Nitrate Test Kit Shoot out: NYOS Salifert RedSea API

[jason2459]

Thanks for the input. Since I really only target under 5 looking from above will be painless and good enough for me with the Salifert kit.


It's looking like I'm going to have two more rounds of tests coming up. I've acquired enough PO4 kits to do a PO4 kit shootout like this nitrate one. It'll be Hanna Low Range Phosphate checker, Hanna ULR checker, Salifert, Seachem, and Elos Pro. Against each other. Only one I don't have yet is the Elos Pro which I should have next week and the AWT kit which I was hoping to have today. I have the Triton kit in hand already.

Then I'll do the all out battle vs. AWT and Triton. Though I'll cut back on which tests I'll do based on which two PO4 and Nitrate kits I like better. I would be surprised if one of them isn't the Hanna ULR Checker but my preference was changed in regards to Nitrates so I'll keep an open mind.

It'll end up being

Cal: API, Salifert, AWT, Triton
Alk: API, Salifert, AWT
Mg: Salifert, RedSea Pro, AWT, Triton
Nitrates: Salifert, RedSea Pro, AWT
P: TBD, TBD, AWT, Triton

Then AWT tests vs Triton where they test for the same things.

Plus, all my probes (pH, Salinity, Temp, Orp) just because they are super quick and already mostly logged.

 

[hkgar]

What's your tolerance level for PO4? That may influence your choice. (As it did with nitrate).

I use the Hanna ULR as my tolerance is less than .02

 

[jason2459]

I target under .09. I find my system does best between .04-.08. I start getting under .03 and my Fiji leather complains as does my Duncan.

 

[jason2459]

My Duncan has always been a good PO4 indicator of either too high, too low, or drifting down to fast. It doesn't like any of those. If it's all closed up for a length of time I know now one of those scenarios is occurring.

Like the past few days my PO4 has been in a good range (.04-.08) for the duncan as its been looking. If it closes up for a longer then normal period of time its either because the PO4 has gone over .09 or its dropping again. I don't know why my system fluctuates so much but it does. I do feed a lot but I don't run any GFO or anything to rapidly remove PO4.

I went ahead and tested PO4 as I've done several times in the past to prove my theory and so far it's been accurate.

Tonight I tested 26 on the Hanna ULR Checker converting to .08

I believe my main phosphate exports are through carbon dosing and the skimmer along with harvesting algae. Currently running a Turbo ATS.

It's fighting a heavy fish population and very heavy feeding. Pellets fed 4x per day automatically. Meaty foods fed manually 2-3x a night. And a sheet of algae once a day.

So, either over the next couple days PO4 will increase slightly or drop. Either way my Duncan is not going to be happy. lol

Here it is tonight. I've lost count on how many heads it has. It's well over 20.

 

[jason2459]

And here it is. My yellow Fiji leather has been acting the same way since I got it. It's either doing its normal shedding or its getting ****ed off at the higher PO4. My guess is my PO4 has already climbed a bit with a feeding of meaty foods earlier tonight after I did that Hanna test. Last feeding of pellets just happened. And I'm about to feed some more meaty foods. Then my tank will decide to kick into gear and reduce those phosphates back down in the next day or so.

I'll test my PO4 levels again in about an hour.

 

[jason2459]

And before the lights went out my Duncan got mad. It normally does this after lights off but not before.

Looks like I'm catching not a peaking event going to high but the downward event that they also don't like. As I just took this measurement 10 minutes ago:

16ppb or .05ppm converted.

 

[swk]

Ime - the Elos professional po4 kit is the only one that was dead on with both triton and AWT results. I don't know why some people knock the AWT tests. Mine came back right in line with my triton results and if it's good enough for Richard Ross, it's good enough for me ;-)

 

[jason2459]

Ime - the Elos professional po4 kit is the only one that was dead on with both triton and AWT results. I don't know why some people knock the AWT tests. Mine came back right in line with my triton results and if it's good enough for Richard Ross, it's good enough for me ;-)

I believe it's mainly with how some of the tests are calculated or measured. Plus, with some past questionable results. I'm sure there's been many clean ones go out too. I've seen a few good reviews of the Elos Pro version. I haven't had any issues with consistency with the Hanna though I've heard of some people having issues. I know there have been some bad reagent batches out there as well.

We'll see another comparison soon enough. :thumbsup:

 

[atraperegrinus]

is there a reason lamotte isnt in the running here? i thought it was one of the better kits?

 

[jason2459]

For PO4 its not a high enough resolution.

0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 ppm

Testing Range0.0"“2.0 ppm PO43"“
Resolution0.2"“0.5 ppm

Typical target suggested is .03ppm

Hach I believe the best for something under $1000. But it is near $100 for the po-19 and near $500 for the colorimeter.

 

[jason2459]

I got all the test kits and return tubes for AWT and Triton in including a nyos PO4 kit to add to the above PO4 shootout.

I got some seachem Iodide and Kent strontium/molybdenum supplements to try and dose what Triton recommended before I do the all out test comparisons to see how the results come back after I dose what they recommend. Says a single 1 day dose of the Iodine and a split out dose over three days of the molybdenum.

I didn't find any Mo by itself locally but found the Kent as the closest thing. My strontium was slightly lower then the set point. So I imagine it will be either slightly higher or slightly deviating higher in the yellow. I don't think it will be detrimental at all to be in that range.

New threads to come...

 

[Reefer PT]

Thanks for doing these tests, very insightful. One word of caution with red sea is I have had 2 bottles of reagent A go bad on me. When that happens there is small black flecks in the solution. I thought it didn't matter much but seeing as there seems to be a reagent backorder I picked up the nyos test kit and my nitrates are very high (5) when the red sea kit was telling me about 1ppm. Just keep an eye on that reagent!

 

[jason2459]

Yep, every kit at some point another has and will experience bad reagents. Good tip on what look for.



Here's that PO4 kit shoot out
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2540702

 

[Buzz1329]

Another great post.

Agree with API review. But not sure color of result indicates 0. To me that's 0+.

Looking at your Salifert test, I realized how absolutely subjective these color kits are. Even from the side, you say .1-.25 tomayto, I say zed tomahto.

I have Red Sea N03 kit, but it looks like such a PITA that I have not tried it yet.

I have to disagree on NYOS kit. To me, API tells me if I'm between 0 and 5 ppm. Nyos narrows the range.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[C.Eymann]

Great review, I am about out of reagents on my salifert kit, I was curious about how redseas kit differed, being able to buy refill reagents is very attractive to me. I think I'm switching. This along with your P04 test kit shootout are excellent threads.
thanks!

 

[jason2459]

Another great post.

Agree with API review. But not sure color of result indicates 0. To me that's 0+.

Looking at your Salifert test, I realized how absolutely subjective these color kits are. Even from the side, you say .1-.25 tomayto, I say zed tomahto.

I have Red Sea N03 kit, but it looks like such a PITA that I have not tried it yet.

I have to disagree on NYOS kit. To me, API tells me if I'm between 0 and 5 ppm. Nyos narrows the range.

Thanks,

Mike

I'm not sure we disagree. We're just looking for a different range. I believe I did say I read 0 but also said I consider it undetectable. I know I don't have exactly 0.

Anytime a human is involved there will always be the influence of subjectivity. Some people are more extreme then others. Then with color matching there are those that it is impossible due to color blindness at various levels.

Nyos has the ability to have much higher resolution then API. I don't think we disagree there either. However, I found reading that range just about as difficult as Salifert. The Redsea kit was the easiest for me to see the difference in color at the high resolution. Those are just personal issues. Someone else might find it not as hard.

Great review, I am about out of reagents on my salifert kit, I was curious about how redseas kit differed, being able to buy refill reagents is very attractive to me. I think I'm switching. This along with your P04 test kit shootout are excellent threads.
thanks!

Thanks. If you're looking to track very low ranges I did find the redsea to be much easier. I think you'll be much happier with the redsea over the Salifert for that. But it is a more extensive testing procedure that takes longer. Not necessarily more difficult.

 

[d0ughb0y]

FWIW, I agree on cost and availability.
Likewise, it is easy to use, and accuracy of vial is not very critical.
For me, my target is 0, so accuracy becomes moot. its either 0 or it is not. And that is the easiest color to detect. No guessing involved. You got to be blind to not see a 0 color. This is what I get.

If my reading is not 0 (usually due to overfeeding), I double up on my water change frequency and in a month or so, the reading goes back to 0.

I have tried all testers, and eventually, went back to API for simplicity.

Guess I'll start off with API. It's definitely the cheapest @ ~$9-$15 depending on where you find it. Which is another plus for these. You can find API just about anywhere. I picked this one up and my LFS.

The biggest con for this kit is that it's not designed for ultra low ranges. Which for me is OK. I'm just looking to be bellow 5 and that's easy to see the difference between 0 and 5 on the color chart. At least for me it is.

Testing wise its also not the easiest as bottle two you really really really really really have to shake the snot out of it.

One other note brought up before is the accuracy of the vial. Well, its not accurate. Or at least I've never depended on it. I draw 5ml out with a syringe but it seems to line up pretty close when I've thought to look.

As for the results, they are just as I've always gotten.

I read that as undetectable or according to API as 0. In fact I don't ever remember having a nitrate problem. I've had plenty of PO4 problems and mainly from pukani dry rock leaching like mad for over a year before it was known that they do that. Only if I knew then what I knew now and lanthanum chloride would have been extremely helpful. But carbon dosing did wonders for me and I learned a lot.

 

[hkgar]

its either 0 or it is not.

Not really true. Depending on the +/- accuracy of the test kit a zero may actually 1 or 2. Thuis teh reason to determine the most accurate, or at least consistent, of the test kits. And, right or wrong, we all have our opinion. Me, I like and trust Red Sea Pro.

 

[d0ughb0y]

Not really true. Depending on the +/- accuracy of the test kit a zero may actually 1 or 2. Thuis teh reason to determine the most accurate, or at least consistent, of the test kits. And, right or wrong, we all have our opinion. Me, I like and trust Red Sea Pro.

I was referring to the color on the color chart. I only need to know the color is light yellow. I'm not concerned with fractional values. You can always test RODI water first to make sure 0 is 0. I used to be a test kit junkie and have tried them all, then I realized I am over complicating things and spending a lot of money.

 

[Rybren]

I used to only use the API test kit, but switched to Salifert last year when I set up my latest tank.

I find the test kit difficult to read, so now I get the opinions of my sons when doing a test. According to the Salifert test, Nitrates were always showing between 25 and 50. Although the tank never looked like the nitrates were that high - good coral growth, no algae in the DT, slow growing macros in the sump and slow growing algae on the ATS, I started to dose the DIY NOPOX.

Nitrates came down, but never lower than 25. This didn't make any sense to me, but then I came across the threads discussing issues with the Salifert color cards. My card is the one with the black lines. When I looked at some of the side by side images of the old cards and this new one, there certainly were some huge differences. I reached out to Habib to get a new card, but he has never responded to me.

I got a color app for my phone and found an old color card at the LFS, then I did a color comparison of the two cards. The app isn't perfect but here's what it showed:

First Number is the reading using the new card and the second is using the old card:

2 - 1.5
5 - 3.5
10 - 4
25 - 5
50 - 9/10
100 - 100

I then did a test of my tank water and compared the results using both cards. On the new card, the result was a bit pinker than 25. On the old card, the result was about 5. This matches the results that the app gave me pretty closely. It also more closely resembles what I see and would expect from my tank at this nitrate level.

A couple of days ago, I bought a Seachem Nitrate test kit just because it came with a reference sample.

Using the reference sample, which is supposed to be 10 mg/L, the Seachem test kit read a tad over 10 mg/L. Using the Salifert test kit, the reference sample read 50 ppm. I know that there is a difference between mg/L and ppm, but it is very small and wouldn't explain the difference in the test results. I had returned the old Salifert test card to the LFS, so I couldn't use it for this test, but it does match the results that I found above.

I then tested my tank water using both tests. The Seachem test showed 5 mg/L and the Salifert test showed a bit more than 25 ppm. Again, this result matches what I saw with the difference in test cards.

I just thought I'd share with the group.