Interesting test results. With such variations, your comment about pick the test you like and test for changes is most valid. I use the API test kit and find the high range colours bit hard to distinguish. If it's crimson red, it's 160ppm+. If it's just red and if it's more orange than red it's about 40ppm otherwise it's around 80ppm. I find the graduations very subtle. Maybe I'm just colour blind. 🤣Good video.

@Gilsfishroom

Жыл бұрын

It's not just you Kevin, I find the Api hard to read also, and it changes depending on how much light you have behind the tube when you look. I get my kids to check as they have younger eyes than me.

@pomlady7

4 ай бұрын

I am looking to see if maybe the API test kit is easier to read then the Fluval. The colors are just not the same on the pamphlet as the actual vial colors, so I was thinking to buy the more expensive API kit. Now I am second guessing! By looking at this you tube, I am thinking that the API is pretty well the same, doesn't really match the colors, so why pay more? Frustrating when it is a guess as to what color in the vial matches the pamphlet it comes with!!

Ok after doing a bit of research and revising my physical chemistry, I think I know what is going on. Some tests measure give results of ppm NO3 and some tests give results ppm of Nitrogen. The API test quotes NO3 values and the JBL tests quote values of N. Since the molar mass of N is 14 g/mol and the molar mass of NO3 is 62 g/mol, the API test will give you a value 4.4 times that of JBL. The obvious thing to do would be to measure the accuracies of the tests directly. It shouldn't be too hard. You will need some lab grade Potassium nitrate, deionized water and an accurate scale. Here is how I would do it (assuming my calcs are right here). Molar mass of KNO3 is 101g/mol, say it is 100, so 1 gram in 1 liter will be 0.01 mol/l Nitrate molar mass is 62 g/mol so to 1 gram of KNO3 in 1 liter will give 0.01*62*1000 or 620ppm 1.6g will give a 1000ppm solution which you can easily dilute to get 1, 10, 100 ppm Unfortunately potassium nitrate is a controlled substance in my country, (it's a key ingredient in old-style gunpowder) so I can't do it. But I have tested the JBL vs API on my tank. JBL is giving about 5ppm but API is giving me 40, so even accounting for the difference between the tests there is still a discrepancy.

@Gilsfishroom

6 ай бұрын

Great work mate! You are the first viewer to explain the discrepancy between API and JPL. Now you just have to explain why all of the other tests were different!

@krasanen

Ай бұрын

I don't think the JBL test quotes N values. I read through the instructions and the color card of my JBL NO3 test, and there is always NO3 or nitrate, not N or nitrogen. My explanation is that reagents of the JBL and Aquasonic tests were out of date. It is enough if just one reagent is out of date, then the test shows zero or near zero. Particularly if the bottles were opened for longer time, reagents may be out of date even long before the expiration date.

@Gilsfishroom

Ай бұрын

All of the kits were purchased for this video and were all in date.

Good scientific test mate. Sometimes we end up with more questions than answers but there is still value in seeking them hey.

@Gilsfishroom

Жыл бұрын

It certainly has left me scratching my folically challenged head Daniel.

Hi great video. Like you I tried out several nitrate testers and like you got vastly different readings. I finally bought a Hanna High Range Nitrate tester. Latest test was carried out on my 200ltr Cichlid tank using API Nitrate and the Hanna tester. The API indicated between it could be between 40 and 80ppm. Always bloody hard to read. The Hanna reading was 61.5ppm My conclusion is the API is close enough for me. So if in any shade of red even before 5 mins - a water change - and I do an approx 75% every week anyway. I don't sweat about my tank paramiters as my fish aren't dying, not sick and always breeding. Keep up with these great videos.

@Gilsfishroom

Жыл бұрын

I was hoping you would comment on this one Tom It's good to know that the API is in the right ball park. I'm agree that your fish are usually the best indicator of how your tank is going. Thanks for your input mate.

I grew up on Sera tests, so I'm pleased to see it perform what appears to be in consensus with the likely numbers. The results from your big tank are just tremendous. (It does look like, if we want the best aquarium water quality, use the Aquasonic test kits.......LOL :)

@Gilsfishroom

Жыл бұрын

I didn't know Sera had been around that long! 🤣 Perhaps we should use the Aquasonic for our next Seachem update...

@AussieAquatic

Жыл бұрын

@@Gilsfishroom it looks like we can get whatever result we want 🤔🤫

Good man! Thank you!

@Gilsfishroom

7 ай бұрын

Thanks mate. 😊

I love it! Yr awesome mate! 👍👍😊

@Gilsfishroom

Жыл бұрын

Good on ya Scott, that means a lot mate.

I have been waiting for this one 👏🏽👏🏽

@Gilsfishroom

Жыл бұрын

I really hope that it was worth the wait Rochelle. At least you now know you are not alone in ending up with different results.

@rochelle6006

Жыл бұрын

@@Gilsfishroom it was def worth it , and to know you got similar results to myself . Api is about twice what Jbl reads , but now Im curious to know why and does it make any difference hahaha

@Gilsfishroom

Жыл бұрын

@@rochelle6006 I'm hoping that someone who can answer that will comment and let us know.

Dear Gil: It never ceases to amaze me how much money novices spend on this hobby. You can get your water tested, for free, at most, pet stores. Thank you for proving that these products are hugely inaccurate. Though they give some indication of the compounds they are intended to detect; the best course of action is to follow the rules of the hobby (regarding nitrogen cycle; filtration; lighting; temperature; regular water changes; etc.); practice; and, learn from your mistakes. Your video is superb. I truly appreciate the time and expense you put into its production. All my best, Sincerely, E. J. Brinegar

@Gilsfishroom

Жыл бұрын

Thanks E.J, it was an interesting question that Rochelle posed, and an even more interesting result. I am conducting another experiment inspired by you involving charcoal, so keep an eye out for that.

@ejbrinegar

Жыл бұрын

Dear Gil: That’s very interesting. I do keep charcoal, on hand, to remove chemicals, from a tank. But, I haven’t used it, for years. Since it removes compounds, from the water, keeping it, in a planted tank, would be counter-productive, as I want all the nutrients to go to my plants. Also, when I find it necessary, to treat fish, for disease, with medications, I do so, in a quarantine tank. I always quarantine new stock, for at least 21 days, before introducing them, into my, established tanks, so I haven’t had to treat such a tank, for a long time. I look forward to seeing more of your, fantastic work, in the hobby. Sincerely, Brinegar

@roarandrampage

10 ай бұрын

It never ceases me how people rely on the internet. From the JBL website (mind you, this is what the Canadian (EH!) commented on and she is plainly right since the instructions she followed are WRONG, in 2023. Procedure: 1. Rinse both test vials several times with the water to be tested. 2. Use the enclosed syringe to fill each of the test vials with 10 ml of sample water. 3. Add 1 large level measuring spoon (broad end of the enclosed double-ended spoon) of reagent 1 in one of the two test vials, then add 6 drops of reagent 2 1, not 2 spoons of powder.

@Gilsfishroom

10 ай бұрын

Patrick, I only showed the rinsing out of the vials in the first (API) test. I didn't show the rinsing of the others in an attempt to shorten the length of the video. As for the rest I'm sure if you watch the video from 5:30, you will see that correct procedure was adhered to. 😄

Testing can be a right pain. I tend to use my chosen brand of kit, to look for trends in the result. Are my nitrates going up, down of staying steady. After all, who knows which kit is the right one! I’m about to send some reef tank water off for an icp-oes test, but even the results from those , can be a contentious issue. I like your lab!

@Gilsfishroom

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Adam, yeah I'm with you, use the same kit and test for any rise in levels. My lab isn't full of reef tanks like yours!

Excellent testing 👍! Cutting the strips in half is a great way to save money, too! I've only personally tried the api and the tetra 6 in one strips for nitrates. For me, I find the tetra more consistent and the color chart for the low end a little easier to read. That being said, I have had a bad strip on 1 occasion where it showed 0ppm nitrates, which would've been very unusual. Used 2 more strips and they both read about 20ppm, which was much more like what I was expecting. I do know they have an expiration date, so does my api liquid phosphate test, so for the couple liquid tests you tried that were giving you abnormally low results, I'm wondering if they were stored at improper temps before you got them, making them go bad early? I suppose there's no way to know if that's the case, but it's all I can think of. 🤔 Very well done testing. I'll take my snow and ice over your 102° any day 😁! Hope you and your family had a nice Christmas and have a happy new year! 🎊🙂

@tomcrossan8263

Жыл бұрын

Another good tip with the API is to use half the amount of water and half the number of drops. Same results.

@Gilsfishroom

Жыл бұрын

@@tomcrossan8263 I do that with both the API nitrate and ammonia tests.

@Gilsfishroom

Жыл бұрын

Also out of interest I once performed an API nitrate test without shaking the second bottle. The test showed very low levels. Mate, you can keep your ice and snow...

@TarasTankFriends

Жыл бұрын

@@tomcrossan8263 great tip! 🙂👍

@guadaguppy4798

Жыл бұрын

jc c. xx

Hahah loved the VB can for the rinse out . Thankyou for showing the results , I am glad I am not the only one getting different results , I guess for the money I might stick to the api, even tho it probably shows on the higher end of the scale of all the tests . Most hobbiests use the api and for the money it is one of the more simple tests To perform. It is confusing why some tests are showing higher results than others tho and why. I did read some tests measure for different readings in the nitrate tests , I wonder if Jbl don’t test for as many in the water as the api . Considering you got similar results to what I did , I’m guessing Jbl is one that doesn’t test for as much in their test ? Api was always about double what Jbl would read . Thankyou sir for a great video as always . I hope you and the family had a great Xmas 🎉 So what kit would you recommend after all that?

@Gilsfishroom

Жыл бұрын

I hope you had a good Chrissy all the way up there. To be honest, the JBL and Sera that are viewed vertically were the easiest to read as you don't get the variation from light getting behind the tube. Having said that, like you said, the API is cheaper and simpler.

@rochelle6006

Жыл бұрын

@@Gilsfishroom yes to read Jbl are great , and if I understand the ratio correctly, JBL may not test the ions and therefore read lower but if it does get up into the 10ppm I know it is around the same as 40ppm in the Api .

Gee whiz, unbelievable variation in results!

@Gilsfishroom

Жыл бұрын

I've gotta say that I wasn't expecting such a variation.

I use the API nitrate test. And sometimes that does shock me. The results are always so high yet i can see that my fish plants and shrimps are doing well. so i guess with the API im always on my toes. hahaha even after a water change it barely gets down to 30ppm

@Gilsfishroom

Жыл бұрын

I think that as long as your fish are healthy, that's the main thing. I just test to keep an eye on levels in case they suddenly rise.

So using API test kit my ammonia and no2 has been testing near zero, less than .25 ppm. My no3 is sky-high at 40 - 80 ppm. Is this possible to have low ammonia and low no2 but high no3? I've been doing water changes to get no3 down but I'm wondering if my ammonia is high but not testing so or if my no3 is testing incorrectly. Any thoughts? Going to add a bit of data here. It's been over a year since I lost a fish and my Mollies recently had babies, which are doing well after 3 weeks. Tank is 20 gals. with a moderate to light plant load and 12 small adult fish, mostly Tetras. I use a combination of RO water and bottled natural spring water, (Cyrstal Geyser and/or Ozarka) so those that say it's in my water supply are not in agreement with the manufacturer's testing reports. At this point, I think it's the API test solution. The Nitrate test solution is not expired, but the bottle has been open and in use for about a year. I realize that these testing solutions can deteriorate after being open for a while. I appreciate the comments.

@Gilsfishroom

Жыл бұрын

Not sure mate. It's possible if your tank is new and hasn't cycled properly yet. It's also possible that your tap water contains nitrates. Have you tested your tap water? More often than not the reason the api gives an incorrect reading is from people not shaking bottle 2 for at least 30 seconds, and in that case it will read lower, not higher.

@silverfox74

11 ай бұрын

Nitrifying bacteria natually converts ammonia to nitrite then nitrite to nitrate. The bacteria cultured through a standard cycle will not produce bacteria that consumes nitrate so this will steadily increase as more bio waste is consumed and cycled by the bacteria. The best way to reduce nitrate is through water changes but as the OP said a number of water supplies contain high nitrate out the tap so doing a water change will not really lower the nitrate if that is the root cause. So the next best solutions are to use a quality resin in your filter to specifically remove nitrate via chemical filtration (not ammonia or nitrite which must be removed naturally by the bacteria in a cycled tank), reduce the stock size of your tank, reduce feeding, remove uneaten food within minutes, increase cleaning of the substrate, use distilled water when doing water changes, buy a bigger tank etc. If your ammonia &/or nitrite levels were high then I would expect your nitrate to be very low as the bacteria will not be converting the ammonia to no3. Ammonia should be trace to zero and nitrite absolute zero. If either were very high your fish would be very sick in a matter of hours and dead in days whereas high nitrate is a very slow killer in adult fish. Always aim to keep no3 under 40ppm which is considered a typically safe level. Do not take no3 to zero if you keep plants as nitrate is a food source for plantation. 10-20ppm is optimal for most freshwater tanks - pale orange on a API test - holding up to a window and not the card. Once it starts turing blood orange you're at 40ppm and need to establish the best way to reduce it. If it's blood red with no sign of orange your fish will start to experience nitrate poisoning and their behaviour will change, fins will eventually start to rot at the tip, they'll stop eating and will be more prone to catching diseases. Any new fish, especially juveniles, will typically die within their first week and algae may become rife over time.

So mainly these tests, depending on the manufacturing, want you to have higher reading to change and use their product up

@Gilsfishroom

Жыл бұрын

I'm not sure why they all tested so differently, that's why I say pick the one you like and just look for any out of the ordinary readings.

Got the Sera gh kit a while back and really like it. Been using aqua one tests. They are pretty average. Incorrect instructions on both the nitrate kits I've had lol. Had the get pet shop that us3s them to show me correct amounts of reagents to match api results. 😂. Thinking I'm going to replace all my tests with Sera as what I have runs out.

@Gilsfishroom

4 ай бұрын

That's interesting mate. I liked the Sera because it was easier to match the colour in the tube to the chart.

@MongrelShark

4 ай бұрын

@@Gilsfishroom I've been looking at a few Sera test reviews and charts. Looking at the various charts, I think some tests can be used at different ratios to get different ranges too.

Which one the most accurate mate?

@Gilsfishroom

Жыл бұрын

After all of that I can't really say. Although Tom has commented that he has compared the api to a top of the line hanna checker and found the API to be pretty accurate. Thanks for watching Farid.

Ok- so have have been looking into this and have found a couple of reasons. Some tests test for a different nitrogen. So 1ppm of nitrate - nitrogen Equals 4.4 ppm of nitrate ion. I have no idea of what the difference is but some test kits test For one - which gives you the lower scale results and the the other obviously the higher . So they are still correct it just means they test for a different thing. Also the nitrate is converted to nitrite first in the testing to get the results they get , which is why it is important to follow everything to the T. I have no idea if you understand what I’m saying or if I have it it right I’m still looking into them . But it would explain why 😉 But I got this info off a bulk reef supply utube video and as always we can’t always trust everything we watch . But it does give me a idea why some are different. Thankyou from beautiful sunny qld at the moment, I am loving the weather at the moment 👌🏾

@Gilsfishroom

Жыл бұрын

I was kinda wondering if it would be something like that, which is why I tested the second tank to see if the tests all showed the same increase in levels.

Aquasonic for least worries.

@Gilsfishroom

Жыл бұрын

True. If you are worried about high nitrates, just use this test and the problem will disappear!

@FarizMammadov-qw8rc

2 ай бұрын

@@Gilsfishroom 😂

After 45 years in the hobby I admitted that spending $130 for a professional Nitrate test makes sense. All other tests are always questionable. You can track a trend but never believe the actual values. From all cheap pet store test kits the only one that is reliable is the KH test. A set of professional or just reliable test kits (Hanna low range P colorimeter for example) adds up to about $800. This includes tests/devices for measuring TDS, pH, KH, GH, Ca, N, K, P. A set of chemicals needed to nail the water parameters without adding extra elements (like S, Cl, CO3) includes about 10 different chemicals - cost of about $200. So for $1,000 you will have both the means to actually track actual values and the ability to adjust the water parameters perfectly. None of that is needed if you have the patience to let an aquarium establish and the biofilter to take care of everything making it ultra stable, ultra clean, and never a single problem no matter what you change in the tank. Takes up to 2 years for the biofilter to establish.

@Gilsfishroom

8 ай бұрын

I agree. I only use the tests to check for changes. I don't add anything to the water to chase parameters, because once you start, you will be forever doing it. Great comment mate.

@GreatWhiteNiko

8 ай бұрын

@@GilsfishroomRIght on, once you start you are on an endless journey full of problems. Few days ago I started dosing super light a tank full of mosses. KH 1, GH2, N 3, P0.1, K6... Adding 0.4 ppm Fe caused algae all over in about 3 days. And tha'ts super light fertilization...

Thanks professor , I'm sure the longer your beard gets, the smarter you become 🤔and don't hassle the loving people of Queensland too much, they only bend the bananas so they go into your mouth and not up your nose when eating them, true story 😉 Great review, keep up the good work mate. Very interesting results.

@Gilsfishroom

Жыл бұрын

Thanks mate, I haven't met a Queenslander I didn't like!

*The conclusion is:* use the most expensive Australian Aquasonic test kit and your nitrates will always be close to zero! :)

@Gilsfishroom

Жыл бұрын

Ha! You are right there mate. I was hoping that the Australian kit would be better, but it wasn't.

I guess you just have use the tests as kind of a guide and just play it by ear by watching fish behavior, plant growth, etc.

@Gilsfishroom

Жыл бұрын

I'm with you there Ryan.

The double readings are easily explained. Your Nitrate video from 2 years ago is obsolete. The JBL test from 2023, that i use, calls for 1 spoon of reagent number 1. Not 2 as explained in your video from 2 years.

@Gilsfishroom

10 ай бұрын

You might want to re-watch the video Champ. When I made this video (9 months ago, not 2 years) I followed the instructions to the letter. Watch carefully from 5:30 and count the scoop. Thanks for your interest mate.

So which kit do you use for testing?

@Gilsfishroom

8 ай бұрын

I stick to the API.

Now that is a thorough testing..and a definite workout on the pocket book. Lol that is Hot🔥🔥🏜️. can't believe the cost differences.. actually surprised fluval is the cheapest. What differences in the results from test kits. So which one to trust... Good point at the end..

@Gilsfishroom

Жыл бұрын

You can't put a price on learning Chris. At least that's what I told the Chief financial officer when she saw this. I filmed this on Christmas day, and as soon as I stepped outside into a 40c plus day, I immediately wondered Stubbs would think of this.

@stubbsaquatics6080

Жыл бұрын

@@Gilsfishroom lol 40 Celsius.. yikes.... At least it's not humid... But not sure how you do it .. I am usually taught very expensive lessons 😀😂🤣.. Was another great video