Testing Water Electronically.

[Gary]

Hello,

I was wondering if you guys could recommend a probe or meter which tests the
water for the following:

- Nitrite
- Nitrate
- Ammonia
- PH

Any ideas? I hate these damn test kits!!!

Thanks for any help! I am in the UK.

Regards,

Gary.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Visit Tigger's site and read his story.
Browse photos of all our cats - Tigger, Tootsie and Tango.
http://www.cutecats.co.uk
---------------------------------------------------------------

[Billy]

Electronic meters are superior, sure, but are you prepared for the
cost? I haven't seen one unit that monitors all those things, (not to
say it doesn't exist, due to the money involved I haven't researched
them deeply) but to give you an idea of the kind of money you're
looking at, a decent PH monitor will run you 75 US dollars (about 57
Euros) and up. From my observations, most aquaria-related products
are much more expensive in the UK.

--
-----
Billy
-----

"Gary" > wrote in message
.uk...
| I was wondering if you guys could recommend a probe or meter which
tests the
| water for the following:
|
| - Nitrite
| - Nitrate
| - Ammonia
| - PH
|

[Gary]

"Billy" > wrote in message
...
> Electronic meters are superior, sure, but are you prepared for the
> cost? I haven't seen one unit that monitors all those things, (not to
> say it doesn't exist, due to the money involved I haven't researched
> them deeply) but to give you an idea of the kind of money you're
> looking at, a decent PH monitor will run you 75 US dollars (about 57
> Euros) and up. From my observations, most aquaria-related products
> are much more expensive in the UK.



If I could find the right equipment, I would maybe pay up to £200 - £250
(around 300 euro / 400 dollers). Obviously, I would want something which
did all the tests if possible...
They are extremely hard to find, maybe I am not looking in the right places
though...

If you see anything, let me know! :)

Gary.

[Billy]

"Gary" > wrote in message
.uk...
| They are extremely hard to find, maybe I am not looking in the
right places
| though...
|
| If you see anything, let me know! :)
|


Sure thing. :)

[Jon Pike]

"Gary" > wrote in
.uk:

> Hello,
>
> I was wondering if you guys could recommend a probe or meter which
> tests the water for the following:
>
> - Nitrite
> - Nitrate
> - Ammonia
> - PH
>
> Any ideas? I hate these damn test kits!!!

I have inquired about such things in the past and found that nobody has
made electronic tests for the first three. I may have found poor
information, or the facts may have changed since then, but that was what I
found at the time.

--
http://www.neopets.com/refer.phtml?username=moosespet

[Dan J.S.]

Gary wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I was wondering if you guys could recommend a probe or meter which
> tests the water for the following:
>
> - Nitrite
> - Nitrate
> - Ammonia
> - PH
>
> Any ideas? I hate these damn test kits!!!
>
> Thanks for any help! I am in the UK.
>
> Regards,
>
> Gary.

The electronic devices are a lot more work than the test kits. I have a PH
and an Ammonia one. The ph has to be re-calibrated every few weeks, and if
the probe dries out, you need to get a new one (40 dollars for that).. The
ammonia one is only good for so long. I dumped the electronic one for this
one:

http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=19577;category_id=3095

The other two, the same co thats making the ammonia disk will be releasing
nitrate and nitrite one too

[blank]

"Gary" > wrote in message
.uk...
> Hello,
>
> I was wondering if you guys could recommend a probe or meter which tests
the
> water for the following:
>
> - Nitrite
> - Nitrate
> - Ammonia
> - PH
>
> Any ideas? I hate these damn test kits!!!
>
> Thanks for any help! I am in the UK.

I have never heard of a meter that will test for all of your requirements,
and doubt very much that you will find one. However, if you want a good
meter for pH/EC have a look here:
http://www.hannainst.co.uk/acatalog/Pocket_pH_meters.html

The HI-98129 is the one I use almost daily at work. It is great, and very
accurate so long as you follow the instructions precisely, and are careful
with it. These sort of meters are sensitive instruments--treat them with
the care they deserve and you will be assured of accuracy AND longevity.
(My current 98129 is nearly two years old and works like new.) I find that
the majority of fish folks are quite negative about pH meters, and that for
the most part their comments indicate that they dont really understand how
to treat the instrument.

[Ali Day]

> The electronic devices are a lot more work than the test kits. I have a PH
> and an Ammonia one. The ph has to be re-calibrated every few weeks, and if
> the probe dries out, you need to get a new one (40 dollars for that).. The
> ammonia one is only good for so long. I dumped the electronic one for this
> one:

Looks good shame they don't ship abroad though.

[Chris]

Hi,
just saw it at the uk website below.
http://www.aquatics-warehouse.co.uk/acatalog/aquarium_supplies_AMMONIA_ALERT_183.html
Chris.

Ali Day wrote:
>>The electronic devices are a lot more work than the test kits. I have a PH
>>and an Ammonia one. The ph has to be re-calibrated every few weeks, and if
>>the probe dries out, you need to get a new one (40 dollars for that).. The
>>ammonia one is only good for so long. I dumped the electronic one for this
>>one:
>
>
> Looks good shame they don't ship abroad though.
>
>

[Gary]

Typical, twice the price as always :)

Regards,

Gary.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Visit Tigger's site and read his story.
Browse photos of all our cats - Tigger, Tootsie and Tango.
http://www.cutecats.co.uk
---------------------------------------------------------------
"Chris" > wrote in message
...
> Hi,
> just saw it at the uk website below.
> http://www.aquatics-warehouse.co.uk/acatalog/aquarium_supplies_AMMONIA_ALERT_183.html
> Chris.
>
> Ali Day wrote:
>>>The electronic devices are a lot more work than the test kits. I have a
>>>PH
>>>and an Ammonia one. The ph has to be re-calibrated every few weeks, and
>>>if
>>>the probe dries out, you need to get a new one (40 dollars for that)..
>>>The
>>>ammonia one is only good for so long. I dumped the electronic one for
>>>this
>>>one:
>>
>>
>> Looks good shame they don't ship abroad though.
>>
>>
>

[Dan J.S.]

Gary wrote:
> Typical, twice the price as always :)
>
> Regards,
>
> Gary.
>

I can buy a few for you and ship them to you if you want...

[blank]

"Ali Day" > wrote in message
...
> Looks good shame they don't ship abroad though.
>
I am in Australia, but just found the website for the English poster. There
is an Aussie website, an American, Canadian etc. Buying one from somewhere
cant be all that hard if you really want one.

[Ali Day]

> The HI-98129 is the one I use almost daily at work. It is great, and very
> accurate so long as you follow the instructions precisely, and are careful
> with it. These sort of meters are sensitive instruments--treat them with
> the care they deserve and you will be assured of accuracy AND longevity.
> (My current 98129 is nearly two years old and works like new.) I find
that
> the majority of fish folks are quite negative about pH meters, and that
for
> the most part their comments indicate that they dont really understand how
> to treat the instrument.


I never remember the make of mine will look tonight, (I think it's German
and available in most French fish stockist)

Mine is fantastic, measures and controls my pH via a CO2 solenoid valve,
measures to the hundredth, and have never had a problem with it, makes
keeping discus, and good plants so much easier. Can't praise it enough.
Needs to be calibrated every month or so, but compared to cleaning the tank,
is hardly a burden.

Cheers

A

[George Pontis]

In article >, says...
> Hello,
>
> I was wondering if you guys could recommend a probe or meter which tests the
> water for the following:
>
> - Nitrite
> - Nitrate
> - Ammonia
> - PH
>

I don't think that you will find an all-electronic solution for your tests except
pH. Even for pH, there are limitations to the pH probes that do the actual
sensing.

The biggest limitation of the cheap test kits that are sold for the aquarium is
that the comparison is a printed card (reflected light) while your sample is a
clear tube (transmitted light). I prefer a swimming pool test kit for pH, which
does provide a decent reference printed.

Nitrite and ammonia are easier since you are usually verifying a reading of 0 and
not trying for an accurate measurement. I don't like any of the nitrate test kits
because they all seem to produce only shades of the same hue, which is really hard
to read against a printed card.

The best bet is a colorimeter that reads the vials for you. You still have to
sample water in test tubes and dispense reagents to cause a color change. But the
reading process is much less error prone than comparison with the printed card.
Lamotte makes one that is very expensive ($650) but claims to read 43 parameters.
For about $230 you can get the Medusa CHEMITESTER 750. This one supports tests for
ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, phosphate, and copper. It is available at
CustomAquatic.com. I don't have any personal experience with it.

[squag]

Gary wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I was wondering if you guys could recommend a probe or meter which tests the
> water for the following:
>
> - Nitrite
> - Nitrate
> - Ammonia
> - PH
>
> Any ideas? I hate these damn test kits!!!
>
> Thanks for any help! I am in the UK.
>
> Regards,
>
> Gary.
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> Visit Tigger's site and read his story.
> Browse photos of all our cats - Tigger, Tootsie and Tango.
> http://www.cutecats.co.uk
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
Have you tried the Jungle quick dip strips? I love them. 5 tests in
one, I am able to tell in two minutes what my critical levels are at.