Salifert Calcium Test Kit

[Kalib]

Forgive me if this is the wrong place to post this as I felt this was the best place to post.

Wonder if anyone encountered this problem, first of all the instructions appear wrong. It says to drip 6drops of CA-1 but CA-1 is a powder and to add 1 spoonful of CA-2 but CA-2 is a liquid.

However, the big problem starts when I used CA-3. According to the instructions I am supposed to get pink-red but when i immediately mix CA-1 and CA-2 to the vial of tank water, I get blue immediately and after adding 1ml of CA-3 as per instructions, I still get blue. I have tried using the low resolution test and I have tried varying the order which CA-1 and CA-2 are added. One test was done as per instructions, 2nd test was done with CA-2 being added first then CA-1. All 3 tries resulted in the same problem.

Testkit expired is unlikely as the expiry date is at July 2009. I suspect either something isn't being done right due to the wrong instructions or the reagants are contaminated somehow. May buy another testkit to confirm. A search on the internet didn't yield anything, all the instructions appear the same as what i get on the paper.

I have tested my tank water parameters, using kH testkit(From Salifert) and pH using Eco pH pen. pH reads to 8.1(a little low) and kH is at 9.3. So from what i understand, there should be calcium in my tank as kH and calcium go hand in hand. Without calcium, the kH shouldn't be this high, but I could be wrong(kind of weak in water chemistry ). So any bros can confirm this?

Instructions for the testkit:

http://www.petstore.com/ps_ViewItem-...ct-SF1115.html

Anyone encounter similar problem or can help?

[TntR2]

Here are the instructions from my Salifert Ca Testkit:

1] Add with the syringe 2ml of water in the test vial. For a lower resolution and more tests per kit add 1 ml instead of 2ml.

2] Add 1 level spoon of Ca-1 (low resolution approx. 1/2 spoon). Do not mix it yet.

3] Add 8 drops of Ca-2. The low resolution mode requires 4 drops. Swirl (do NOT shake) for 10 seconds.

4] Put the plastic tip firmly on the 1ml syringe. And draw into the syringe the Ca-3 reagent (ensure the end of the plastic tip is constantly submerged in the Ca-3 reagent) till the lower end of the back part of the piston is exactly at the 1.00ml mark. There will be some air present between the end of the plastic tip and the piston. This is the air which was present between the end of the plastic tip and the piston. This will not influence test result.

5] Add dropwise with the 1ml syringe the Ca-2 reagent to the water in the test tube, Swirl after each drip a second or two. Continue with this until the colour changes from pink-red to a clear blue colour.

hope this helps..

[Kalib]

Yup. It did help. Thanks. Did a test according to the new instructions and i managed to get the results.

Here's an online video which i found showing the steps:

http://podcast.talkingreef.com/video/SalifertCa-TR-Ep68.m4v

It further confirms that the new instructions were right.