Test kits

Ikaria

New member
Almost time to buy new test kits. So what brands are everybody using? and why?

I have been using the Red Sea kits with mixed results, but I think I'm gonna go with something else.

So............let me know!
 
seachem, but for calcium I am switching to salifert. Not saying the seachem isn't accurate, just very time consuming.
 
Does anyone have problems with determining nitrate readings with the salifert kit? I mean, which light should it be under when viewing the color chart ...bulb or sunlight? - LOL.

From what I can tell my Nitrates are undetectable, but due to the lighting where I test (on the bathroom sink directly under the strip of bulbs in the vanity fixture) it is hard to tell if I am seeing a shadow on the test vial. I end up checking it under different lighting in my house.

It would be nice if Salifert made a Nitrate test kit like the CA, ALK, etc..
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6981064#post6981064 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PelagicMagic
Salifert. Its lab grade. Its accurate.

Thats a rip off

any idea how accurate the rip off test is?;)

does salifert sell a set of tests instead of just the individual ones? like ph, nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia.
 
i think its only individual tests. some of those tests are not necessary. I don't test for nitrates, nitrites or ammonia. I only test alk/dkh,Ca, and ph. If a problem were to come up that didnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t show up on those tests I would buy a nitrate test but I use my torch lps as an indicator
 
but if I had a problem I couldnt figure out on other tests I would test phosphate. Its never come up. I also do 15 gallons a week WC
 
The test kits I use regularly are CA and Alk. I have a ph controller so I don't need a kit for that. I use to test Phos and Nitrate, but they were always undetectable. Phos and Nitrate were tested mainly when I had a cyano problem in my tank. Now that it's gone, I stick with CA and Alk. When I notice signs from certain corals then test my Nitrate, which is rare.

If you don't have kits for Phos and Nitrate maybe you can bring some water into the LFS and have them test it for you (no telling what kits they will use though). If you get a concerning reading then go ahead and buy the kits needed to monitor the problem while you try to correct it.

Once I went out and bought 9 of the salifert kits. Over time I figured out some reading were always good and it seemed a waste of money and time testing these. I would start with the basics.
 
Nikonosis, what ever you do not call Holland and tell Salifert how overpriced their test kits are. I know sometimes you suffer from diarrhea of the mouth.:)
 
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