Equipment and Testing Kits Print...

Water Sampling Test Kit Information
The kit should contain test materials for the REQUIRED as well as the OPTIONAL tests that you plan to conduct (see below). Water testing kits that contain materials necessary to test for a variety of the chemical and physical properties are available from PASCO, which is proud to partner with CIESE and to supply probeware for this project. Kits can also be purchased from other suppliers such as LaMotte, Hach, and Chemetrics as well science catalogs such as Sargent-Welsh, Frey Scientific, Nasco, Boreal/Science Kit. The test kits range in cost and complexity so you should determine which kits are most appropriate for your students and budget prior to ordering.

It is recommended to start simply with a few inexpensive and easy-to-use testing kits to determine if water testing is a project you want to continue doing with your students. In future years you can upgrade testing equipment and number of tests you perform. Finally, ordering and receiving test supplies can take several weeks or longer depending on the supplier's back-log.

Handouts

Required Tests

  • Temperature:
    • Thermometer
       
  • pH:
    • Bottle or container to hold water sample
    • pH test kit OR pH paper
       
  • Dissolved Oxygen (DO):
    • Bottle with closeable lid
    • Dissolved Oxygen test kit
       
  • Macroinvertebrate Sampling Equipment:
    • kick seine or dip net: see how to build a kick seine
    • white plastic sheet (if you plan to observe your specimens at the site)
    • wading boots
    • Shallow pans, such as dish pans, for each group
    • Ladles, scoops, spoons, tweezers, and / or eyedroppers to use in transferring samples to smaller containers
    • Small containers to separate the samples for study (e.g. baby food jars, petri dishes, ice cube trays, etc.)
    • Hand / magnifying lenses
    • Rulers
    • Macroinvertebrate identification keys:
      • free downloadable Bug ID charts: front-page - back-page (in Adobe .pdf format - courtesy of Save Our Streams)
      • Internet access to view the recommended interactive Macroinvertebrate Identification Key (optional - courtesy of Save Our Streams)
      • other macroinvertebrate books or resources
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    • If you plan to transport and identify your specimens back in the classroom:
      • plastic buckets with lids: to carry the specimens
      • microscopes and slides (optional)
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Optional Tests

  • Nitrates:
    • Nitrate-Nitrogen (NO3-N) test kit
    • Bottle with closeable lid

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  • Phosphates:
    • Phosphate test kit
    • Bottle with closeable lid

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  • Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD):
    • Dissolved Oxygen test kit
    • 2 Bottle with closeable lids

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  • Turbidity:
    • Secchi Disk, Turbidity test kit, or Meter detector

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  • Coliform Bacteria:
    • Total Coliform bacteria test kit OR Fecal Coliform bacteria test kit
    • Bottle with closeable lid

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[Menu: Introduction - Equipment]
[Required Tests: General Observations - Temperature - pH - Dissolved Oxygen - Macroinvertebrates]
[Optional Tests: Nitrates - Phosphates - Biological Oxygen Demand - Turbidity - Coliform Bacteria]
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Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education (CIESE) All Rights Reserved.