Digital water testers.

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Digital water testers.

Post by Adam »

Hi guys,

I am seriously considering the purchase of some digital water testers so that water parameters can be accurately measured. I'm fed up of mixing reagents for various tests and then getting a reading that does not correspond with any colour on the chart. I think that testing in the conventional way is a bit hit and miss. I've done a bit of research already and my initial findings are that Hanna Instruments and the Tropical Marine centre seem to be two of the best. The Hanna products appear to read the colour of the water sample after the reagent has been added and then diplays a digital readout. TMCs products use probes that require calibration with special solutions, but they don't appear to have a nitrite and ammonia tester. I do favour the TMC products as the idea of a probe constantly in the aquarium giving continuous readings is very appealing.
Tanita do a digital chlorine tester which I am also considering.

Has anyone got any experience with these digital water testers or can recommend any other products?

Thanks.
urchysj

Post by urchysj »

I have the "Milwaulki" O2 and pH testers. I might have spelled the company wrong. I love the pH tester! There are a few types, but SOO accurate. You have a rod you swish in the water a few seconds and presto! I use it quite a lot. I HATE those test tube things. I can't tell if it's fusia or pink!. I only used the O2 one once, just to see if I had enough O2 in my water for my Zebras. It said 7 so I guess so. They do have to be calibrated, but I have not had to do it yet. I have RO water I use to keep the Ph rod wet. You can't let the membrane dry out. Also tells me if it's still accurate by using my RO water to store the rod. VERY expensive stuff though.
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Post by Tristan »

Hi, i use a Milwaulki conductivity meter on my discus tank when i want to get them to breed. Really reliable and worth if for me as it takes ages to measure GH &KH by titration and if you are doing it regurlary it saves loads of time. I have good reports regarding pH and temperature probes. Marine / reef keepers are the best people to talk to as meny of them have computerised/ automated systems.
L046, L033, L117, L200, L027, L014, Discus, & malawis
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Post by Adam »

Thanks guys,

My LFS is primarily geared towards marine fish keepers, the next time I'm there I shall make a few enquiries. Have a look at these links for various products that I'm considering:

http://www.tmc-ltd.co.uk/aquariumproducts/test.asp

http://www.koicarp.net/water_treatment/ ... eters.html

http://www.koicarp.net/water_treatment/ ... etest.html

I found something else that seems pretty interesting see what you think:

http://www.aquatics-warehouse.co.uk/aca ... T_188.html

Apparently it gives a continuous ammonia reading and can last upto a year!
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Post by DANthirty »

Hi Adam ive got the tmc pinpoint ph meter, it was highly recomended too me by my LFS and it seems fine too me, but i think i neeed to replace the probe as it is over 2 years old and i think you are supposed to replace every 1 year :cry: but they are not cheap, i know these people sell them, dont know if they are cheaper than what you can get them for but its worth a look. i often buy stuff from them i find they are quit reasonabl.
I love the look off that little ammonia tester great idea i think i will make a purchase off one off them.

(PS i apolagies now if i have affended anybody with these comments :lol: )


http://www.animal-house.co.uk/acatalog/ ... g_223.html
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Post by Barbie »

I personally just use a TDS meter, so I can monitor how much RO I'm adding to get the fluctuation of hardness that seems to stimulate the fish. I don't modify the pH for any of the different species I keep (although I DO use quite a bit of bog log and one tank has a filter full of peat to help add tannins which seem to be helping stimulate spawns). Other than that, my discus live in tap water, and my plecos have been happy enough to reproduce, and that's all I've been worried about, to be honest. My tap parameters here are pH of 7.6-7.8 or a bit higher, and TDS of 135-278 (HUGE variance) at times. I preage all RO water with a powerhead to get the dissolved oxygen levels up, but tap is added directly to the tanks.

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Post by DANthirty »

Hi Barbie
Hope you and fish are all well, Barbie when i do my water changes i only use ro water which is reconstucted with ro right is this ok? or should it be mixed with tapwater, also do you know how long you can leave ro in a water butt for, i dont aerate the water as i find this raises the ph, i just keep it heated with a heater, but some days it could be standing for 5 or 6 days?

Does a tds mtere measure the quality off the ro water??
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Post by Des »

Adam,
I too use a (hanna)TDS meter just like Barbie but I use a PH meter too. My current one is to 2 decimal places. I had bought a standard one recently but it kept on giving wrong readings, using the calibration solutions so (as it was under warranty)exchanged it for the next version up called a PH Pro by ETI and paid the difference.
I find it neccessary to have a ph meter as the ph in my plec tank drops pretty quickly. I tested the water with some Altums that I had bought a couple of weeks ago from a LFS and the water measured 3.7!!!!!!!. They had told me it was about 6.5 !!!!!They still using the liquid kits when they have do a measurement instead of the PH pens or probes..
All the other tests that I use are in liquid form but I find I hardly ever have to use them. I do sometimes use the Iron, nitrate and phosphate tests in my planted tanks,in order to modify the fertiliser I add.

DANthirty,
In theory Deionised water will measure zero on the TDS meter but since an RO unit cannot get rid of 100% of the impurities", it will give a reading of approx 1 to 5% of the tap water reading.I personally use half tap water and half RO when filling my tanks.Cannot comment on using RO rite but have heard some stories from LFS's of finding very high conductivity when testing customers water ( where RO rite was used) after complaints of fish fatalities.
The TDS meter will also give you an idea of higer levels of organic pollutants in your water.
Regards,
Des.
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Post by DANthirty »

Thanks Des
So am i correct in saying you use half untreated tap water with half ro water with no ro right being used.
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Post by Barbie »

Oops, I had missed the reply in this thread. Sorry about that Dan. I would definitely circulate the water in the RO barrel. Most plecos appreciate high levels of dissolved oxygen, which you won't have in stagnant water. The pH is just really not an issue for zebras, IMO. Mine are spawning happily in the 7.6-7.8 it comes out of my tap at.

I too use part tap water and part RO water when I'm trying to soften water in my tanks. Just figure out what your kH of the tap water is and then test how much tap you have to add to RO to get the kH level you want. A tiny bit of acid can push your pH down drastically with RO water if you're working on a lower pH. IMO, people worry far too much about the pH of the water they're using. To date, I've only had one species of pleco that I had to lower the pH for, and I only took it down to 6.6 to have 99% hatch rate from the eggs.

Which fish are you modifying the water for? and what are your tap water parameters?

I probably shouldn't admit this, but heck, I have altums in my planted tank in plain old tap water. The store was going to euthanize them because they had terrible fin rot, so I took them home, healed them up and then added them to the planted tank. It IS CO2 injected and tends to stay about 7.4 or so, but they have never stressed when I do the tap water changes either.

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Post by Des »

Hi Danthirty,
Yes you are right. 50 % dechlorinated tap water and 50% RO water.The water in S.London is pretty hard ,so this in fact reduces the hardness by about half. This is for the plec tank . For breeding, would increase the % of RO water.
Regards,
Des. :lol:
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Post by DANthirty »

Thanks Barbie & Des
Ad did u get round to buying any electronic meters? just wondering as i need to replace my ph probe for my pinpoint meter. i have been quoted £40 but just wondered if i could get it any cheaper.
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Post by Adam »

Hi Dan,

I'm yet to get around to getting the digital testers, I got an extra heater and an air pump by Hydor for the zebras at the weekend. I saw a digital PH meter with a probe that remains permanently in the tank at one of the LFSs. They wanted £110 for it, I thought it was a bit too much and will be looking around for a better price. After what's been said in this thread by the other guys I will be going for PH, TDS and possibly an O2 tester. The last one is a bit pricey at well over £200 so I may end up not getting it.

The £40 tester you mention Dan is probably a "dip" tester, that is around the price they retail for. I'm looking more at the ones you can leave permanently in the tank.

Thanks for all the information guys.
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Post by DANthirty »

Hi Ad
sry i couldnt off been to clear i have a electronic ph meter made by tmc (pinpoint) it cost me over £100 but i need to replace the probe that you leave permanatly in the water which ive seen for around £40.
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Post by Adam »

That's the same one I was looking at the other day. The probe has to kept permanently in the tank or in a small plastic holder if taken out of the aquarium. Dan are you sure that the probe needs replacing? I've heard that the probe on these digital testers require calibrating every so often in a special solution. Sorry to suggest this if you've already done this.
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