FAQs

BART™ testers provide a very easy way to test for active bacteria in water, Why is that?

Active bacteria are the ones that can cause problems in the water and to the people using the water. There are
several different bacteria that be active in water but under different circumstances. Selecting the right BART™
tester(s) to determine the activities can be very important. Think about the problems that might occur and then
select the right BART™ to get to the heart of that problem.

The BARTs™ are classified into several product groups that look for specific bacterial activity. If you analyze
the problem, you can narrow the possibilities of activity, then select the appropriate BART™(s) for the category
of bacterial activity. For example, corrosion is caused by sulfate reducing bacteria. Thus the logical choice would
be the SRB BART™.

How can the BART™ tester help?

The BART is easy to use, tells you something about how active the bacteria, which types of bacteria are active in
the water sample. Additionally, if you are applying a treatment then the effectiveness of that treatment can be
measured using the selected BART™ testers.

The BART testers can provide a variety of information that can be useful in understanding bacterial activity.
They provide three key features to bacterial water analysis. First, they can provide you an interpretation on the
bacterial activity in a given water source. Secondly, they can address what types of bacteria are currently active
in the water source. And finally, they are easy to use in both laboratory and field study.

How do you measure bacterial activity?

In setting up a BART tester leave it at room temperature and look periodically. That time interval is called the
time lag and can be used to determine activity. Remember that the shorter the time lag then the greater is the
activity and the bigger the population.

The BART testers operate at room temperature to stimulate bacterial reactions. These reactions are listed
in reaction charts to help identify, and classify, the bacteria. The tests produce the various reactions that are
noted by the technician by recording the reaction code, time and date. The lag time from start date to reaction is
then used to calculate the approximated activity. Remember that the quick the lag time the higher
the population.

What is the time lag?

It is the start between starting up a BART tester and it going positive. Usually at room temperature that time lag
is measured in days with a one or two day time lag meaning the bacterial population is very active whereas a
time lag of greater than six days means the bacteria aren’t very active. If the BART tester is being
o
operated (incubated) at 28 C then the time lags are much shorter and can be measured commonly in
seconds rather than days.

What temperature should I use to test the water samples?

When the BART is being used in the field or office, no extra equipment is needed to operate at room
o
temperature (nominally 22 C) and so that is a preferred temperature. However, water samples can
o o
commonly come from sources as cold as 0 C or as hot as 45 C. Room temperature is in the middle of that
o o
range and will tend trap much of the activity. If you have a special need or a BART reader then 28 C or 37 C
can be applied.

How many different types BART™ testers are there being manufactured?
FAQs
The answer to this is best down in a table that shows when the BART™ tester of that type was first
produced commercially, whether there has been verification and the tester is a part of a full BART™ system.

Bacterial Group Notation Verification

Algae ALGE-BART™
Acid Producing Bacteria APB-BART™
Denitrifying Bacteria DN-BART™
Fecal Coliform Bacteria F-COLI-BART™ In progress (system)
Heterotrophic Bacteria HAB-BART™ ETV (system)
Iron Reducing Bacteria IRB-BART™ ETV
Nitrifying Bacteria N-BART™
Slime Forming Bacteria SLYM-BART™
Sulfate Reducing Bacteria SRB-BART™ ETV
Total Coliform Bacteria T-COLI-BART™ In progress (system)

If I have a problem which BART™ testers should I use?

It is the nature of the “problem” that will define the BART testers you will use. As a guide then begin with a
range. For water wells it is common to use a combination pack (COMBO) of three different testers that will
give some answers to the problem if it is bacterial in origin. For wells that do not have any known
spills/ contamination then the common combo includes SRB, IRB, and SLYM-BART™ testers. If the wells are on an
hazardous waste site or contamination is suspected then a combo of SRB, IRB and HAB-BART™ testers may be
more appropriate. In the following table, some selections of BART tester types is suggested depending upon the
nature of the recognized problem.

Problem Recommended Comment

BART™
Blackened water SRB-BART™ May also have rotten egg odor
Red, Brown, yellow IRB-BART™ May also contain iron floc
water
Clouded water SLYM- & HAB- When looking though the water, clouds
BART™ may be seen in the light
Loss in water IRB-, SLYM- &Sampling may be difficult because most
production HAB- BART™ of the bacteria are not in the water but
in attached biomass
Fishy odors HAB-BART™ Some bacteria produce strong fishy odors
Septic odors T-COLI- & DN- Fresh septic contamination will give
BART™ active total coliform but older
contamination will give high denitrifiers
Corrosion of metal SRB-, & APB- Perforation of metals most likely would
fittings BART™ be SRB but could also be APB
Bioremediation HAB-BART™ For these sites it is recommended that
the system be employed since activity
commonly very high
“Safe” water T-COLI-BART™ Presence of active total coliform bacteria
considered first indicator of unsafe water
FAQs

Slimes in cooling HAB-, & SRB- HAB will give the level of bacterial and
towers and heat BART™ SRB indicate nature of growth
exchangers
Bottled water HAB-BART™ In good bottled water then no HAB
activity should be detected in 8 days

What makes a BART™ tester work?

The tester has been designed to provide a range of environments from very reductive in the base cone to
very oxidative around and under the floating ball. This means a gradient is created vertically in the
tester that can encourage many different types of bacteria to grow. To encourage different communities of
bacteria to grow then a crystallized pellet of chemicals that are selective nutrients are placed in the base cone
of the tester. These selective nutrients diffuse up and cause only the bacteria being investigated to grow
and trigger reactions. The BART tester is therefore a very “friendly” environment created to maximize the
detection of the active bacteria. This is done by a combination of looking for a reaction and timing that event
to gauge the activity.

When are bacteria active?

If the environment from which the sample was taken was favourable to the bacteria then they become active.
This activity is a measure of just how aggressive they are and also can determine (through the time lag) just
how large the population of active cells is within the sample.

What about bacteria that are not active, aren’t they important too?

Bacteria can easily 'fall asleep' (become inactive) and it takes a while for these bacteria to wake up and
become active again. In general the BART tests are not long enough to trigger these inactive bacteria to
become active again. Because the cells are in the sleep mode then it is unlikely that their presence will have
any impact on test and the results.

How accurate are the BART™ testers?

Common trends do emerge although every 15mL sample used for a BART test will be a little different. On a
water sample when duplicate tests are performed, the time lags commonly vary by less than 5% and the
same sequence of reactions is observed. Some operators use a staged approach to testing using BARTs. They
will set a minimal time lag (such as 4 days) that would indicate that the water was OK and no treatment
is required. When a test comes in with a time lag of 3 days then this could be a problem since the bacteria are
getting more active. Before running an expensive treatment these operators will now run duplicate tests to
determine whether that result was not typical. If the duplicates also show shorter time lags (in this case, less
than 4 days) then a treatment is undertaken. After treatment the tests should show the activity now at 4 days or
better. Some operators therefore do routine BART tests to monitor the activity reacting with duplicate tests when
a problem may be emerging (i.e. time lags shortening)

Are these BART™ tests considered regulatory tests?

Getting any new test accepted by the regulatory process is a long and complicated process. For the BART
testers, this is a particularly challenging process because there are no easy comparative tests. In microbiology,
the agar plate remains a standard but it does not allow the variety of bacteria to grow that will grow in a
BART tester. Membrane filtration is another standard but it suffers from serious overgrowth issues. ATP
(adenosine triphosphate) analysis has become a new standard but it only quantifies the total number of active
cells regardless of their relevance to the test. The BART tester’s process of getting regulatory approval has
FAQs

been slow while we build up the perfect the systems. Three testers have got Canadian Environmental
Verification (IRB-BART™, SRB-BART™ and HAB-BART™) because they provide field applications where answers
are required quickly.

What does aggressivety mean it is used in some of the BART™ literature and protocols?

Aggressivity means the level of activity of the bacteria and was used since it was thought that it was a better
term to illustrate the ability of the bacteria to dominate. Today most users prefer the term “activity” and so this
has been adopted. Consider activity and aggressivity to mean the same thing for all practical purposes.

How constant are the reaction patterns in the BART™ tester?

In general, the reaction patterns are very constant but the order (in the IRB-BART™) may vary a little from
sample to sample but usually all of the reactions will occur in the same pattern for duplicates from a sample.

What is the shelf life on a BART™ tester?

The standard shelf life for most BART testers is four years provided that the aluminum foil pouch has not
been breached. Once the foil pouch has been opened then it is recommended that (1) you use the BART
testers from that opened pouch as quickly as possible; and (2) that the unused BART testers are kept in
a refrigerator with the foil pouch closed shut with tape. Note that these pouches hold either three field testers or
five laboratory testers.

When should I use the Field tester kit and when would the Laboratory kits be better?

If you are in the field doing testing or you are going to take the BART testers and do the testing in an office
or hotel room then the Field BART testers are better. There are a number of advantages in using the Field
tester: (1) is has two complete sets of tubes that protects the tester (the inner vial) making it able to take
a rougher environment; (2) if any smells are produced by the tester then the outer vial prevents the odors
getting out and causing “problems”; and (3) are very stable and can easily be lined up on a shelf or table top
and are not likely to fall over. You will notice that the labels do restrict the view of the inner vial but this has
been positioned not to interfere with the observation of the reactions. Advantages with the Laboratory testers
are that they: (1) are more economical to use; (2) have good visibility for detecting he reactions; and (3) can
allow more testing to be done within a given area (important in many laboratories. Disadvantages for
the Laboratory tester is: (1) they can generate smells; (2) they can easily fall over (some people using
Laboratory testers actually put them in seedling trays that keep them upright) and (3) there is a higher
potential for spillage. It is a good idea to keep a bactericidal aerosol handy to spray down affected
surfaces. Wearing disposable latex gloves is also recommended when handling Laboratory BART testers. It
should be noted that the smells emanating from the testers can be turned into a diagnostic toll. When clients
do not believe that the BART testers have detected some of the problem microbes then loosening the outer cap
on the Field tester and asking them to smell the odor usually validates the effectiveness of the BART tester!

Is the BART™ testers still OK to use if it has got frozen along the way to my test site?

If the BART tester is still sealed within the aluminum foil pouch then freezing will not affect the performance of
the tester. However repeated freezing can cause problems with the break up of the crystalline chemical medium in
the floor of the inner vial that can cause failure. It is recommended that the BART testers are not subjected
to any freezing.
FAQs

Is it better to load the BART™ testers in the field and then take then back for testing
or take the sample back and fill the BART™ testers where the tests are going to
be done?

Once the BART™ tester has been filled with the sample it is very important to keep the testers
o
upright (within 5 of vertical) and avoid vibration. This is to ensure that the different environments set up
quickly within the tester. Minor vibration or a gentle motion (such as at sea) does not appear to affect
the performance of the BART testers. If you are going to transport the water sample then let it come up (or
down) to room temperature as it is shipped (less than four hours). If shipping is going to be over four hours
then ship over ice. The answer then depends upon the local conditions but setting the sample up as quickly as
possible with no subsequent major disturbance of the tester is the prime concern.

What are the advantages of me doing BART™ tests when I could send the samples to
all labs?

If you want be to in control of bacterial problems then the sooner that you find out then the quicker you can
take action. BART testers give you the opportunity to keep right on top of the events without having to wait for a
laboratory to complete the tests and send you the results. Remember the laboratory can always confirm
(or deny) what you have found using the BART testers but the bottom line is that you are “in the trenches”
and you need to know quickly when there are incoming bacterial challenges. You will get familiar with the
reactions and time lags that means the water is not biofouled but you will also see when a problem is beginning to
emerge sometimes even before your instruments tell you.

Would a BART™ tester be economical to use compared to sending the sample to

a laboratory?

The savings are twofold. First you can set the test up straight away when the sample has been freshly
taken (shipping the sample to a laboratory takes time and the microbes in the sample would change in
their activity level during the shipping to create a compromised sample). Second you do not have to pay the
costs of shipping the sample to a laboratory or the laboratory fees for the testing. The costs are your time and the
cost of the BART tester itself. Remember that you have a concern with the results and want a confirmatory you
can either repeat the test yourself (preferably in duplicate) or you can send the test properly packaged to a
certified microbiology laboratory.

What is the sensitivity of the BART™ tester to detecting bacteria?

If you were to take a one liter water sample, the sensitivity of the tester would be to detect down to 67 bacteria
in that one liter of sample if it was all tested. For the BART tester, the limit of detection would be one cell in
15mL or 0.07 active cells per mL BART sensitivity is dependent upon the cells inside the sample being active. It
is these active cells that can present the greatest risk and that is one reason why the term “predicted active
cells” is used.

Is the 15mL of water sample used in the BART™ tester enough to get accurate results?

15ml is an odd number but through about five years of research in the 1980s it was found the smaller volumes
did not allow the various environments within the tester to get established (even when 10mL was used!) and so
that volume is the minimal volume to achieve repeatable and interpretable data.

What does p.a.c mean and how does it relate to colony forming units?

Time lags are converted by standard formulae to cell population numbers. Traditionally, the colony forming
units have been the standard because they relate to a count of individually growing colonies on an agar plate.
For the BART tests, the colonies are not counted because activity can be recorded as time lags. From this
the predicted active cells (p.a.c.) can be calculated which is similar to a colony count.
FAQs

What are heterotrophic bacteria?

Well let’s call them the “munchies” since they will feed off most sorts of organic food whether it is sugars,
fats, proteins or even DNA! They are the trash disposers for organic wastes, the degraders of the solvent and
fuel spills. They also come in two forms. One form loves to “munch” in the presence of oxygen and they are
called aerobes. They can be very efficient and remove a lot of organics quickly. In the HAB-BART™ tester they
generate an UP reaction. The other group of HAB bacteria does not like oxygen and are fermentors
often making lots of acids. They cause a DO reaction.

Define the UP and DO reactions for the HAB-BART™?

UP is for a reaction that begins in the base of the tester and moves up the tester. DO is a reaction that
starts commonly just below the ball. It sometimes takes a while to form but when it does then it will move
downwards.

How do you recognize the HAB-BART™ reaction?

When you start the tester, follow the instructions (protocol DBHSOP05 for fresh water and DBHSSOPO5
for brackish and salt water). The water sample will go blue. This is because the shaking during the
protocol saturated the tester with oxygen and the blue color is from the oxidized methylene blue used in the
tester. When bacteria have used up all of the oxygen in one part of the tester it blue disappears (as of
bleached). If this “bleaching” is first seen starting in the base of the tester then this is an UP reaction. Normally
this bleaching will move steadily up the tester to around the ball but there is almost always some methylene blue
left as a ring around the ball. In the DO reaction the bleaching begins just under the ball.

What do all of these IRB-BART™ reactions mean to me?

In waters that contain IRB then these reactions mean a lot not only through the time lags generated but by the
sequence in which the reactions occur. While the possible permutations appear endless there are some clear
trends that can tell you a lot about the water. These will be tackled in two ways: (1) what the
individual reactions mean as far as bacterial population make up are concerned; and (2) coding the reactions to
form a treatment strategy. Each of these aspects is addressed in the two tables below:

Table (1), interpretation of reaction patters and bacterial characterization

Reaction Descriptor Bacterial Characterization Sequence

WB White Base Carbonate producing bacteria. In treating Primary
such bacteria consideration should be
given to the use of acidic treatments to
break up these carbonate deposits.
CL Clouded (turbid) Aerobic IRB community growing in Secondary
oxidative or redox front conditions.
Treatment may require the use of a
penetrant as well as a biocide
FO Ring of foam bubbles Anaerobic IRB community generally deep Secondary
around ball set and much more difficult to treat.
Longer treatments able to break up the
biomass would be very important
BC Brown clouded Usually aerobic IRB that have an ability to Tertiary
accumulate very significant levels of iron
within the biomass which may require the
use of an iron sequestering agent as well
as biocidal penetrant.
FAQs

BR Brown ring around ball Very aerobic IRB found restricted to the Tertiary
redox front and able to cause radical
plugging which is commonly easier to treat
since the biomass is focused. Treatment
can be successful with a good penetrant
and biocide or acidic treatment
BG Brown gel Generally aerobic, these bacteria produce Tertiary
very thick slime mats that are rich in iron.
They generally take longer treatment times
to break the biomass down. Often
dominated by enteric bacteria.
GC Green clouded Commonly aerobic bacteria belonging to Tertiary
the pseudomonad bacteria. These bacteria
can produce large volumes of slime that can
be controlled by the application of
penetrants along with dropping the pH by
at least four pH units. It should be
recognized that it will take significant time
for a treatment to penetrate all of the slime
material.
RC Red clouded These bacteria can grow aerobically or Tertiary
anaerobically and so can penetrate deeper
into the biofouled regions. Treatments
have to be moiré vigorous involving pH
amendment, iron sequestering agents,
penetrants and biocides. Often dominated
by enteric bacteria.
BL Black liquid This is a mixed community of aerobes and Terminal
anaerobes including enteric and
pseudomonad bacteria. Treatment is
challenging because the biomass extends
right through the redox front making any
treatment more difficult. General
treatment should include of biocides,
penetrants, pH amendment by at least 4
units and consideration of a large than
usual treatment zone. Coliform testing is
recommended if there is a “safe” water
concern.

Note: Consideration should be given to the application of heat as a part of the treatment since this has the
double advantage of speeding up the chemistry and traumatizing the bacteria.

Table (2), Coding in a Treatment Strategy for the IRB-BART™ reactions

Reaction Descriptor Code Sequence

number
WB White Base 0 Primary
CL Clouded (turbid) 1 Secondary
FO Ring of foam bubbles 2 Secondary
around ball
BC Brown clouded 3 Tertiary
BR Brown ring around ball 4 Tertiary
BG Brown gel 5 Tertiary
GC Green clouded 6 Tertiary
 RC Red clouded 7 Tertiary
BL Black liquid 8 Terminal

Common reaction patterns may start with code 0, 1 or 2. It is rare for another reaction to occur first. Each of
these three codes reflects a specific challenge to treatment. For example code “0” means that there is a
high probability of carbonate involvement in the biofouling and that some acidic treatment may have to be
applied to break up the carbonates. If “0” has occurred than it is most likely to be followed by either a “1” or a “2”
and it is must be treated as a carbonate event as well the treatment associated with the second code. Code “1”
indicates that the biofouling is likely to be aerobic (oxidative) and growing closer to the sampling source.
Code “2” on the other hand indicates a reductive environment and the possibility that the biofouling is more
diffuse and difficult to treat. Treatment should be based for the IRB and the full code observed during the
testing period. Code “0” is an overriding code that indicates acidic treatments will be required to break up
the carbonates regardless of what other codes were entered. Some of the common code patterns and the
potential impact on treatment strategies are listed below:

Code stream Biocide Penetrant pH modification Physical

treatment
1-6 +++ +++ ++
1 - 3 - (4) +++ +++ +++
1 - 5 - 3 - (4) +++ +++ +++ +++
1-X-X-8 +++ +++ +++ +++
1-7 ++ +++ + +++
2 - 3 - (5) +++ +++ ++ ++
2-7 +++ +++ + ++
2-X-X-8 +++ +++ + +++

Note: () brackets indicate optional reaction, - X - X - indicates the intermediate reaction codes are not of
major significance compared to the terminal reaction 8 code; the + signs indicate the level that should be
placed on that form of treatment (+++, high intense, +, marginal importance).

What do the reaction patterns in an IRB-BART™ test mean?

This question is one of the most difficult because there are so many communities of iron related bacteria that
each has their own signature. In the IRB-BART™ tester, there is a sequence of reactions that can be used.
These are addressed below in the type of order in which they are likely to occur. Reactions occur in four
time intervals with the first reaction (primary when it occurs) happening within twelve hours while the
secondary, tertiary and terminal reactions occur in a sequence that relates to the type of bacteria that are
present and active. These reactions are listed in the table below in the sequence in which they can
commonly occur:

Reaction Descriptor Characteristics Sequence

WB White Base White crystalline deposit forms within the base of Primary
the tester in less than 12 hours. Indicates
biological formation of carbonates.
CL Clouded (turbid) Liquid in tester may turn yellow or green (not Secondary
significant for this reaction) and cloudiness
(turbidity) will be seen in the water when held up
to the light.
FO Ring of foam Gas bubbles on the walls of the tester should be Secondary
bubbles around ignored and an FO reaction only occurs when
ball there is a ring of bubbles forming a foam ring
around the ball.
BC Brown clouded Liquid in the tester generates a brown color Tertiary
throughout its length and the tester is too
clouded to allow objects to be clearly viewed
through the tester
FAQs

BR Brown ring Brown slime ring forms around the ball. Usually 2 Tertiary
around ball to 4mm thick and generally not reflective in light.
BG Brown gel Bottom quarter to a third of the tester becomes a Tertiary
brown gel with the liquid above being clear or
slightly yellow but not clouded. This reaction will
commonly move to BC.
GC Green clouded Liquid becomes universally green beginning with Tertiary
a light lime green and moving to a darker shade of
green with heavy clouding.
RC Red clouded Liquid becomes a distinct shade of red with the Tertiary
color intensifying and becoming clouded before
shifting commonly to a BC reaction.
BL Black liquid Liquid becomes blackened generally starting at Terminal
the bottom first and creeping up the walls of the
tester to the ball. When this happens the liquid
contents of the tester will appear to crystal clear if
the tester is tipped.

I get confused by the color reactions in the IRB-BART™. How do I decide the
best reaction?

IRB-BART™ has a number of reactions that can be confusing. That was one reason why we do not show
color reaction charts any more and reduced the number of reactions to the clear and more obvious ones.

There are two reactions for the SRB-BART™, what are they?

SRB stands for sulfate reducing bacteria and these bacteria are commonly associated with microbially
influenced corrosion events. There are two very clear reactions. One reaction occurs in the basal cone as
an expanding black ring. It begins to form commonly just around the spike in the base of the tester and
th
moves outwards. A positive is considered to have occurred when there is an intense black ring at least 3mm (1/8
inch) around the spike or a intense black patch of similar size elsewhere on the base. This is called a black base
(BB) reaction. The other reaction occurs on the lower side of the floating white ball. Here, small black granules
form in patches over this area and gradually become more numerous. The centers of these
granules have to be an intense black and they have to occupy greater than 5% of the lower hemisphere of the
ball. This is known as a black (at the) top reaction or BT. One or other reaction will occur first but if both occur
one after the other then the SRB-BART™ will gradually go black throughout the liquid. This is not a
recognized reaction but used to be known as the BA (black all) reaction.

Define the difference between the BB and BT reactions in the SRB-BART™?

BB reactions occur deep in the base of the tester and signify that the SRB are actually growing deeper in
the media, will be more difficult to treat. These SRB are growing at very deep reductive sites. BT reactions are
very different because the SRB are actually growing within aerobic biofilm growths where they are protected from
oxygen by the slimes while the other bacteria create suitable reductive conditions for their growth.
By comparison the BT reactions indicate that the SRB are very vulnerable to treatments and controls can be more
easily achieved than for the BB reactions.

What is the SLYM-BART™ and what does it detect?

SLYM-BART™ testers are among the most sensitive of the family of BART™ products. It is unusual for another
type of BART™ to go positive faster. The reason for this is that the tester contains chemical nutrients
that encourage the growth of bacteria that make biofilms (forms slimes). Because the tester is detecting
slimes, the reactions are less precise with cloudiness (CL) being the most characteristic reaction and other
FAQs

re actions more transient. A summary of the reactions are listed in the table below:

Reaction Reaction term Definition

CL Clouded Turbidity usually general with plate-like growths
occasionally occurring early on.
FO Foam around ball Foam rings occur occasionally and are normally short
lived
DG Dense gel This occurs when the clouding occurs only in one
region of the tester (near the bottom), the liquid
above is clear. Commonly this reaction is transient
turning rapidly to a CL
SR Slime ring White or light grey slime ring forms around the ball.
It often follows a DG or CL reaction.
TH Threads White or light grey slime threads interconnect the
ball to the base of the tester. They are commonly
transient and turn to a CL reaction.
BL Blackened liquid Walls of the tester become blackened with a coating
that commonly starts near the base of the tester
PB* Pale Blue A pale blue glowing zone appears around and for 5 to
10 mm below the ball. It will fluoresce in a UV
light (recommended to confirm the PB reaction)
GY** Greenish Yellow Commonly the upper third of the medium in the
tester will begin to develop a glowing greenish yellow
color. It will fluoresce in a UV light (recommended to
confirm the GY reaction)

Note: * indicates that the PB reaction will form between days 2 and 5 and will commonly persist for two to four
days and will then dissipate; ** indicates that the GY reaction will form in 1 to 3 days and persist for as long as
15 days.

What do the reactions in a SLYM-BART™ mean?

Reactions observed in the SLYM-BART™ do give an idea of the types of bacteria present in the sample.
Because the test is one of the more sensitive then these reactions can occur more quickly. A summary of
these interpretations is given in the table below:

Reaction Reaction term Bacterial types likely to be active

CL Clouded This reaction is caused by heterotrophic bacteria in only
50 to 70% of the lag times recorded for the HAB-
BART™. These bacteria can be either aerobic or
anaerobic and are not differentiated by this test
FO Foam around ball This reaction occurs rarely (<5% of the tests) and
indicates that the sample is reductive and anaerobic
fermentative bacteria are dominating
DG Dense gel Some bacteria that form very tight slimes / capsules
initially gel up the lower part of the medium. Its size
can shrink before it disperses. Commonly these are
capable of growing both aerobically and anaerobically
and can be associated with tight slime formation,
SR Slime ring Aerobic bacteria that produce slimes often will form a
plugging ring around the ball. SR are commonly seen
when severe slimes or plugging are occurring under
oxidative conditions
FAQs

TH Threads Only a few bacteria can produce slime threads (e.g.

Zoogloea, Alcaligines). Generally these thread-like
growths only last a few days and then disperse into a
CL reaction.
BL Blackened liquid This occurs when aerobic and total coliform bacteria
are both present in the water. Coliform testing is
recommended to determine whether there could be a
safe water issue.
PB* Pale Blue This reaction most commonly occurs in the presence
of aerobic bacteria which include the species
Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This bacteria does
present potential health risks to bathers and the
sample should be subjected to confirmation by a
certified microbiology laboratory
GY** Greenish Yellow This reaction most commonly occurs in the presence
of aerobic bacteria which include the species
Pseudomonas floutescens. This species is very
common in bioremediation sites and sites with
aerobic degradation of organics.
 Does the occurrence of bubbles on the walls and scattered under the ball have
any meaning?

Bubbles can be a menace in a BART test due to a number of reasons. These include: (1) oxygen coming out
of solution as a cold water sample warms up the room temperature; (2) covert gas production such as
carbon dioxide, methane and hydrogen by indigenous bacteria in the water that is not a part of the
recognized reactions; and (3) geomagnetic effects wherein packets of gas bubbles are seen to cluster on one
side of the tester. The only gas events recognized are those that occur when a gas foam ring forms around the
ball (common when anaerobic bacteria are present during an IRB-BART™ test as well as the DN-BART™ where it is
the crucial component in the test).

Can I test for total coliform bacteria in water using the T-COLI-BART™ system?

Yes you can. The test uses a patented detection method utilizing the fermentation gas produced in the sample. It
was developed from the most probable number method (MPN) of enumeration. There are some
major advantages over the MPN in that only a single tester is employed and the system includes an
incubator, computer controlled monitoring that ensures that the data is interpreted, a presence/ absence test
and the population is predicted (as predicted active coliform cells per 100mL, or p.a.c.c./100mL). The tester
has three levels of protection to protect the operator and the interpreted data, and graphs, are saved to create
an effective chain of custody.

What unusual places have the BART™ testers been used?

BART™ testers have been used extreme environments such as at depths of 10,000’ in the deep ocean, down
1,500’ in experimental mines, in icy conditions with the temperatures just above freezing and in brines
approaching saturation. They have also been used to detect bacteria in rain and snow and also in the gas
hydrates in the Gulf of Mexico. The robustness of the design extends the ability to detect the “undetectable!”