WTB Alkalinity and Calcium test kits
- Thread starter Timmayyy
- Start date
danreefman
New member
Aquatic collection and neptunes both carry Hanna checkers in stock.
Looking for something cheaper.
sfsuphysics
Active member
buy online?
API has cheap test kits that I would say are "good enough" considering your budget constraints
API has cheap test kits that I would say are "good enough" considering your budget constraints
gentledental4u
Member
what's your budget?
$20. I got the API saltwater master test kit instead of the API reef master. I could buy the reef master kit, but I really only need Calcium and Alkalinity.
gentledental4u
Member
That's good for one salifert test kit. my vote is for the alkalinity one. If you have a slightly bigger budget, then get the calcium test kit as well. Good luck and Happy Reefkeeping
D-Nak
Active member
What are you planning to have in your tank? If SPS, then alk and CA are a must.
And start thinking about the quality, accuracy, and ease of use of the test versus the price. BRS has a video series specifically discussing testing and test kits. Definitely a must watch. Here's one in the series:
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/video/view/can-you-trust-your-saltwater-test-kit-or-your-testing-skills-on-your-reef-tank-brstv-investigates/
And start thinking about the quality, accuracy, and ease of use of the test versus the price. BRS has a video series specifically discussing testing and test kits. Definitely a must watch. Here's one in the series:
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/video/view/can-you-trust-your-saltwater-test-kit-or-your-testing-skills-on-your-reef-tank-brstv-investigates/
Thanks, Hanna would have been the clear winner with the new version that includes a 1/10 ml pipette.
D-Nak
Active member
Hanna Alk checkers are really easy to use. I have the CA one as well, and it's definitely a PITA. I'm so glad that BRS did a review, as it helps me to decide which test kits to buy in the future.
Daddi0
Active member
Since you are not dosing and only doing water changes to keep your calcium and Alk. levels up, I would just purchase a KH test kit for now. Also, I would get rid of the lava rock and replace it with a good quality reef rock. Better to change the rocks before the corals begin to encrust.
Cheers! Mark
Cheers! Mark
Hey Mark! I definitely don't want anything encrusting on lava rock, especially now that I have encrusting Montis thanks to you
I got rid of the lava rock and put in some pieces of dry reef rock.The Reef Crystals salt I use has a high Calcium concentration around 500 ppm at 1.026 sg according to a video on BRS. If the Calcium test you ran came out to 380 ppm, my Calcium may be depleting a lot faster than I thought and I'll need to dose.
slow down turbo. you removed your existing lava rocks and put in dry reef rock? were they fully cured or you just threw it in?
if I recall, you have a 10g nano. personally I would keep up with the water changes as your replenishment. how often do you do your water changes? using ro/di? I wouldnt dose anything without having a test for it. sps corals ain't easy. I'd say go lps or softies until you get the hang of the hobby before investing more money.
BUT if you need more corals:
neptunes in San Jose $10 frags
aquatic collections in hayward $15 frags
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
if I recall, you have a 10g nano. personally I would keep up with the water changes as your replenishment. how often do you do your water changes? using ro/di? I wouldnt dose anything without having a test for it. sps corals ain't easy. I'd say go lps or softies until you get the hang of the hobby before investing more money.
BUT if you need more corals:
neptunes in San Jose $10 frags
aquatic collections in hayward $15 frags
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
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The rocks were already cured. I do 2 gallon water changes every week with distilled water from the grocery store. I plan on getting some test kits and gradually dosing till I figure out the daily dose needed to keep the parameters stable.
gentledental4u
Member
im a little worried about the distilled water from the grocery store. RODI is what I recommend.
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