Marine Test Kit

[fahadahmed]

What is a good marine test kit that will give me test for water quality i.e. nitrate, nitrite, amonia, PH, Ca, Phosphate and other esentials.

also, where to get it from and how much should I expect to pay for it.

Thanks.

 

[reefworm]

you'll get better quality from separate kits for each test rather than a combined kit. There are lots of good vendors out there. I'm a LaMotte and Salifert user myself, but you'll hear lots of others as well. peruse some of RC's sponsors to check prices, but it's not unusual to see price ranges of $15 to over $40 per box [most of which will do ~50 tests]. Ones you'll definitely want are ammonia, nitrite [esp. during initial cycle], nitrate, alkalinity/hardness, pH [although a meter is easier, more accurate and more $$ - around $100], calcium [esp. if its a reef tank], salinity/specific gravity [best measured with a refractometer - around $50] and phosphate. Some tests are more expensive due to more reagents, etc. The more expensive kits tend to have more durable vials and easier reads for the most part. keep checking your post as you'll likely get a variety of input.

 

[CarmieJo]

I use Salifert and SeaChem test kits. If you have a reef tank you should also test for Mg as low Mg levels can contribute to low Ca levels.

 

[orbit]

i used red sea max, instant ocean, LaMotte, and elos before

red sea is horrible IMO, but i do think its great for going through the cycle process,

after my cycle i used instant ocean, for anommia, nitaite, nitrate, ph, and alk, its pretty accuratei think

as for calcium right now im using LaMotte, i used instant ocean before and for me the calcium for instant ocean was not accurate, sometimes i have to double check because the result are weird,
i just started the lamotte test kit and i think its great

for mag i just started to test with elos, i think its a pretty good one as well

 

[camlov2]

Reefworm- You said that a PH meter is more accurate (of course) so I am looking into buying one. When I look online I see two types of meters, one is PH, and the other is PH and ORP. I have never read about ORP on this site so I will guess that this is not something we need to test, is this correct?

Brian

 

[reefworm]

correct - Oxidation Reduction Potential is not something you really need to test. I use the Pinpoint meter with great results:
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...OD&Product_Code=PIN-PH&Category_Code=Pinpoint

make sure you order some extra calibration/storage fluids while you're at it. [ I store in 4.0 and use 7.0/10.0 to calibrate]