Jump to content
Top Shelf Aquatics

Basic mutli test kit


Hig789

Recommended Posts

I am in the process of getting everything together to setup my 15 gallon all in one. I will probably only be keeping one fish, zoos, shrooms, and a few LPS. Will be running a skimmer and probably live rock rubble instead of bio balls in the rear chamber. Also will be doing weekly water changes . I was looking at the SeaChem basic multi test kit and the calcium kit since that what I used on my 90g I broke down a few years ago.

 

Are these still good kits or should I look at something else?

Link to comment

Salifert, Elos, Nyos.

+1

 

I would steer clear from the seachem kit. I used that for a while and didn't realize that it was giving me false readings. The ammonia part of the kit is garbage and I don't think it ever really worked for me. The nitrate was giving me false 0's for a long time before I realized :angry: . Now its all salifert for me, but I have also heard good things about elos and nyos.

Link to comment

Honestly its up to you. A lot of people will recommend that you get ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph as a starting point so that you can test through your cycle. Once your cycle is done, you really will not need the ammonia or nitrite, as these should not show up unless the tank re-cycles for some reason. A lot of people will also tell you it is not necessary to do this and to just watch the tank to tell when the cycle is complete. You will notice a bloom of diatoms at the tail end of the cycle. If this is your first time cycling a tank, I would lean more toward recommending getting them, though, so you can be 100% sure before starting to add livestock.

 

The only other test you might want to do would be phosphate, but that is not necessary to test until after the cycle. For phosphate I would suggest getting a Hanna Meter, as they seem to be the most accurate.

 

Other than that, I would bother with anything else. You really do not need to check calcium, alkalinity, or magnessium unless you end up adding a lot of LPS, or start getting into SPS.

Link to comment

Honestly its up to you. A lot of people will recommend that you get ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph as a starting point so that you can test through your cycle. Once your cycle is done, you really will not need the ammonia or nitrite, as these should not show up unless the tank re-cycles for some reason. A lot of people will also tell you it is not necessary to do this and to just watch the tank to tell when the cycle is complete. You will notice a bloom of diatoms at the tail end of the cycle. If this is your first time cycling a tank, I would lean more toward recommending getting them, though, so you can be 100% sure before starting to add livestock.

 

The only other test you might want to do would be phosphate, but that is not necessary to test until after the cycle. For phosphate I would suggest getting a Hanna Meter, as they seem to be the most accurate.

 

Other than that, I would bother with anything else. You really do not need to check calcium, alkalinity, or magnessium unless you end up adding a lot of LPS, or start getting into SPS.

I have had 3 tanks in the past. First a 29g, then a 55, then a 90. The 29 went through a full cycle but everything else was a short cycle I guess. Just added to what I already had with fully cured rock. For now I'll just hold off on them then, I know what to look for when cycling but it's been quit a few years since I did it. I'll just take a sample to our LFS before I add anything and get them to test it to be sure. I'll check out the Hanna meter. Looks a whole lot simpler than a test too.

 

Also eventually I am going to mix my own salt but I'm not sure what our LFS uses. I believe it's reef crystals but I'm not positive. Is this a good salt or should I just start mixing my own from the beginning with another brand. I'd be getting RO from the LFS though, since the water changes and too offs will be so small, would it be okay for 5 gal of RO to sit in a sealed bucket until I use it all? I was used to going and getting enough for my full change and using up my topoff water fairly quickly.

Link to comment

IO salt is a good brand that a lot of people use. I personally use Red Sea salt, specifically the blue bucket. I use the blue bucket because I am targeting very specific parameters(mostly for SPS). You could get away with using their coral pro if you wanted to.

 

If you are going to get RODI from the LFS, I would suggest investing in a handheld TDS meter to make sure they are supplying you with quality water. The RODI will be fine just sitting in a clean bucket. I keep about 25 gallons on hand in a brute trash can that my RODI unit automatically fills whenever I use any. Once the water is mixed, I wouldn't suggest letting it sit around too long before using it, and definitely run a small power head to keep it moving or it will start to smell funky after a couple days.

 

Here is a link to the TDS meter I would suggest using:

http://www.amazon.com/HM-Digital-TDS-3-Handheld-Carrying/dp/B000VTQM70/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1432741946&sr=8-6&keywords=tds+meter

Link to comment

I'm not sure you need particularly fancy kits for ammonia or nitrite, at least for cycling purposes. Go ahead and get a decent one for nitrate, since you'll keep monitoring that, but as long as you can add pure ammonia to the tank and test for a concentration of about 1-2ppm daily, then eventually get consistent 0s for ammonia and nitrite, you should be good. All you need to monitor is the presence and lack thereof, then a general idea of how high an ammonia concentration your tank can handle (bioload).

 

For calcium, alk, magnesium, I'd say Salifert and the others that Ben recommended. Actually, I'd say Red Sea just for the tube holder and then using Salifert once you have the equipment, but that's me.

 

Definitely get something precise and accurate for phosphate, like a digital test kit.

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recommended Discussions

×
×
  • Create New...