FAQs

Check out out parameters page for an in depth description and protocol to our testing parameters!

Water Rangers conductivity meters measure the conductivity of freshwater in µS, or microsiemens.

Water will measure different results of conductivity depending on it’s condition, shown below;

For more an introduction, our protocol, and additional information regarding conductivity, we encourage you to visit our conductivity parameter page!

Water Rangers measures dissolved oxygen, or DO2, in milligrams/litre.

Different measurements of DO2 will mean different circumstances for life in a water body, shown below;

• 0-2 mg/L: not enough oxygen to support life
• 2-4 mg/L: only a few fish and aquatic insects can survive
• 4-7 mg/L: good for many aquatic animals, low for cold water fish
• 7-11 mg/L: very good for most stream fish

For more an introduction, our protocol, and additional information regarding dissolved oxygen, we encourage you to visit our dissolved oxygen parameter page!

For optimal results, E.coli tests require an incubator. We don’t currently sell supplies that test for E.coli, but we may one day. Learn more about E.coli here.

If you’re looking for an E.coli test, we recommend TapScore.

Just like with phosphates, this is another parameter where the tests we’ve tried aren’t sensitive enough unless you’re in a pollution event. Probes we’ve seen don’t seem very sensitive, and experts we’ve worked with aren’t sure how accurate they are.

We encourage our testers to browse our affiliate Tap Score’s testing services, which include products for phosphates!

We are currently conducting research involving tests for high level phosphates, but have yet to find tests that we’re happy with. Field tests that are currently available on the market can you let you know if phosphates are present, but can’t tell you to what extent they are present. In other words, they’re not quite sensitive enough to be useful! Also, many of the field tests require you to handle reagents that can be toxic, and that makes disposal difficult, meaning they wouldn’t be safe for kids to use. We are watching this space closely, and working with partners to see if this can change.

While our kits are designed to test lakes, rivers, and oceans, parameters like lead, copper, calcium, and unwanted chemicals are critical for determining the overall safety of city water. We promote groups like Tap Score who have created easy-to-use monitoring kits for your home.

Tap Score has designed kits to test city water and well water, depending on the source of your water. They provide you everything you need to collect a sample and send it to them. Upon analyzing it, a water health report will be returned to you in only a matter of weeks!

If you’re looking to test the quality of freshwater, visit our store for the appropriate testing supplies!

To learn more, check out our parameters page on pH!