Water Tests

I am new to the reef world and I am having a difficult time making sense of test results. Part of the RedSea Max package was their “Marine Lab” which tests for PH, Alkalinity, Ammonia, Magnesium, Nitrate and Nitrite. They also included a kit to test Calcium. My problem is interpretation of the results; I seem to be able to talk myself into any result on the color card. My biggest problem is ammonia and then toxic ammonia. The “zero” amount is a very pale yellow, the .25 reading is a pale green. I can look at the test water and see both if I stare long enough. As a sanity test, I checked salt water I made a few days ago, the test looks very similar, if not identical, to the tank test.

So is my problem the RedSea kit, would some other kit yield more definitive results, is it me not being careful enough (I try very hard to be precise), or is there some secret to this testing process I need to know. Thanks for your help..

 

Hold the test tube in front of the card covering up the color bars. Whichever color you can not see is the correct reading.

 

I have the EXACT same problem with API's ammonia test, so if you're having it with RS's, maybe skip API's too

 

+1 me2


I did recently change from Red Sea to Salifert's Mg test... the Salifert one is a zillion times easier.

 

I have the same problem sometimes deciding between two colors,may do like Peredhil and try salifert after I run out. I use the API tests because thats what the lfs carries.