Tonight's Meeting

[thereefgeek]

Tonight's monthly meeting will be on water quality for a reef tank. We'll be explaining some basic water parameters and how to test for them. We'll also be comparing some different test kits to compare accuracy. It'll be a hands-on, interactive meeting with a lot of member participation, so I encourage you to bring water samples (fresh & tank), hydrometers, refractometers and pH meters for calibration, as well as any test kits you'd like to compare to those I've listed below.

-I'm bringing my hydrometer, a digital TDS meter, a pH meter and some of my own test kits:
Ca, ALK, and Mg by Salifert
Ca by Sea Chem
ALK by SeaTest (Aquarium Systems)
pH & NO3 (Nitrate) by Red Sea
-If you have a different brand you'd like to compare to these, bring it with you tonight.
-I have 7.0 & 10.0 pH solutions if you need to calibrate your pH meters.
-Bring a sample of your tap water and your purified (RO/DI) water as well.
-I'll bring samples of newly mixed Instant Ocean and SeaChem salt mix for some basic tests (if you have some new Oceanic, please bring some)

I don't have a refractometer, or Phosphate, Amonia, or Nitrite kits, so if anyone has those, please bring them, and don't forget to bring samples of your water tonight.

 

[thereefgeek]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7310577#post7310577 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by duec22 I'm interested in seeing some of the results from this next meeting. I honestly don't think my swing arm is all that off, but everytime I use it I know how off it can be. I may even make up a few blind test samples. If you guys want I can make up a few standards for nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, ammonia, and calcium.

That'd be great David, and we can see how accurate our kits are.

 

[fragaholic]

Anyone have clorometer (sp?) they could bring? I would be very intrested in checking my waters phosphate levels. I have never bothered with the test kits because I have read they only test a certain type of phosphate and are not good with low range readings.

Someone has to have one?????

 

[thereefgeek]

Hello.... anyone... hello...(echo...echo).

 

[duec22]

Fragaholic.
The test kits that available only test for inorganic phosphate. Any phosphate that is bound up in an oranic compound will not show up on the test. In order to get a total phophate test you will also need to digest the sample with a strong acid (something like sulfuric acid)... I do have a spec at work, but I don't think they will let me borrow it.

Rich, I've a a fesh water standard with nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, and phosphate.
For calcium and magnessum I've got some of my tank water running on an ICP.
I don't have a alkalinity std that I can make up at a strong enough concentration to use. This test should be really acurate though. The only variable in the test kit is the concentration of the acid used to titrate with. As long as people don't leave the lids off their bottles or acidently spill water in it, they should be a really good test kit.

 

[Marc Daniels]

Rich-

Did you see the PM that I sent you a few days ago?

 

[Brian Prestwood]

Should be interesting.

I'm bringing my fresh water conductivity meter and my saltwater refractometer.

I'll also bring my test kits...
SeaChem phosphate
FastTest Alkalinity
FastTest Calcium
FastTest Nitrate

 

[thereefgeek]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7399160#post7399160 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Marc Daniels
Rich-

Did you see the PM that I sent you a few days ago?

Got it. You're dropping something off?

 

[Marc Daniels]

The Reef Nutrion group order was supposed to arrive today, but so far it hasn't. Gresham was going to include a couple of things for the raffle, and I have one order from the group order to deliver. Karl is going to swing by and pick everything up and deliver it for me.

I can have him bring my phosphate Hanna Colorimeter as well as the Lamotte phosphate kit if you want me to send them. I don't need the Lamotte kit back because the Hanna is so much more accurate. The Hanna is a little tempermental to work, but the directions are pretty clear...do you feel like messing with it?

 

[Photon]

I can bring a HACH phosphate test kit.
James

 

[Marc Daniels]

James-

Did you get my e-mail regarding the June speaker?

 

[Unarce]

Marc,

I'm getting slammed with work today, and will probably run a little late to the meeting

Is there any chance you'd be able to drop off the stuff (if you have it) you need me to bring over there?

Regards,

Karl

 

[Photon]

Marc-Yes, I got your message and will take care of it.

 

[Marc Daniels]

Karl-

Sure, no problem. So far nothing has arrived.

 

[Marc Daniels]

Never mind, they had a snafu and didn't send our order out...so now I have nothing to deliver.

 

[Unarce]

Sorry to hear that, Marc. Thanks for the heads-up.

 

[thereefgeek]

Karl, if you're coming and can bring Marc's test stuff, that'd be great. If not, no prob. We'll have a few things to work with. That colorometer sounds like fun!

 

[thereefgeek]

James, bring the HACH

 

[GreshamH]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7399938#post7399938 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Marc Daniels
Never mind, they had a snafu and didn't send our order out...so now I have nothing to deliver.

It's 100% my fault See what happens when you take off a night from the computer

 

[Reefugee]

Hey Rich -

Thanks for doing the presentation.

Minh