can someone recommend a phosphate test kit brand?

mdvistnes

New member
I have heard online at RC that many test kits are notoriously inaccurate especially for measuring phosphate levels. Any brand recommendations please for a good test kit?
 
Excellent: Hach Colorimeter, $400

Excellent/Very Good: Hanna Colorimeter $200+

Very Good: D-D Rowa Merck Test Kit, $100

Good: Elos Test Kit, $28

Fair: Salifert Test Kit, $19
 
I use a Tropic Marin phosphate test kit and it works fine. Basically it tells me if I have phosphates. It is pretty accurate (I think). I dont really care if my phosphate is at .02 or .002. It's a less expensive kit.
 
I have heard online at RC that many test kits are notoriously inaccurate especially for measuring phosphate levels. Any brand recommendations please for a good test kit?

Instead of inaccurate test kits, I think that many people do not understand the principles involved, and then think kits are inaccurate when they may be perfectly fine. That does not mean that all are accurate, and some certainly may be, but I see no reason to think them worse than other complicated types of kits, such as nitrate.

The issue seems to be that folks know that algae needs phosphate, and when they have a huge algae problem they incorrectly assume there must be high levels of phosphate driving it. Yes, there must be a lot of phosphate available, but if algae sucks it up as fast as it is delivered from foods, the apparent concentration may always stay low or undetectable. That is exactly how macroalgae is supposed to work to reduce nutrients, and it also happens that is how problem microalgae works too.

The goal is to intercept the phosphate before the algae gets it, regardless of what levels you might detect with a kit, perfectly accurate or otherwise.

Also, some test kits do not read especially low in concentration. That does not make them inaccurate, it only makes then useless if monitoring very low levels of phosphate is your goal.

FWIW, in my testing the Hach phosphate kit (PO-19) is quite accurate down to about 0.03 ppm, below which it begins to be hard to accurately detect the color variation. :)
 
For the money, I have found the Salifert pretty darn good at detecting low levels of PO<sub>4</sub>.

I have trouble reading the Elos chart.

Maybe it's just me.
 
Hey, does anyone know of a good locomotive electrician? My train's lights have been shorting out! Thanks!
 
Salifert, everytime I've checked it with seawater 0.05 mg/l PO4 reference it's been perfect (even with the 10 ml sample size).
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14196682#post14196682 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Todd March
Excellent: Hach Colorimeter, $400

Excellent/Very Good: Hanna Colorimeter $200+

Very Good: D-D Rowa Merck Test Kit, $100

Good: Elos Test Kit, $28

Fair: Salifert Test Kit, $19
Thank for the break down Todd - good input. How's that Atlantic Cherry you picked up over the weekend?
 
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