Re: Iron Test

[busko at stsci_edu (Ivo Busko)]

> I finally got an Iron test kit (Sera)... I tested my water and it showed 0
> mg/l so I added some Tetra Flora Pride...waited 12 hours and retested... got
> a 0 mg/l .... added some more... tested a few hours later and it still shows
> up 0 mg/l!!!!  Whats the deal???  My plants can't be using it that fast...
> Some one please help me.
> Daniel

Daniel,

I don't know about the Sera test, but I had a similar problem with a
Red Sea iron test. I got zero readings from both tank and tap water,
even after adding iron-rich fertilizer to the tank for several days.
It turns out that several iron test kits cannot measure chelated iron.
The iron must be in Fe++ form to be measured. I solved my problem with
the Seachem iron test kit. It measures chelated iron but the reagent/
water mix must be left "aging" for a few hours until the color develops.
The instructions say that 45 min. should be enough though. 

You can check your kit using some iron-rich fertilizer to prepare a test
solution with know concentration. I used both an african violet fertilizer
and my regular aquarium fertilizer (FloraSan) because both disclose
their ingredient concentration. I did that with both test kits, and I 
finally gave up with the Red Sea reagent and dropped a iron nail into
the vial ! With that treatment the reagent developed some color at last, 
but the test kit went to the trash bin. Since then I adopted the 
procedure of regularly checking my Fe and NO3 test kits by preparing
my own calibration solutions.

-Ivo Busko
 Baltimore, MD

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