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Water Analysis Testing Technique
Even the most expensive water analysis test kits will not good results if used incorrectly, the most common mistakes is the contaminate of the test tube which collects the water, which will cause inaccurate results.
Following a few simple procedures will help ensure that the tests will be performed as accurately as possible.
Now you shoud know cleaniness is of upmost importance,as you are collecting a small quantity of water, any small contamination will multiply the results no end.
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When using and handling the water analysis test kits,read the instructions as many of the chemicals can be toxic to humans. Another beginners mistake is balancing the test kits liquid,etc on top of the tank,as one accident and all the chemical is in the water.
When testing the aquarium water, use one test kit at a time as you are bound to get mixed up after a while and recording them can be difficult.
To avoid confusion, do only one test at a time, record the results, and then proceed to the next test. Do not hurry. A complete set of test for the typical marine tank should take only about half an hour to carry out.
For more information on Marine Aquarium Water Chemistry or the Marine Aquarium Beginners Guide click here.
Recommended Water Testing Kits by Saltwater Aquarium Guide
Choosing your Water Analysis Kit
We have discussed the water analysis and how often to test our aquarium water, Now we look at choosing your water analysis kit.
For most purposes a highly accurate test kit is not necessary. For example ammonia, one needs to know only if it is present at all, not the precise amount, since any amount of this toxic compound is cause for concern. But on the other endof the scale is copper, a small difference of 0.1 ppm can be significant indeed, the difference between treating disease and killing the marine fish. It is important to understand that what is meant by accuracy depends upon which parameter one is trying to measure.
Accuracy, the degree to which a test result reflects the real state of the sample being tested, becomes ever so more expensive as the decimal places increases. An instrument of test is accurate to +-10 units may cost only a fraction of the cost of a similar instrument that is accurate to +-0.1 units, representing a 100-fold increase in accuracy. Choose a level of accuracy appropriate to the parameter. A calcium test, for example, can vary by +-20 ppm without causing problems.
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Precision refers to the smallest amount of difference a test or instrument will permit the observer to distinguish reliably. The smaller the increment, the greater the precision and the higher the cost. For example, to measure the difference between 0.01 and 0.02 mg/L of phosphate is more difficult that determining the difference between 12 and 24 mg/L. however, since tiny amounts of phosphate can exert dramatic effects, one needs the more precise test.
Which brand should be used? Easy-to-use test kits are sold at any aquarium shop. As with any product, though, not all brands are created equal. Some kits provide results that are almost suitable for serious laboratory work, while others are so inaccurate as to be practically useless.
For any given brand, the test results may not be equally satisfactory across the entire range kits offered. The company that makes a great nitrate test kit may have a lousy pH kit, for example. For this reason, you should avoid master test kit products that offer several kits in a single package. .
Once you settle for a kit for a particular measurement, stick with it. Changing brands will almost certainly mean that the numbers obtained will differ, making it impossible to compare results from the new kit with results previously determined with another kit. Since spotting a changing trend in tank conditions is more important than knowing the precise value at the current moment, the importance of having consistent test results cannot be overemphasized.
For more information on Marine Aquarium Water Chemistry or the Marine Aquarium Beginners Guide click here.
Recommended Water Testing Kits by Saltwater Aquarium Guide
Water Analysis - How Often?
Proper marine aquarium management and maintenance requires periodic testing which is carried out by means of water analysis. This can be done by selecting good test kits and using them properly is an important skill for all of us. Two methods are chemical tests or we can use electronic instruments for fast, accurate assessments of water chemistry.
How Often?
Checking up or water analysis should be done on our marine aquarium on a weekly basis.
Therefore keeping track of changing water conditions in the marine tank means that we must periodically carry out water tests and keep a record of the results. Without keeping our result the new information form the next test becoe meaningless, the test equipment used must be sufficiently accurate for the purpose, and the actual testing must be done correctly. Shoddy equipment and / or sloppy technique will inevitably produce results that do not reflect actual conditions in the tank.
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Such a situation is potentially more dangerous than ignoring test altogether. Hence means that bad data leads to bad results, quality and acurate testing will ensure the well-being of the tank’s inhabitants.
When doing water analaysis you will check for the variables as in the Marine Aquarium Water Quality Parameters.
For more information on Marine Aquarium Water Chemistry or the Marine Aquarium Beginners Guide click here.
Recommended Water Testing Kits by Saltwater Aquarium Guide
Iodine In Marine Aquariums
The hobbyist literature contains numerous references to the benefits of adding Iodine to the marine aquarium. Iodine is found in natural seawater at concentration of 0.06mg/L, in our saltwater aquariums it removed by protein skimming and by activated carbon filtration.
The Iodine is essential to many fishes and invertebrates, for example certain corals that pulsing movement in the water may become motionless in there a lack of iodine in the saltwater. Fish such as sharks, jawfish and hawkfish will develop goiters ( an abnormality of the thyroid) again if they receive a lack of iodine.
Test kits are ready available at your local fish shop along with additives for replenishing iodine, be careful not to over dose.
For more information on Marine Aquarium Water Chemistry or the Marine Aquarium Beginners Guide click here.
Recommended Water Testing Kits by Saltwater Aquarium Guide
What is Water Quality?
We all mention “maintain good water quality” or “that fish needs prefect water quality”. So what’s water Quality? Water Quality may be defined in terms of the biological needs of its inhabitants of the aquarium.
If the physical and chemical parameters of the marine water are within acceptable ranges for the community of species housed in the tank, then your aquarium is said to have appropriate water quality. Target water parameters are based upon knowledge of the habitants and there needs. For coral reef aquariums the water parameters can be precisely defined.
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Determining the carrying capacity of a marine aquarium, that is estimating the total number of fish that can be maintained successfully. There are many variables ranging from design of filtration system, metabolism of individual species, etc. Most experienced hobbyists will base there calculations on experience and they will advise beginners to start slowly and add fish progressively.
It’s easier to check if the system is running under capcity by doing simply tests for nitrogen compounds, pH, dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide. Comparing these values with the given normal reading will show you if your system is under capacity, acceptable ranges of water quality has been established with years of experience and research.
There is 3 major biological activities that operate within an established marine aquarium, that is:
- Nitrogen Cycle
- Photosynthesis
- and food web formation.
Nitrogen cycling is the exchange of compounds containing nitrogen among organisms in a food web It is facilitated by bacterial activity as wellas the metabolism of higher rganisms manily fish. Photosynthesis is the process by which plans and algae use sunlight to form food mocules from carbon dioxide and water. A food web can be defined as organisma that are ecologically related to each other as prey and predator.
The above 3 processes constantly change the water chemistry of the water within a confined marine aquarium. When we find the equilbrium between these processes the changes are relatively minor over the course of time. Regular maintainence wil ensure they stay within the limits. When the aquarium is operating below its maximum capcity, chemical tests at regular intervals will show that the levels are relatively constant, but if the aquarium is over loaded and the toxic waste from the fish will overload the system and the levels of carbon dioxide and ammonia typically accumulate over time.
Marine Aquarium Water Quality Parameters can be found here.
For more information on Marine Aquarium Water Chemistry or Marine Aquarium Beginners Guide click here.
Recommended Water Testing Kits by Saltwater Aquarium Guide
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