LaMotte kits

ericbullock · Post by **ericbullock** » Fri Aug 05, 2005 8:32 pm

I know the LaMotte and Hach tests are highly coveted for their accuracy and whatnot, but is the LaMotte kit suitable for determining the rather high levels of Nitrogen needed for aplanted aquarium? The scale on the LaMotte kit tops out at 10ppm, and I seem to remember reading somewhere that the NO3 shoud be as high as 20-30ppm?

Am I on crack?

gnatster · Post by **gnatster** » Fri Aug 05, 2005 9:48 pm

Most keep nitrate level around 10ppm, so thats within the kits range. You can also dilute the sample 1/2 with distilled or RO water and multiply results by 2 for greater accuracy.

What I like most about Lamotte is the ease of use with the comparater. When I have to compare multiple colors of a paper I have trouble with the shading. With the Lamotte I have a much better time doing so.

The intial price is higher then most all the other kits at yuo lfs, but you can get refills for the reagents and the harware lasts a long time. Took me 20 years before i had to replace my NO3 kit.

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 12:32 am

I have the LaMotte Nitrate kit as well and I like it a lot. True after 10 ppms it stops reading, but the idea is that you know if it's lower than 10 ppm. 5 ppm of NO3 is the acceptable low end of the nitrate spectrum for keeping healthy plants. 20-30 is a bit high. I would say the range is more 5-20 ppm.

ericbullock · Post by **ericbullock** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 3:43 pm

This leads to another question. How often is everyone testing? Also, how often is everyone dosing? I've been adding a capful of Flourish Nitrogen twice a day (32 Gallon tank) which seems to raise my NO3 a little, but not anywhere near the recommended amount. I've recently bought some KNO3 and K2SO4 from Greg Watson and intend to start dosing these macros seperately, in addition to the PMDD. My Nitrates are always low, and my Phosphates are equally low.

I'm currently using the Seachem tests, which gives results in mg/L instead of PPM, which makes it a little difficult to follow some of these guidelines.

Hopefully I get these Macros balanced and at a good level. I have algae growth like you wouldn't believe!

fredyk · Post by **fredyk** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 7:25 pm

Add CO2; algae will be less. Increase CO2. Then you can estimate the amount of ferts to add.
Mark

ericbullock · Post by **ericbullock** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 7:56 pm

Oh, I have an electronic CO2 dosing system. I keep my PH around 6.5, and CO2 is being added fairly regularly. Believe me...this is one of the first things I tried, followed shortly thereafter by a RO/DI system. At least my hardness is somewhat in check, although still higher than I would like.

I'm seriously ready to scrap the lot and start over!

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 11:49 pm

Add about 1 ppm NO3 and .25 ppm Phosphate everyday for a while and see if things don't change for the better. You can download a handy calculator from http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/ that will tell you how much of the dry fertilizer adds how many ppms of whatever you're dosing.

I hardly ever test water anymore. After a while you just get a feel for what's going on and how much to dose.

ericbullock · Post by **ericbullock** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 11:13 am

Thanks for the link...this is very helpful. Although some of the information on this site seems contrary to what I've read about NPK ratios here in the GWAPA forums. Ghazanfar and others have spoken about dosing Phosphates whereas Chuck's site says dosing Phosphate in a well-lit tank (like mine) is not necessary, and even detrimental (algae). Instead it seems that adding Potassium is the recommended course of action.

But then GG says that dosing K isn't necessary as you're already getting enough from KNO3 (Potassium Nitrate) and the KH2PO4 (Mono Potassium Phosphate).

Given that I have a rather well-lit (some might say over-lit) tank I am dubious of adding Phosphates to my tank as I am already experiencing an abundance of beautiful

filamentous algae.

The good news is that Nitrates are finally rising, approaching an acceptable level. My Seachem test was a bit odd in that the indicator never got that nice garnet color...but more of a reddish hue.

Cheers,
-eric-

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 11:20 am

Yes, some of the info on that site is outdated. Adding phosphates is a necessary thing to do in a well lit tank. Adding the phosphates will help reduce the green spot algae in the tank and you'll see your stem plants take off.

RTRJR · Post by **RTRJR** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 6:17 pm

BTW, for our purposes, ppm and mg/l are the same thing.

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