In science, we always ask specific questions. But as for testing equipment, me and my lfs use API master test kits. They have freshwater and saltwater versions, and API themselves recommend using the freshwater set for brackish also. So idk about a master test kit for FW/BW/SW, but if you had one of each kit, you should be covered.

sighs ...I spent 15 yrs working in an internationally accedited water chemistry lab..I know what I'm talking about WRT analytical methods. Given the current low cost compremises I'm dealing with..I want something which is able to give me repeatable results without having to set up a hod-load of standards and QCs...

So test kits vs probes...the best ..the worst....those you wouldn't recommend ..

[Master of Puffers]

WC should easily replace the 1st item on your list.

I was looking for monitoring info...I want to be able to chart my tanks performance so I can predict water quality changes before they happen.

Ok, I see what your after...if I were you and you want that type of info....google RTR, Robert T. Ricketts.......seriously, google him. You will find article after article, and website after website that references his work and he is really well published in dealing with water chemistry. This will take you a while to do...If you want that type of info, his works are the best place to start

PC, I think it's a huge waste of $$$.

You are determined to take away my rocks....alright next tank I'll give it a try. I was thinking I would set up a small shrimp or snail tank, not for puff food, just to look at...but I am keeping my pillowcase stuffing

I seriously hate when people say GOOGLE X...if you really feel it's the answer provide the links rather than expecting others to do your work for you.That's so dismissive ....How am I to know the keywords you have used?? Plus how I can I diffuse the peer group review in general in a constructive manner...lots of posts doesn't mean that the theorum is correct.

Thanks for the guidence, in several other threads here giving

[Master of Puffers]

WC should easily replace the 1st item on your list.

I was looking for monitoring info...I want to be able to chart my tanks performance so I can predict water quality changes before they happen.

Ok, I see what your after...if I were you and you want that type of info....google RTR, Robert T. Ricketts.......seriously, google him. You will find article after article, and website after website that references his work and he is really well published in dealing with water chemistry. This will take you a while to do...If you want that type of info, his works are the best place to start

PC, I think it's a huge waste of $$$.

You are determined to take away my rocks....alright next tank I'll give it a try. I was thinking I would set up a small shrimp or snail tank, not for puff food, just to look at...but I am keeping my pillowcase stuffing

I seriously hate when people say GOOGLE X...if you really feel it's the answer provide the links rather than expecting others to do your work for you.That's so dismissive ....How am I to know the keywords you have used?? Plus how I can I diffuse the peer group review in general in a constructive manner...lots of posts doesn't mean that the theorum is correct.

Thanks for the guidence, in several other threads here giving

[Master of Puffers]

Just stick with basic hobby test kits such as API. Almost all of us use it for fresh and salt. I'm uncertain about brackish water though. Light brackish I would stick with the API freshwater kit and high-end brackish I would use the API saltwater kit. Both API saltwater and freshwater kits are the same bottles with different charts, according to my past google searches. If you just buy one, then you can google the chart that you need.

If your tanks are properly stocked, then weekly water changes eliminates predicting when to do water changes. I'm sure most of us have stopped testing water regularly after our tank is set up for a few months since we do weekly water changes.


Btw I trialed Seachem Pond Matrix. Seems like the product doesn't work. I bought 5 gallons of Pond matrix (yes a 5 gallon bucket full of it) and tested it. I do not believe this product works as advertised. Also the seachem reps states that the pores of the matrix will eventually get clogged with organic waste and kill all the anaerobic bacteria.. I wish I knew this before buying my 5g. I'm pretty happy about the effectiveness of my biomedia though. Aerobic bacteria is doing excellent job in my Fahaka's sump. You're suppose to rinse the matrix with RO water for it to clear up the pores for anaerobic bacteria to survive (the bacteria that decrease NitrAte). Here is my documentation for trialing Pond Matrix: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f6 ... 96466.html

Merci beacoup..I miss running my tank water though the stuff I had at work..my boss loved us testing non work releated samples. eta..getting to ppm/ppb levels spoils your puffers IYKWIM..

[RTR]

I have been in the sciences all of my life. In the labs I lived with equipment and test protocols and equipment calibrations.

At home and in my hobbies I prefer to be less high-tech. I do not use many crutches such as Matrix or GAC. In my own experience they are, as PP said, more than replaced by simple, cheap water partials in FW and low BW. In marine systems I may get a bit more technical, but not a heck of a lot. I am compulsive on biofiltration and i definitely overdo that by a factor of at least two. But that also means that I always have spare biofilters available for stealing if needed - while the donor tank will not show positive ammonia or nitrite detectable by hobby test kits.

I do splurge on test kits. I use field grade test kits - where each kit costs on the order of double the cost of the so-called master test kits at hobby levels. I do keep hobby level kits so that when I report on-line I can give the standard hobby-level readings. I do not do a lot of testing other than in experiments. Experience hobbyists who have fairly standard tank upkeep practices rarely need to check water parameters - they know what they will be before they test. Stable upkeep means predictable test results. I have not done a community tank in decades and never will again. I always over-filter massively by hobby standards, and separate bio- and mechanical (particulate) filtration - it makes my life easier. To me easier is better. All equipment is duplicated. If something has a problem, there is a spare available, common;y already in operation. My QT is rigorous and extended - sometimes to extremes. Most of my tanks are in or a part of multi-tank systems. I prefer to segregate some functions (veggie filters on reverse or same or 24/7lighted light cycle as the display; plenums, DSBs; infusoria tanks; fry segregation tanks; etc.) while keeping the water the same in whole system. That practice is rare in the hobby, but quite useful to me.

I am not the average hobbyist, and far from a novice. After all, I set my first SW multi-tank system back in the 1960s (invert display, two algae-bed filters (same and reversed light cycles) and an inusoria/'pod tank) and had my first puffer tank at the same time (GSPs).

[bertie 83]

I am tuning out of this topic. Master of puffers, science works differently In different peoples brains. I am scientifically dumb to an extent. Please bear in mind not everyone's brains work as yours does, we may think things are science when you do not. Snap comments like "science people" are a little in called for, please treat scientifically thick people with respect, we have knowledge in other areas.