Red Sea Pro Alkalinity Test- Help Please

[TheSherm]

So I am having trouble finding the "end point" of this test. I have watched the video released by red sea multiple times and dont find it very helpful.

According to the instructions, I filled the glass container with 10 ml of tank water. I filled the syringe with 1 ml of the solution and attached the holder to the glass container. I then added 4ml of the solution while swirling the container. At this point I have the nice blue color I am to expect and begin slowly adding solution one drop at a time while swirling.

While watching the video, that color goes to a dark blue/ purple, then he ends at a pink.

When I proceed with the test myself, my color turns light blue, then green, then yellow, and finally a light orange (usually if i empty the syringe).

The "end color" on my card is not pink as described in the video, and it doesnt look anything like the color of the final product in the video. My "end color" on the card looks like the color of the solution in the bottle.

Has anyone had any success in accurately using this test? If so, what "end color" do you wind up at? Any help is appreciated, thanks guys.

 

[Jarrett]

i use this test to sherm. not the most distinct color change at all. if you are getting yellow then thats deff a bad kit. mine goes from light blue to dark purple then i put three drips till i get a bright pink. mine doesn't change like the video either but its close enough.

 

[rwells]

I have the same it and it changes as describe in the video..

 

[jgraz]

I had the exact same problem. I contacted some at Red Sea via RC. I had to send pics of every color change. They ended up telling me that the titrant can be affected by temp. Mainly heat. Once I got the new test it worked exactly as the video shows. Also the person I was dealing with stated that if Alk is low that will also affect the color change. It will not be as conclusive. Essentially the change your looking for according to Red Sea is when the color first changes to orange. No matter how light that color is that will be the reading. Check on the RC forums. Send him a pm he was very helpful.

 

[empire]

I despise red sea test kits. I never got true readings. I compared my results with hanna checkers and salifert test kits. Salifert wins hands down.

 

[TheSherm]

I tried a few more times last night. Nothing. blue, to green to yellow. I think I will try Salifert

 

[MikeC]

Sherm are u using Red Sea salt?
Just curious not that it should make a diffrence but I test about two times a week and have gone threw two full test kits and have never had that problem?
I'm using Red Sea Pro salt.
Just curious ?

 

[TheSherm]

I was using red sea pro salt but the last bucket i had would never mix clear. I spoke with Red Sea about it and they were no help. I recently switched to H20 DD, which i have no complaints about, but I will be going back to ESV when this bucket is done.

 

[MatthewScars]

Ive been using Red Sea for years, salt and testing kits, and have never seen the issues you have.

The test is quite simple. 10ml in, 4 drops of the A liquid then fill the syringe to 1ml and drop from there. Id try it on someone elses water to confirm the kit being bad. But its unlikely.

Salifert is just as difficult to read. I mean difficult isnt the word id use. There is of course a small transition period from blue to pink, but these tests are meant for ballpark ranges. All kits are like this. Maybe try a Hanna digital?

As for the salt, id clean out your bucket. Ive used dozens of redsea salt buckets and never had an issue. Maybe you're just increasingly unlucky.

 

[TheSherm]

I really liked their salt. Went through three buckets, but the last one just refused to get clear. they said it may have "settled", but offered no advice on how to alleviate the problem so that was that. I find the calcium test and magnesium test easy to use, I just dont know why the alk test wont work, but according to a couple others its happened to them too so im not the only dope.

 

[TheSherm]

Matt, is there an A bottle of liquid on the alk test? Mine is just tritant with the syringe.

 

[MikeC]

No Sherm there are no other reagents for the Alk just the titration.

http://youtu.be/bb4NnYOFneA

 

[MatthewScars]

only dope.

Yeah, If i let the water sit for awhile I get that white residue on the inside of the bucket. Thats just dried calc or alk.

I run a Ehiem 1262 (overkill but have one laying around) as my mixing powerhead in my 15g Brute. Water gets clear in 5 minutes tops.

 

[Jarrett]

same here i use red sea salt and when i had a small powerhead the water was always cloudy but never bothered me. i got a bigger powerhead now and the water is always clear. maybe your mixing pump isn't strong enough.