Test Strips

[Rod Bacon]

My LFS will perform free water testing for me, so I don't feel inclined
to go out and spend up on a heap of test kits.

I know most people feel that the 5-in-1 test strips are not
particularly accurate, but if I'm only going to use them occasionally,
in conjunction with LFS tests, are they still a waste of money?

[A Man]

On 25 Aug 2005 22:02:55 -0700 in article <1125032574.973148.118320
@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>, spoke thusly...
> My LFS will perform free water testing for me, so I don't feel inclined
> to go out and spend up on a heap of test kits.
>
> I know most people feel that the 5-in-1 test strips are not
> particularly accurate, but if I'm only going to use them occasionally,
> in conjunction with LFS tests, are they still a waste of money?
>
>
It depends how much you pay for them. I can only buy them locally for $12 for
25 tests, that's about $.50us per test, a little high for me. But then I saw
www.thatfishstore.com has them for about $6 for 25 tests. I also have found
them on sale occasionally for $6.


--
Sig: Say no to fixed width HTML tables. They look terrible in most browsers.

[Elaine T]

Rod Bacon wrote:
> My LFS will perform free water testing for me, so I don't feel inclined
> to go out and spend up on a heap of test kits.
>
> I know most people feel that the 5-in-1 test strips are not
> particularly accurate, but if I'm only going to use them occasionally,
> in conjunction with LFS tests, are they still a waste of money?
>
I bought Mardel's 5-in-1 strips and will never buy another bottle. pH
is unreadable because the colors are too close, the hardness reading
never changes unless you dip the thing in distilled, KH reads low
compared to my water company's report, and the nitrate scale has steps
20 ppm apart so you can only see very gross changes in nitrate. The
ONLY thing they seemed to measure reasonably well was the presence or
absence of nitrite.

Save yourself some aggravation and get separate kits. I personally
consider ammonia, nitrite, and pH essential because those are the ones I
test first if the fish are acting odd. You can take water to LFS for
nitrate or phosphate because those are tests that can usually wait a day
or two. Some folks like dissolved O2 kits - I just watch the fish and
start an airstone if there's any question. Chlorine/chloramine is nice
too if your local water is not consistent.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[Bill Stock]

"Rod Bacon" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> My LFS will perform free water testing for me, so I don't feel inclined
> to go out and spend up on a heap of test kits.
>
> I know most people feel that the 5-in-1 test strips are not
> particularly accurate, but if I'm only going to use them occasionally,
> in conjunction with LFS tests, are they still a waste of money?
>

I use the test strips quite a bit for the pond. Just be careful of the
expiry dates and be sure to keep the dampness out.

I've got the Ammonia alerts stuck in every tank so this is not an issue. The
only other thing I test on a regular basis is Nitrates.

[Daniel Morrow]

Mid posted.


"Elaine T" > wrote in message
. ..
> Rod Bacon wrote:
> > My LFS will perform free water testing for me, so I don't feel inclined
> > to go out and spend up on a heap of test kits.
> >
> > I know most people feel that the 5-in-1 test strips are not
> > particularly accurate, but if I'm only going to use them occasionally,
> > in conjunction with LFS tests, are they still a waste of money?
> >
> I bought Mardel's 5-in-1 strips and will never buy another bottle. pH
> is unreadable because the colors are too close, the hardness reading
> never changes unless you dip the thing in distilled, KH reads low
> compared to my water company's report, and the nitrate scale has steps
> 20 ppm apart so you can only see very gross changes in nitrate. The
> ONLY thing they seemed to measure reasonably well was the presence or
> absence of nitrite.
>
> Save yourself some aggravation and get separate kits.

Along this route I would endorse the tetra laborette deluxe test kit which
costs $13.99 U.S. dollars at www.thatpetplace.com . It comes with most every
important tests except nitrate which you can buy an aquarium pharmaceuticals
version of separately for around $7-8 dollars additional or most any other
brand for a little more. Shipping is around $7.00 for the contiguous 48
states in America, elsewhere it might cost more. The previous products I am
recommending are real combination color/titration test kits which has served
me well. I have scratched my head once or twice over 2 results so far but
later confirmed that they probably were more or less correct measurements.
Good luck and Later!

I personally
> consider ammonia, nitrite, and pH essential because those are the ones I
> test first if the fish are acting odd. You can take water to LFS for
> nitrate or phosphate because those are tests that can usually wait a day
> or two. Some folks like dissolved O2 kits - I just watch the fish and
> start an airstone if there's any question. Chlorine/chloramine is nice
> too if your local water is not consistent.
>
> --
> Elaine T __
> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
> rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[Dr Engelbert Buxbaum]

Rod Bacon wrote:

> My LFS will perform free water testing for me, so I don't feel inclined
> to go out and spend up on a heap of test kits.
>
> I know most people feel that the 5-in-1 test strips are not
> particularly accurate, but if I'm only going to use them occasionally,
> in conjunction with LFS tests, are they still a waste of money?

The question is what do you need them for? If you need precise record of
the water parameters in your tank (for example if you breed fish) then
strips are not so useful. But if you want a quick check in case of
trouble what may be amiss they may be helpful, especially if you can
confirm findings at the LFS. And if you have kids around, you may prefer
strips over a chemical set anyway.

[David Zopf]

"Bill Stock" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Rod Bacon" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
>> My LFS will perform free water testing for me, so I don't feel inclined
>> to go out and spend up on a heap of test kits.
>>
>> I know most people feel that the 5-in-1 test strips are not
>> particularly accurate, but if I'm only going to use them occasionally,
>> in conjunction with LFS tests, are they still a waste of money?
>>
>
> I use the test strips quite a bit for the pond. Just be careful of the
> expiry dates and be sure to keep the dampness out.
>
Aye. Dampness killed off my first set of test strips, too. When I noticed
that my daughter's vitamins came with a nifty mini-cartridge of dessicant, I
went to my pharmacist to ask if she could spare a handful. They were
agreeable (and should be, for the money I spend there ;-), so each test kit
now has a little cartridge of dessicant in the bottom. The new batch of
strips all lasted through the rest of a humid summer with no problems.

Regards,
DaveZ
Atom Weaver

[Rod Bacon]

That's exactly what I'm thinking. Really, just a backup to LFS check,
in case of problems. And yes, I do have 2 young (soon to be 3) kids.

Thanks for the great advice.

BTW, what are you a Dr. of?

[Dr Engelbert Buxbaum]

Rod Bacon wrote:

> BTW, what are you a Dr. of?

Science, I am a biochemist and specialise in enzymology.

[David C. Stone]

In article >, Dr Engelbert Buxbaum
> wrote:

> Rod Bacon wrote:
>
> > BTW, what are you a Dr. of?
>
> Science, I am a biochemist and specialise in enzymology.

Ah! Do you happen to have references handy for the actual
chemical reaction by which the nitrobacter do their magic
with ammonia and nitrite? I'm assuming it's an enzyme
reaction...

[Dr Engelbert Buxbaum]

David C. Stone wrote:


> Ah! Do you happen to have references handy for the actual
> chemical reaction by which the nitrobacter do their magic
> with ammonia and nitrite? I'm assuming it's an enzyme
> reaction...

The whole thing is called chemolithotrophy ("eating the chemicals in
rock"). The overall chemical equations are quite simple:

2 NH3 + 3 O2 -> 2 HNO2 + 2 H2O (Delta G = -542 kJ/mol)
2 HNO2 + O2 -> 2 HNO3 (Delta G = -155 kJ/mol)

The first reaction is performed by _Nitrosomonas_, _Nitrosospira_,
_Nitrosovibrio_ and _Nitrosococcus_, the second by _Nitrococcus_,
_Nitrospira_ and _Nitrobacter_. The detailed mechanism is a quite
complicated sequence of enzymatic reaction.

[David C. Stone]

In article >, Dr Engelbert Buxbaum
> wrote:

> David C. Stone wrote:
>
>
> > Ah! Do you happen to have references handy for the actual
> > chemical reaction by which the nitrobacter do their magic
> > with ammonia and nitrite? I'm assuming it's an enzyme
> > reaction...
>
> The whole thing is called chemolithotrophy ("eating the chemicals in
> rock"). The overall chemical equations are quite simple:
>
> 2 NH3 + 3 O2 -> 2 HNO2 + 2 H2O (Delta G = -542 kJ/mol)
> 2 HNO2 + O2 -> 2 HNO3 (Delta G = -155 kJ/mol)
>
> The first reaction is performed by _Nitrosomonas_, _Nitrosospira_,
> _Nitrosovibrio_ and _Nitrosococcus_, the second by _Nitrococcus_,
> _Nitrospira_ and _Nitrobacter_. The detailed mechanism is a quite
> complicated sequence of enzymatic reaction.

Thanks for the info - is there a particular text or review that covers
these enzyme reactions? I have access to a pretty large university
library here...

And yes, I really DO want to know about that complicated sequence of
enzymatic reactions, but I don't expect you to type it all up for a
usenet post!!

[Dr Engelbert Buxbaum]

David C. Stone wrote:

> And yes, I really DO want to know about that complicated sequence of
> enzymatic reactions, but I don't expect you to type it all up for a
> usenet post!!

One should be grateful for small mercies - and especially for the grat
ones ;-)

The usual sources are suspiciously quiet on this, neither Lehninger nor
Richter cover this subject. However, the key-word chemolithotrophy
results in 150 hits on scholar.google.com, I'm sure one of them will
help you out.

Enzymology of the oxidation of ammonia to nitrite by bacteria
Hooper, AB; Vannelli, T; Bergmann, DJ; Arciero, DM
Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek [ANTONIE VAN LEEUWENHOEK]. Vol. 71, no. 1-2. Feb
1997.

looks quite promissing.

[David C. Stone]

In article >, Dr Engelbert Buxbaum
> wrote:

> David C. Stone wrote:
>
> > And yes, I really DO want to know about that complicated sequence of
> > enzymatic reactions, but I don't expect you to type it all up for a
> > usenet post!!
>
> One should be grateful for small mercies - and especially for the grat
> ones ;-)
>
> The usual sources are suspiciously quiet on this, neither Lehninger nor
> Richter cover this subject. However, the key-word chemolithotrophy
> results in 150 hits on scholar.google.com, I'm sure one of them will
> help you out.
>
> Enzymology of the oxidation of ammonia to nitrite by bacteria
> Hooper, AB; Vannelli, T; Bergmann, DJ; Arciero, DM
> Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek [ANTONIE VAN LEEUWENHOEK]. Vol. 71, no. 1-2. Feb
> 1997.
>
> looks quite promissing.

Thanks. Google scholar is still a bit of a novelty, so it hadn't
occurred to me to try that.