Looking for a good test kit.
- Thread starter kwiker
- Start date
rkehockey16
New member
salifert ig very good
rkehockey16
New member
salifert is very good
PoukieBear
New member
You get what you pay for.
I say spend the extra few dollars and get yourself a Salifert test kit. If you ever have any questions/comments/concerns, you can always ask Habib for help in the Salifert Forums here on RC.
I say spend the extra few dollars and get yourself a Salifert test kit. If you ever have any questions/comments/concerns, you can always ask Habib for help in the Salifert Forums here on RC.
There are some tests that work very well and a cheap kit is just as good as an expensive one. Most nitrite and ammonia tests are basic and just about any old test will work. Mostly you need to decide if your need are qualitative of quantitative. Lab terms that basically mean do you need a positive or negative result (qualitative) or the actual amount (quantitative). More expensive kits usually give better quantitative resullts.
Some for instances:
Once your tank is set up, your going to want to check for ammonia once a week. You want to know if there is any ammonia (positive or negative) not how much. There should be none. So a cheap kit is fine as long as it works.
But, when you check calcium you need to know how much so you can decide if you should supplement. Cheap calcium kits are crap so your going to want to put out the necessary funds to get a good one.
About master test kits: Salifert master kit is just a collection of tests. They send you individual boxes of their test kits. So, its really not a kit at all. It is a very good test kit from a very good company, but it is expensive.
The master test kits you get from hagen, walmart, or petco are usually for fresh and salt and half the kits are crap for saltwater.
So my advice. get a small tackle box or small tool box and make your own.
Mike
Some for instances:
Once your tank is set up, your going to want to check for ammonia once a week. You want to know if there is any ammonia (positive or negative) not how much. There should be none. So a cheap kit is fine as long as it works.
But, when you check calcium you need to know how much so you can decide if you should supplement. Cheap calcium kits are crap so your going to want to put out the necessary funds to get a good one.
About master test kits: Salifert master kit is just a collection of tests. They send you individual boxes of their test kits. So, its really not a kit at all. It is a very good test kit from a very good company, but it is expensive.
The master test kits you get from hagen, walmart, or petco are usually for fresh and salt and half the kits are crap for saltwater.
So my advice. get a small tackle box or small tool box and make your own.
Mike
The reason for having individual test kits is that you won't necessarily run every test every time, and that saves you money---so you only replace the element of the test you use most. A Salifert kit lasts quite a while unless you're a daily tester. Most aren't. What you need for corals is: calcium, magnesium, and alkalinity. With those three, and a salinity tester, maybe a ph meter, you're set pretty well. Buy supplements only as they prove necessary: every tank is different. I recommend Salifert, myself.
