Test Kits

[Dana19620]

Which brand magnesium test kit would you recommend for accuracy?

Also, which Alkalinity kit?

Just a note: I used the Red Sea alkalinity test that came with the tank I bought, but it was difficult to read and would say my alkalinity was on the low side, but the API KH test says I'm on the high side.

Again, thanks to everyone for all your help. You have been invaluable.

Dana

 

[SlowCobra]

Lamotte. Salifert use to be the gold standard but many people reporting issues with their test kits.

 

[Rizup]

I've got Elos kits. Very easy to use in my experience.

 

[ILLiDaN]

still lost on how to use my salifert kit, exact but its really all on you

 

[mystery_reef]

personally i wouldnt waste your money on a mg test. just get it done at the store or fellow reefers. i use api for CA and KH, easy and pretty accurate imo. good luck.

 

[skunkmere]

i like seachem, use them for everything, i also got tropic marin for alk for backup

 

[Mr. Thingdoer]

I use Salifert, especially for Nitrates and Calcium.

 

[lex211]

for akl I use sera one drop =1dkh you need 8 to 10 dkh you can see the color change really good

 

[lex211]

another tit bit when buying any test kit always check experaction date try to buy newer stuff it makes big differance!

 

[SlowCobra]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15412869#post15412869 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mystery_reef
personally i wouldnt waste your money on a mg test. just get it done at the store or fellow reefers. i use api for CA and KH, easy and pretty accurate imo. good luck.

This is just as important of a test as Ca and Alk.

 

[skunkmere]

seachem's mg kit also does alk

 

[unicospollos]

Now I use SERA its easy to use and cheap I use to use salifert expensive and difficult to use

 

[mario4254]

elos here

 

[jeninjohnk]

2nd slow cobra mg is IMPORTANT! i use lamotte for alk. had problems with salifert

 

[mystery_reef]

i never said it's not important. if you're using a good salt and establish a good level of mg, it's difficult to extract out of the water.

 

[Dana19620]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that mg is tied in with the PH and Alk, and the correct mg level helps keep everything stabilized.

Or, have I been doing waaaay too much reading?

Dana

 

[HighlandReef]

all your params are tied together in one way or another, best thing you can do is read up in this hobby when 1st starting up.
this hobby is expensive enuff already without killing stuff from avoidable mistakes
read up in the chemistry forum, randy did an awsome job on it

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=102605

 

[larder]

All reagent test kits are more or less equally inaccurate in my opinion. But there is a limit to how accurate you need the test to be, and most commercial kits will do.

If your tank is new and you're using a respectable brand of salt, it is almost impossible for your Mg to be out of range. If you keep adding alkalinity, but have trouble keeping above 7 dKH, there is a chance your Mg is low. This generally only happens after a tank ages.

The difference between high-end test kits and some of the low-end ones are literally in the packaging and marketing. I mean they use the exact same reagents. I bought a high-end Elos test kit recently and nearly laughed out loud when I saw their "precision calibrated dropper." It was the exact same dropper all the other tests had (except for Salifert, which is like a science project).

 

[Dana19620]

Since my tank is relatively new, I guess (I purchased a year old system from someone, but the water parameters were lousy), and I have not had any difficulties maintaining a stable PH and Alkalinity, use Instant Ocean Reef Crystals, and do 20-25% WC every other week, perhaps testing for Mg is a bit of overkill at the moment.

I was concerned about it because I was at someone's house the other day, and they told me that unless you monitor the Mg, Ph, and Alk, that your water will not be in proper balance.

Thanks for all the help.

Dana

 

[Mr. Thingdoer]

Sorry for the crappy quality post. I'm doing it from my phone. While I had the resources, I did an acuracy comparison for nitrate and calcium test kits. I had salifert. Api, and red sea. While I know the only real quality kit I had was the salifert, the api was off by 30+ppm for nitrates with 3 months left until expiration. The salifert was dead on for the most part. The red sea isn't even worth noting.