Water testing kits

[PJ Ritch]

Does anyone have a recommendation for a water testing kit?

[TCLynx]

Yep, the API Freshwater Master Test kit.  Here is a video of me using one

Water testing videos

 

Sylvia sells them

Or you can do a search on the internet as that pet place also sells aquarium testing supplies along with 100's of other online retailers.

[Jovan Johnson]

hey 

what about electronic testers does anyone have experiences with these ?

 

[TCLynx]

There are pH meters you can get but they require some of their own care and feeding (as in calibration and cleaning and the solutions to do those things as well as storage solutions and then there is the probe replacement.)  So don't assume using a probe is automatically going to be easier, more accurate or cheaper.

 

I don't know of any probes/meters to measure ammonia, nitrite or nitrate as pertains to Aquaponics but there are test kits where you mix up water with a re-agent (kinda like with the test kit) but then have a photo meter read the color and give you a number.  This won't be any cheaper but might help those who are really colorblind.

 

There are EC or hydroponic type meters but they are really of little/no use to aquaponics except to maybe estimate salt levels if you have to salt a system because of fish disease (however mine doesn't even read high enough to directly measure 3 ppt of salt so I have to do dilution and math to get the answers.)

 

A hygrometer can be useful for measuring salt levels but you have to be careful to get the one most appropriate for measuring the range we usually use in Aquaponics and this can be challenging.

 

There are dissolved oxygen meters but they are pretty pricey but the test kits for dissolved oxygen contain some nasty acids that you might not want around either and are rather intensive to run tests using.  Most backyard aquaponics doesn't require measuring dissolved oxygen, especially if you provide supplemental aeration and don't stock too many fish.

 

Only other items that I highly recommend (other than the test kit which will do pH, high range pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate) are thermometers.  Can be handy to track water temperatures as well as air temperatures to know what is really going on in your mini ecosystem.

 

[PJ Ritch]

Thsnk you!! Appreciate the video, too, and the below comments on electronic testers, DO.

TCLynx said:

Yep, the API Freshwater Master Test kit.  Here is a video of me using one

Water testing videos

 

Sylvia sells them

Or you can do a search on the internet as that pet place also sells aquarium testing supplies along with 100's of other online retailers.

[Jovan Johnson]

thank u very much 
the comments were every enlightening

-Jovan