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Originally Posted by ceg4048
Mr. Barr,
I gather that you believe most test kits are a complete waste of time however I'll have to admit that I like to know the levels in my tank, especially the NO3 since I run a high light tank and dose such large quantities. I also want to study whether there are any long term ill effects of high NO3 on the tank inhabitants such as discus, apistos etc. It seems that the NO3 kits are the least reliable of all but I have seen ads for the Hanna bench testers and ion specific meters. The NO3 meter is priced below $175 US and the 100 tests reagent bottle is priced on the order of $30.
The claims are that this meter uses the "Cadmium Reduction" method but it's not exactly clear to me how this method works and why it is advantageous. I'm aware that most NO3 test kits convert the NO3 to NO2 and that this may be a source of error if the water has an NO2 component already present.
Could you (or anyone) explain the "Cadmium Reduction" method of NO3 testing and advise the advantages over the conventional methods for NO3 tests?
Cheers,
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I've seen these meters, they are good.
For the $ they are worth it for what you wish to do.
Realize that the inorganic NO3, versus the NO3 derived from waste and cycling are two different things.
One takes time and uses O2, the other does not.
When considering tolerances for fish etc, this needs to be considered and ruled out. Many fish ref's are based on organically derived NO3 vs inorganic sources of NO3.
Cd reduction is the standard in water treatment. Save the Cd leftovers and send them back for regeneration(we do this). Absorbic acid is what most test kits use in our hobby.
The accuracy is about 0.1ppm of NO3 using the fixed colorimeter.
Not bad at all vs Lamott at 4.4 ppm or more between some ranges.
If youm get a spect, then you can test all sorts of parameters, not just one, but in the end, these meters are well worth it if you want to be confident.
Regards,
Tom Barr