Redsea Ph test kit = DEATH

[KenPA]

Need to vent, talk to someone. A few weeks ago my 55 leaked all over. I since had my fish, corals etc. in a spare tank. Set up the new tank, let it settle down for 2 weeks and started to move things back. During the leak, my Ph monitor was broke. I ran out and purchased the Redsea Ph / Alk test kit. Well, in the last week my tang, angel and 2 clowns have died. I was doing daily water changes, testing my water daily in which every single thing was in normal limits. Well this week I received 2 new electronic ph meters, calibrated them and checked my make up water . Ph with the Redsea = 8.4 with my new meters = 7.8 on both. I have access to a lab were I work, and sure enough the kit was way off. I called the company and they said they would replace my kit. Big ******* deal. Just thought I would share that with you. Thanks for listening.

 

[Anonymous]

Personally I haven't seen a product from Red Sea thats worth a Tinker's Toot. (Tinker's Toots not holding much value to begin with).

IMO their test kits are all garbage - if a customer brings in a water test and the chemistry is all out of wack a large percentage is due to the use of Red Sea kits (remainder usually from the misuse of SeaChem buffers though this percentage has dropped considerably since SeaChem changed all their labels).

A suggestion to all. Having a pH meter does not mean you can do away with a reliable pH test kit. pH meters are rather notorious for losing calibration or becoming uncalibratable over time. One should ALWAYS have a backup test kit and one that is reliable.

 

[Chucker]

... and on another note, I seriously doubt the pH of 7.8 is what killed the fish. Since the buffering capacity of our systems is relatively small compared to the ocean's, a pH level of 7.7 is not at all uncommon during the periods of darkness in our tanks. pH has been know to drop even lower in shipping bags- a test of a mail order arrival, or bringing a pH probe to the LFS while they unpack their orders can be quite enlightening.

 

[Anonymous]

I concur with Chucker on the pH issue. 7.8 is not that bad however you say that was your make up water? What salt are you using? What was the pH of the actual water the animals were in?

Why the daily water changes? If the levels were good why not leave well enough alone?

I think other stressors here could have been a greater factor than the pH. pH unless it's massive sudden swings is rarely a major factor in fish mortality.

 

[aj2001]

Kenpa,
Thanx for the heads up, I had been testing ph w/ a redsea kit, went and tested against my aqua.pharms. kit, redsea....8.4, aqua. pharms.....7.4/5. Yikes.....I lost a fish the other day, for the first time.....w/n 24hrs of acclimating him in the tank........hmmm 8.4-7.5 nothing like adding to the stress of acclimation.
I will never use a red sea product again.
Aj

 

[KenPA]

First thing I use Reef Crystals. When my tank leaked I took what water I had left and put it into a spare tank I have. The Ph of this water was 8.4 measured by my elctronic meter before it broke. I work in a lab with water systems and this meter gets calibrated daily with nist traceable standards and is lab checked weekly. Within 8 hours I had a new tank set up and had to add tap water to it which I never do. Were I work I bring home ro / di water. Due to how much water I needed for the new tank there was no way I could bring that much home. The frequent water changes were to try and "swap water". Now, after my probe broke my wife went out and got the redsea kit. The water in the main tank now had a Ph of 7.8 which I thought was 8.4. After the tank stabilized for about a week I started to move my fish back in, one at a time over 2 weeks. I believe they died because they went from a Ph of 8.4 to 7.8 and couldn't handel it. I may be wrong, but I cannot think of any other stressors. Adam, I would call the company and complain. They think I'm nuts. I tried to speak with the CEO and he was "not available" I did get the second in line and he told me normal Ph for saltwater is 7.2? and it couldn't be his kit. 1-888-redsea9.

 

[XXX]

A suggestion to all. Having a pH meter does not mean you can do away with a reliable pH test kit. pH meters are rather notorious for losing calibration or becoming uncalibratable over time. One should ALWAYS have a backup test kit and one that is reliable.

What is a good pH test kit to double check your probe?

 

[KenPA]

I've been using electronic meters for over 15 years in the business I'm in. They are highly reliable if taken care of. A few pointer. After you use it rinse it with "TAP" water, not ro. Spend 5 dollars and buy a soaking solution to keep it in. If the probe becomes dry it does not work right. I calibrate all mine daily. For a few bucks you can get NIST 4.01, 7.01 and 10.01 calibration solution. When calibrating your meter use at least a two point calibration, 7.01 first then 4.01. and then 10.01 if you have it

 

[JeremyR]

FWIW, I've seen sw ph as low as 7.1 without dead fish (inverts tolerate that less well). I"m not condoning the practice, just sharing a fwiw.

 

[KenPA]

So, to be clear and not argumentative I am to believe.

1. A Ph shift of 8.4 to 7.8 within a 2 hour acclimation period is not going to
harm my fish?

2. While people have noted fish being kept in a lower than recommended
Ph for short periods of time caused no ill effects, having them in this
for a prolonged period would not be a factor. If so, why is the
recommended ph in the 8's?

3. My main point of this whole discussion was about the difference in test
results so I might save someone else from losing fish. I guess I was
wrong to believe that much of a difference could do harm them.

Thanks for the replys and enlightening me.

 

[JeremyR]

It's still a good topic tho, people need to know what products work and what don't, and pointing out bad ones is always a good thing.

 

[aj2001]

KEn,
Heck I thought you were nuts until I did the comparison myself.I will tryn contact redsea, but I know it will do no good, what upsets me other than the fact this is the first fish I had ever lost, is it was a lieutenant tang,of which I have never seen for sale ever before.......Not saying it was 100% the result of the test kit being wrong,(ph shouldnt have fallen that low to begin with) but I would have corrected it prior to adding a new fish.....
Aj

 

[kstagg]

I've used Red Sea ph test for 4 years now. Each time I get a new bottle, I test it against my Lamotte kit. Red Sea has always checked ok. The reason I use Red Sea for ph is that it is easier to read than the Lamotte kit.