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Test kit review03         (Test Kit Review)

 

I wrote the following articles for Koi Carp Magazine.
Therefore they own the copyright but the Editor has given permission for them to be republished here.
Thank you, Karen.

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Test Kit Initial setup

 

“And the winner is ........”
No, this isn’t that kind of article.  The purpose of a test kit is to discover what is in a sample of pond water and so a more realistic approach than picking a winner would be to test the kits against a wide range of samples of pond water and report what was found, highlighting any reasons for discrepancies.  This will allow readers to pick a kit that they feel is suitable for their own situation.  This is the approach I have adopted.  Five manufacturers kindly supplied kits to be tested: - API, Blagdon, JBL, Tetra and Waterlife.

Since the method chosen was not to make up artificial samples but to take real examples of pond water from several sources, the parameters of each sample were tested with two Hanna photometers, my old C203 and the new 83203.  Repeated tests were made for each parameter on one machine and then again on the second to ensure they were consistent and accurately known. These samples were then tested by each test kit to see what results were produced.

Ammonia
The ideal level for ammonia in a koi pond is zero.  In practice, this cannot be achieved because koi, in common with other fish, excrete ammonia continuously, not just whilst digesting food.  The relationship between pH, temperature and the two forms of ammonia, (NH3 and NH4) that can exist in a pond is beyond the scope of this article but if the value of “total ammonia”, as indicated by test kits, is kept below the value in the table in figure 1 for the particular pond temperature and pH, there will be no threat to the welfare of the koi. 

Kits stating “the safe value of ammonia is..........” would do better to print an ammonia table instead.   At high pHs in growing on tanks or in quarantine tanks at their highest temperature whilst heat ramping, the total ammonia may have to be kept below 0.2 mg/L or even 0.1 mg/L.  The only manufacturers whose kits included tables were Blagdon, Waterlife and JBL.

How to use the table
In the table in figure 1, pick your pH on the left and your pond temperature at the top.  The value where they intersect is the maximum value of total ammonia that can be allowed in a koi pond without posing a threat to the welfare of the fish. For example with a pond pH of 7.6 and temperature of 20°C, the maximum allowable total ammonia level is 1.28 mg/L. If the pH is 8.2 and the temperature is 24°C, the maximum total ammonia level falls to 0.26 mg/L.

These values are not target levels, every effort should be made to ensure that pond ammonia levels are as near zero as possible.
 

Ammonia chart (pond)04
Figure 1


The ammonia test
The wide range of allowable values for total ammonia made it impractical to test kits under all possible conditions so for the initial test a typical, non ideal, but common level of 0.3 mg/L was chosen.

The obvious problem when comparing the colour of a sample against a colour chart is that if it is not an exact match,  and a degree of interpretation is required.  With five out of the six kits tested it was easy to decide “slightly more green than 0.25” or “less green than 0.4” and in all these five cases, the kits gave satisfactory results in that they indicated that there was a low level ammonia problem.

The fifth kit did not perform well in this low level ammonia test.  Despite repeated tests, and viewing the sample under different lighting conditions, the Waterlife kit consistently refused to show any colour change.  At this low ammonia level it indicated “zero ammonia”.  To be fair to the kit, it was designed to measure total ammonia levels up to 10 mg/L. Colour changes were slight up to 1 mg/L and more distinct in the range 1 – 10 mg/L so it was unsurprising that at 0.3 mg/L any colour change was too faint to see.  The kit performed well in subsequent tests at higher ammonia levels.

Test kit API PondcareNitrite
Formed as an intermediate stage in the nitrogen cycle, nitrite is toxic to koi if the level is allowed to build up.  The ideal value should be zero but in practise, true zero is rarely achievable, there is usually a low value that only an electronic photometer can detect. 

Test nitrite test
The maximum acceptable level in a koi pond is 0.2 mg/L and so a 0.3 mg/L sample was prepared to see if the kits could show that the acceptable level of 0.2 mg/L had been exceeded.  The kit with the lowest reading showed that the level was in excess of 0.2 mg/L.  Three others said 0.25 mg/L and the JBL kit showed a perfect match for 0.3 mg/L.  Therefore all five manual kits agree with the readings from both Hannas (0.3 mg/L).  They all indicate that there is nitrite in the sample and they show that the level was between ‘just above 0.2 mg/L’ and ‘dead on 3.0 mg/L’.

Nitrate
Test kit Blagdon (was Interpet)Only three of the manufacturers supplied kits that tested for nitrate.  It is generally regarded more of a nuisance that encourages blanket weed than a toxic pollutant. We usually try to keep the nitrate level as low as possible so a water sample with a nitrate content of 25 mg/L was chosen for this part of the test.

The nitrate test
The Waterlife kit indicated 0 mg/L.  Again, being fair, this kit was intended to read up to 200 mg/L with the major colour changes occurring in the region of 50 – 200 mg/L. Blagdon showed the level to be slightly above 25 mg/L and JBL showed just above 20 mg/L.

Test Kit JBLpH
Koi will adjust to any pH in the range 7.0 to 8.5 but do not let the wide range fool you into believing that it is an unimportant parameter. It is very important and should be checked regularly.   The value must be stable and variations should not exceed 0.2.  It should be checked at different times of the day to ensure that plant or algae respiration cycles are not causing daily pH variations due to fluctuating levels of dissolved CO2.

The pH test
For the initial test, a sample with a mid-range pH of 7.7 was chosen. There is little to say about this test, all kits produced the correct readings although I would have liked to see more individual colours on each colour chart range so that variations in excess of 0.2 could more easily be seen.

Test Kit TetraKH
KH is another underestimated parameter.  The key to a stable pH is to have sufficient carbonates (KH) in the water to buffer it against pH variations.

Some koi keepers try to emulate conditions in Japanese mud ponds by having a low KH. There is no reason why this cannot be successful. It is possible to have a very low KH and still have a stable pH but this should only be attempted by those with a commitment to water quality. For the average koi keeper who wants an easier life, and stable parameters, a KH of around 6°DH is preferable.

The KH test
Test Kit Waterlife
Only JBL Labs provided a kit that tested KH.  The method used is one called titration. This is where a reagent, (more correctly called a titrant), is dripped, one drop at a time into the sample until an abrupt colour change is seen.  The drops are counted as they go in and the number of drops until the colour change occurs will directly give the value of KH in °DH. For example if it takes six drops before the colour abruptly changes, the KH is 6°DH.  This is a very simple method that doesn’t rely on matching a sample colour against a chart, merely the ability to count drops and so it is unambiguous and accurate. The JBL kit gave accurate results.

Conclusions
The basic tests were intended to show whether manual test kits could correctly highlight that parameters were going outside accepted limits. Whilst these kits are never going to compete for accuracy with electronic photometers, all kits, except where noted above, performed satisfactorily. There is insufficient space here to give greater details but extended tests were also carried out with many more pond water samples with a much wider range of parameter values.  All results were similar in accuracy to those described above.
(Click here to see the results)

Over the years I have found that, when matching the colour in a sample tube to one of those on a colour chart, women have better colour perception than men – sorry guys, it’s true!  But that is mainly true for the occasional user, it can be outweighed by practise making perfect.  The more often you use manual test kits, the more practiced you will become at judging what the various colours actually relate to in terms of parameter values. Lighting is very important.  Precise lighting conditions depend on personal choice but a general rule that has stood the test of time is that diffused lighting is best.  Outdoors, unless it is very overcast, stand in the shadows and face North.  Indoors, a single light bulb or window will cause shadows.  Where a colour darkens to indicate increasing levels, for instance, as in nitrate tests where a pale pink gets successively darker, shadows or light refraction at the edge of a sample tube may make the contents appear darker than they really are. Where possible, orient your position to eliminate shadows. Don’t compare the chart with the colour at the very edge of the tube; compare the true colour at the centre of the sample tube.

You read it here first!
A little known fact about ammonia test kits that show yellow for zero and go successively more green for increasing levels of ammonia is that they are based on a method where the first reagent used is a form of chlorine. This reacts with any ammonia in the sample to make chloramine. As other reagents are added, horribly complicated chemistry then goes on in the sample tube to measure how much chloramine was made and this is what ultimately causes the green colour.

Since dechlorinators remove chlorine, (obviously), I asked the manufacturers if they thought that dechlorinators added to the pond before a sample was taken might affect the accuracy of their results.  Three replied that there was a possibility that dechlorinators or one particular dechlorinator additive could reduce the indicated ammonia level if excessive amounts were used or if a sample was taken too soon after the addition.

Without wishing to overstate this potential problem, it is a sensible precaution to ensure that only the correct amount of dechlorinator is added and that time should be allowed for it to thoroughly mix with the pond water before taking water samples. This is a point to consider at koi shows where frequent ammonia testing is done, often immediately after water changes with recently dechlorinated water.

Just for fun
To show that they have a sense of humour, chemists sometimes add little “chemist jokes” in their reports.  In keeping with this tradition I have included a chemist’s joke in one of the pictures. The eagle-eyed among you might have spotted it.  Make sure you get next month’s issue to see what it was.

[The answer was published in the following month’s issue - click here to see what it was]

 

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