Comparing API and Seachem Nitrate Test Kits.
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- Опубліковано 24 сер 2024
- In this video I discuss some of my likes and dislikes about these two different nitrate Test Kits. One is very specific, while the other is a little more vague. We'll also look at my Mated pair of Angelfish in my 29g Misc. Tank, with Striated Botias (Zebra Loaches) GloFish (GMO Skirt Tetras) White Cloud Mountain minnows, Neon Tetras, and a Rubber Lip Pleco.
I created this video with the UA-cam Video Editor ( / editor )
![Seachem Ammonia Alert Facts - Ammonia Testing Made Easy [MUST SEE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/KFZGIODcG_M/mqdefault.jpg)
![АЛАУДИНОВ у Скабеевой: эти их ВСУ нас НЕ ДОГОНЯТ 😁 [Пародия]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/an0anqU4WGQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Hands down the best water test kit demonstration and comparison! Thank you for taking the time!
Good teaching on high nitrite vs high nitrite/ammonia --- glad you talked about shaking the second bottle, it's important and too many don't realize that --- good description of "little things" such as the bottom of the bubble being 5ml, I find most people think it's the top - other stuff like that --- nice comparison too
+Old School Fish Guy Thanks!
I've never used either so this was interesting to watch and makes me wonder too because there both water testing kits yet both so different you'd think they be exactly the same .... Very informational as always Dan and thanks for sharing this
Great info. Love seeing the actual testing.
+Michael Agostino In a minute, I'll be publishing a follow-up to this video.
Just for information I use the API and struggle with the nitrate so I tried this method. Do your test as normal but pour half out after 5 mins and take the cap off and look down through the tube holding it above the white part of your test card I also made a slider from an envelope for the API card. If you think you are 40+ and you know your tap water take 2.5ml of tank and the same of tap {faucet } water and you might get a reading that looks like 25. If you want to save money and test more frequently just use 2.5ml tank water and only add 1/2 the required drops
Agree 100%. When it comes to nitrate testing I prefer using the Seachem kit.
You should try the Sera one, the color scale is easier to read. By any means, 40mg/l (or was it ppm ?) is a lot ; at least for a planted aquarium
Thank you, for another great Video!🙋
An informative vid, Dan! Thanks for posting. I find the API products to be satisfactory for my aquarium water testing needs. However I am not nearly as serious about this hobby as many on here are. I just want a clean aquarium environment, and happy fish that enjoy it. API gives me what I need to know to make that happen. Thanks again!
Thanks for watching!
Very helpful thanks
Incidentally, according to API (i posted a question to their FB page and they responded) the proper way to read the color of the tests is to suspend the vial slightly over the white part of the color chart. In your video you show it being placed directly on the color chart which they say is wrong. Especially for the Nitrate test, it shows a significantly darker reading if you place it directly on the color chart.
That's odd, because when I called and spoke with a customer service rep, they told me to nake sure the vial was touching the card. Tgey said it was important not to let any light pass between the vial and the card.
I even said it made it look really dark doing that way, but they said that was how I was supposed to do it.
Not uncommon for people at a company to give out conflicting information. One thing I can tell you is that on a mature tank (or tap water for that matter) if i take a reading for Ammonia and hold it directly on the color chart it looks like I have .25 ammonia which i know is wrong. If i suspend that same sample it looks pure yellow which is obviously correct.
The post was three weeks ago and can be found a few down under "Visitor Posts" on their facebook page. I just re-read it and they definitely say "Not Touching"
Greg Dombowsky lol. I'm sure they don't get a ton of training at the call center.
I have the same issue with the API test. I might have to try out the Seachem test.
+Brian's Pet's If you're looking for a precise test, then go with Seachem.
or get ur hands on a JBL testkit. helps with discolored water compromising tests as well.
your video help me so much thank you
love these videos! one question, sorry if it is stupid, if I take a sample of tank water in a small cup, could the results be affected by time if I leave it on the side for a while before testing? is it affected by gases in the air? thanks.
That's an excellent question, and the answer is yes, it will.
But it depends on what you are testing. As CO2 off gasses from the water it will cause the pH to rise.
As far as ammonia, nitrite and nitrates go, it shouldn't make a difference.
(honestly, as long as you're talking about an hour or two, it probably won't make much difference in pH either)
+Dan Hiteshew great, thankyou.
great info Dan, it is appreciated👍👍👍
thanks! I'll actually be shooting a follow-up later today.
great video.
however, since for aquarium the optimum nitrate level is 20ppm, usually nitrate tests are optimized for that region. if you see that your levels are high, and you really want to know the exact nitrate level, you should dilute test water with DI water and do another test, then you can precisely determine nitrate level by dilution. The thing i dont like about the seachem test is that you are using a very small amount of water. i prefer tests that use 5ml of water. that even makes it easy to use it with a colorimeter. what i love about the seachem test is that they have a reference solution with it.
I've got 100% colour perception and my nitrate never goes above 20 but I still struggling to decide between 10 and 20 unless I make sure I am in bright daylight. Also, holding the tube up to a window and looking through the glass rather than flat against the card helps.
I also use the timer on my phone to make sure I shake everything and let the tube sit for the right about of time (I'm hopelessly pedantic! Haha).
Not sure if this could be relevant to your results, but my API instruction booklet also says 'shake (test tube) vigorously' for one minute after you've added the drops from bottle 2 as opposed to 'invert several times' when you add the drops from bottle 1.
+Gaina You need to hold the vial against the card for an accurate test.
+Dan Hiteshew ah right! Thanks. :)
***** I'm shooting a follow-up later today. I checked and the instructions say to shake vigorously, so I'm going to do a comparison of the two methods.
Dan, could you dilute the tank water 50/50 with distilled or RO, then do the test? Read the better resolution at the low end then double it.
I'm not sure it would work that way. It's worth considering though. Maybe I'll do some tests to see if it's accurate.
I don't cap and shake after adding bottle one, The drops go all the way to the bottom and turn the whole vial yellow, ... I'd call that mixed. I do everything else as directed.
Dan do your apI ammonia tests work? Whenever I test with them the water I'm testing stays clear...
Mine work ok. A negative result would be yellow, not clear. If ammonia is present, it will turn green.
If I leave it for 1 hour does it still count??
The API test will get slightly darker over time, but it's close enough to give you a good idea. It won't just keep getting more and more red as time passes.
I was under the impression that you had to shake it vigorously for one minute after adding the second solution. tipping back and forth is the directions for pH.
+Marc Mayfield I'll go re-read what it says on the package, but inverting it works just fine. as long as the suspended solids stay in motion.
+Dan Hiteshew if that's the case my arm can rest a little easier lol
Marc Mayfield I looked it up and the instructions (which I no longer have) did indeed say that shaking vigorously was very import.
I know the test reagents my water people use, probably the exact same reagents as API uses, simply inverts his bottle for a minute.
I've never done a side by side comparison of the two methods, but I will have by the end of the day. rest assured. Lol
+Dan Hiteshew i look forward to seeing the results! thanks for doing the work for me lol
+Marc Mayfield no problem. it'll make for a good video.
What is your average % water change, and what is the negative to keeping nitrates lower.
+DaSchoe While I don't recommend it unless you really know your water, I do about 60 to 75% per change.
As far as keeping nitrates lower, there is no down side.
It will mean feeding your fish much less, so if you want to max out the size of your fish, you need to feed them very well. Don't overfeed, but feed plenty and varied. The down side is you will be increasing your organics too.
+Dan Hiteshew well mathematically doing less than 50% simply does not work. And if I lean to the side of over feeding and that means more water changes. I think it is better for the fish.... I think....
+Dan Hiteshew I have a similar problem with the API kit. After watching you do it though, I wonder if poring the API nitrate test into the seachem test tray would make a difference. I believe the refraction of the API tubes plays a huge part in being able to see the difference? That and you need a very bright light as well!
Great Chanel too!
facebook.com/TankOnCleaning
Thanks. Pouring it out wouldn't work. You really do need to hold the vial against the card to get a true reading.
(I've spoken with people at "Mars", the company that owns API)
I have not seen a seachem test kit?
i saw no change in the second wel where he was supposedly testing nitrate
I think he put it in the same well where he tested nitrate you uses the same water for both tests nitrite and nitrate.
What happens if you do an ammonia test on Windex since the the main ingredient is ammonia
Test station aka washing machine
Seachem WAY better!
Anything over 20 sucks so what does 50.or 80 even matter.
Who else was counting his drops :)
Lol
Who else finds themself saying "Schlameel, schlamazel, hasenpheffer incorporated" after counting 8 drops for ammonia test? lol
API reads total nitrogen, Seachem reads nitrates these are two different tests. At best API just gives you a guess unless the know the percentage of nitrates in the total nitrogen in your tank it is just a guess at best.
this was the api nitrate vs seachem nitrate. No3 vs no3 . There is no such thing as a total nitrogen. Think ur confused with ammonia and ammonium and how that is tested as a whole.
Yeah. I use the washing machine as a work bench too....
Nitrate at these levels has very little effect on fish if at all, the tests also get affected by other parameters in the water giving false results. It's far easier just to change some water instead of wasting time on the test, it has the bonus of removing other organic matter in the tank which you can't test for.
Not true. Nitrates over 20ppm long term WILL seriously affect the fish. That my friend is a scientifically proven fact.
@@esotericman22 yes, you are correct.
i have a 30gallon tank, heavily stocked and planted and have around 10ppm nitrates at MOST. because i change water weekly and know anything over 20ppm will stress the fish!
Further proof that API is overrated and not to be trusted for accuracy.
Lol. I will leave it another week, I have absolutely no concerns at that level. I just don't agree with you. Serious scientific studies have been carried out over many years and they confirmed that nitrates above 20ppm are damaging to fish over the long term. They will be healthier, less stressed, grow bigger, have better colours AND live longer if you keep nitrates consistently below 20ppm (and that is the ceiling you should be at). Sorry matey but that's a proven fact.
Not true even water company’s say 40ppm
I've never used either so this was interesting to watch and makes me wonder too because there both water testing kits yet both so different you'd think they be exactly the same .... Very informational as always Dan and thanks for sharing this