Sample testing using new equipment

We finally got all our equipment for gathering metadata on the water, and decided to do some sample testing using tap water and saltwater from the tank. We ended up with the following:

 

Tap water –

NO2-N levels: 65 ppm

NO2 levels: 154.63 ppm

Phosphorus: 105 ppb

 

Saltwater –

NO2-N levels: [TRIAL ONE] 65 ppm, [TRIAL TWO] 57 ppm

NO2 levels: [TRIAL ONE] 213.85 ppm, [TRIAL TWO] 187.53 ppm

Phosphorus: [TRIAL ONE] 48 ppb, [TRIAL TWO] 200 ppb

 

Some problems we encountered: When I did the trial one on the saltwater phosphorus test, I used the wrong reagent (phosphate reagent is used for the nitrite scanner, while phosphorus reagent is used for the phosphorus scanner). In addition, the phosphorus scanner maxes out at 200 (Andrew later confirmed this by doing additional scans on the saltwater), which means we’ll need a broader range scanner.

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Author: aalexiev

I graduated with my PhD at the University of Colorado, Boulder and have a Microbiology BS from University of California, Davis. Currently, I'm a postdoctoral researcher at Oregon State University. My interest lies in discovering the emergent properties of how host-associated microbial communities respond to disturbances or perturbations to host health.

2 thoughts on “Sample testing using new equipment”

  2. The water samples were from the same bottle of saltwater sample that we tested almost immediately after procuring. We later found out that the results were so different because I mixed up the reagent that was meant to go into the sample before taking the reading. I accidentally used the reagent for the nitrogen scanner instead of the one corresponding to the phosphorus scanner.

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