So the Red Sea Magnesium test kit (is annoying and) tells you to do the following (not directly off the instructions):
- 2 mL tank water
- 1 drop Reagent A (clear liquid)
- Swirl for 15 secs
- REPEAT 5 TIMES
- 5 drops Reagent B (pink/purple liquid)
- Swirl for 60 seconds
- Use 1 mL syringe to add Reagent C until color changes from pink to blue
TEST 1 RESULT: 1280 ppm (used 0.64 mL Reagent C)
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What's up with the split swirling for Reagent A and the super long swirl for Reagent B that other test kits don't have? Dang that's annoying.
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I decided to experiment today and did the testing as above, then did it this way:
- 2 mL tank water
- 5 drops Reagent A
- Swirl for 75 seconds (15x5)
- 5 drops Reagent B
- Swirl 60 seconds
- Use 1 mL syringe to add Reagent C until color changes from pink to blue
TEST 2 RESULT: 1280 ppm (used 0.64 mL Reagent C)
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Then I did it this way:
- 2 mL tank water
- 5 drops Reagent A
- Swirl for 15 seconds
- 5 drops Reagent B
- Swirl 15 seconds
- Use 1 mL syringe to add Reagent C until color changes from pink to blue
TEST 3 RESULT: 1340 ppm (used 0.67 mL Reagent C)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then I did it this way (to mimic Salifert's instructions):
- 2 mL tank water
- 5 drops Reagent A
- Swirl for 60 seconds
- 5 drops Reagent B
- Swirl 15 seconds
- Use 1 mL syringe to add Reagent C until color changes from pink to blue
TEST 4 RESULT: 1300 ppm (used 0.65 mL Reagent C)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Keeping in mind that I only did each test once, test 4 results are only 0.01 mL different than Test 1 and Test 2 which leads me to believe that possibly all three of these testing variations will work accurately. Test 3 result is significantly different, and probably not a good option.
Sooo... with other brands of test kits, swirling the clear Reagent A for about 60 seconds is pretty typical. Splitting the swirling between drops of Reagent A is annoying and maybe not necessary. Is there some situations in tanks where there may be a stronger bond that needs to be broken?
I'm going to test this further in future testings and see if I have repeatable results.
- 2 mL tank water
- 1 drop Reagent A (clear liquid)
- Swirl for 15 secs
- REPEAT 5 TIMES
- 5 drops Reagent B (pink/purple liquid)
- Swirl for 60 seconds
- Use 1 mL syringe to add Reagent C until color changes from pink to blue
TEST 1 RESULT: 1280 ppm (used 0.64 mL Reagent C)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What's up with the split swirling for Reagent A and the super long swirl for Reagent B that other test kits don't have? Dang that's annoying.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I decided to experiment today and did the testing as above, then did it this way:
- 2 mL tank water
- 5 drops Reagent A
- Swirl for 75 seconds (15x5)
- 5 drops Reagent B
- Swirl 60 seconds
- Use 1 mL syringe to add Reagent C until color changes from pink to blue
TEST 2 RESULT: 1280 ppm (used 0.64 mL Reagent C)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then I did it this way:
- 2 mL tank water
- 5 drops Reagent A
- Swirl for 15 seconds
- 5 drops Reagent B
- Swirl 15 seconds
- Use 1 mL syringe to add Reagent C until color changes from pink to blue
TEST 3 RESULT: 1340 ppm (used 0.67 mL Reagent C)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then I did it this way (to mimic Salifert's instructions):
- 2 mL tank water
- 5 drops Reagent A
- Swirl for 60 seconds
- 5 drops Reagent B
- Swirl 15 seconds
- Use 1 mL syringe to add Reagent C until color changes from pink to blue
TEST 4 RESULT: 1300 ppm (used 0.65 mL Reagent C)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Keeping in mind that I only did each test once, test 4 results are only 0.01 mL different than Test 1 and Test 2 which leads me to believe that possibly all three of these testing variations will work accurately. Test 3 result is significantly different, and probably not a good option.
Sooo... with other brands of test kits, swirling the clear Reagent A for about 60 seconds is pretty typical. Splitting the swirling between drops of Reagent A is annoying and maybe not necessary. Is there some situations in tanks where there may be a stronger bond that needs to be broken?
I'm going to test this further in future testings and see if I have repeatable results.