nutriants in water

[tony varrell]

I there a mechanical method to read nutriants in your water? I realize testing Phopshates and Nitrates is an indicator but I would like to read for them similar to the way my controller reads PH, ORP ect. Thanks..

[tony varrell]

Come on everyboby somebody knows the answer to this..

[crvz]

not that you'll want to pay for. ;) I think I've seen nitrate monitors, but I can't recall, and if I did they were for commercial purposes. But if the tank is set up well, those should be at zero all the time, and should raise quickly enough to justify monitoring them 24/7. Monthly to bi-monthly tests should be adequate.

[george1098]

ORP is the closest thing to a measure of your waters nutrient qantitiy.. generally the lower the ORP the higher the nutrient levels.. that's not alwais the case though. If you want accurate measurements you're going to have to play chemist and break out those test kits.

[tony varrell]

Thanks george1098 that is what I would like to eliminate. I just thought it would be helpful to know where your nutriants are and what would cause them to climb and make corrections qiuckly ie overfeeding etc. I would also be nice to have readings before and after water changes. I like so many other people read 0 phosphates and 2.5PPM nitrates which is very accetpable. However other indicators in my system would suggest otherwise.ie algae on the glass etc.