Part 2. Can be done at the river or at home / school
Are you on the correct page?!
These instructions are ONLY for 2 KITS.
The only sites that have a SMART3 Meter are Sue's kit and Penny's kit.
The Model Number of your colorimeter is shown above the blue buttons on your machine.
Equipment :
60ml syringe
500ml water sample
Colorimeter bottle with no dot on lid
Colorimeter bottle with dot on lid
Cottonbud
Distilled water
Filter and filter holder
Latex gloves
Liquid waste container
Paper towel
Phosphate Blue Box
Safety glasses
SMART3 Meter
Safety
Phosphate Acid Reagent and Phosphate Reducing Reagent are hazardous substances.
EXTREME CAUTION MUST BE TAKEN!
Important
Do not use cracked or scratched colorimeter bottles.
The tubes are made of special crystalline glass which allows light to pass through without being refracted. Any lint or scratches on the glass will reduce the accuracy of the results. Always dry the glass thoroughly to remove moisture and chemicals before placing it in the colorimetric chamber.
Do not allow moisture to enter the colorimeter chamber as it may cause the colorimeter to corrode and malfunction.
Do not use Phosphate Reducing Reagent powder that has moisture in it or has caked up - check this before each testing day and replace if necessary. Keep this powder in a separate snaplock bag with silica sachets.
Part 1. Setting up the Blank and the Sample
1. Shake the sample bottle.
2. Draw up some water into the 60ml syringe and rinse.
3. Using the 60ml syringe draw up 40ml of sample water.
5. Holding the filter and syringe over the colorimeter tube (no dot on lid), rinse the colorimeter tube twice with filtered sample water. If the filter clogs, replace it with a new filter and continue.
4. Place a 0.45 micron filter paper in the filter holder and attach to the syringe. Gently expel a small amount of water through the filter.
6. Fill to 10ml line with filtered sample water. Always hold colorimeter bottles by the neck to avoid putting finger marks on the glass, as this will affect the results.
7. Repeat Step 5, by adding 10ml to line in colorimeter tube with blue dot on the lid.
You should now have two colorimeter tubes filled with filtered sample water to 10ml line.
8. Cap and wipe the both colorimeter tubes dry.
9. In one of the tubes (with blue dot on lid), use 1.0mL syringe to add 1.0mL of Phosphate Acid Reagent to the colorimeter tube. Cap and invert to mix.
10. Then, use the 0.1g spoon to add one level spoon of Phosphate Reducing Reagent to the colorimeter tube. Do not wet the spoons or allow them to touch the inside of the test bottle or tube.
11. Cap and shake until powder dissolves. Wipe tube dry.
12. Wait 5 minutes for full colour development. Solution will turn blue if phosphates are present.
Part 2. Scanning the Blank
13. Insert the tube which has not had chemicals added to it (no dot on lid) into the colorimeter chamber, being sure to align the index (vertical) line with the arrow on the meter.
14. Close the lid. We now blank or zero the SMART3 with filtered sample water.
15. Push and hold the POWER (bottom right) button to turn the meter on.
16. Press ENTER to select the TESTING MENU
17. Scroll to and select 081 PHOSPHATE LR from menu.
18. Close the lid. Press ENTER to select SCAN BLANK. The remove the colorimeter tube.
Part 3. Scanning the Treated Water Sample
19. Insert the tube which has chemicals added to it (blue dot on lid) into the colorimeter chamber, being sure to align the index (vertical) line with the arrow on the meter.
20. Push the ENTER button to select SCAN SAMPLE.
21. Record results as ppm of Available Phosphate.
Record this number as ___ mg/L. (ppm and mg/L are equivalent measurements)
Pack Up
Remove bottle from colorimeter and pour contents into liquid waste container.
Remove filter from filter holder and dispose.
Rinse all equipment with distilled water and tip it upside to drain on some clean paper towel.
Use a cottonbud to clean the 1ml white spoons and then place the cottonbud in your solid waste container.
Press and hold Power button to turn the colorimeter off.
Empty contents of waste container down the toilet.
If testing at the river, remove equipment when you get home and leave it to drain and DRY COMPLETELY before packing it away for next month's testing.
Tip : The colorimeter may appear to switch off but it will have only defaulted to energy saving mode.
-
Phosphorus occurs in natural waters and in wastewaters almost solely as phosphates.
Phosphorus (P) is a naturally occurring nutrient that originates from plant and animal matter, and is applied as fertiliser to increase plant growth in agriculture. Phosphorus is essential to all forms of life on this planet.
Sources of phosphorus enrichment may include some detergents, fertilisers (in both rural and urban areas), animal faeces (e.g. from farms and feed lots), sewage and some industrial wastes. High levels of phosphorus and/or other key nutrients may lead to related problems such as nuisance or toxic algal blooms, although some waterways are naturally eutrophic (nutrient enriched).