As luck would have it, the LaMotte test kit arrived today. It's a little different than the API I have been using and I'm a little confused with the results of testing. Here's what I found with testing today.
Sample taken at 2:45PM near the major inflow from the grass waterway leading to the pond. Sample depth taken in 18" of water.
Water Clarity - Slightly Stained from rain on Sunday Morning
API PH (High test Range) 8.0-8.2? API PH 7.6+?
LaMotte PH (Wide Range) 7.5?
API KH 4-5 Drops + 80ppm CaCO3 API GH 6 Drops 106.8ppm CaMg - Seems to line up reasonably to me with the test report I just got back from Texas A&M
Lamotte test kit only had one test for Alkalinity. My reading on this came back at 60ppm. A couple of questions on this.
First, the test kit mentions putting a tablet into the 5ml test tube stirring until dissolved and then adding a solution through the little handheld syringe until the mixture turns purple. Second, there was a sheet that came with the kit saying that the tablet was replaced with a solution and to add 4 drops to the water sample, stir and then start the test. I'm assuming as no other information was provided that I am still looking for this sample to turn "purple". I called LaMotte on this. Apparently they ran out of the tablets and substituted the liquid.
My LaMotte sample started off as a darkgreen/blue after the 4 drops were added, and after I started adding the next solution my mixture turned kind of a dark yellow or orange. Last pic of the attached.
Is anybody else using the "new" LaMotte Alkalinity test kit and getting similar stuff?
Seems odd to me that the API Alkalinity and LaMotte tests are so much different on results.
1.5acre LMB, YP, BG, RES, GSH, Seasonal Tilapia I subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine
