Starting a 20 Long Questions

[Steventomas]

I am getting ready to setup a 20 long LPS/Softy reef tank. So far i've collected most of the equipment i will need.

 

I will start getting shipments this week and hope to have water in the tank by this coming friday.

 

I am wondering what test kit everyone recommends for following the initial cycle. In the past i have used API test kits however they seem unreliable and i have always had a difficult time reading the results in the past.

 

I was thinking of maybe purchasing this Red Sea kit to get started. Recommendations?

 

Thanks everyone!

 

I am exciting to get back into reefing after taking a hiatus for school and retiring the old ten gallon.

[PDR]

I am getting ready to setup a 20 long LPS/Softy reef tank. So far i've collected most of the equipment i will need.

 

I will start getting shipments this week and hope to have water in the tank by this coming friday.

 

I am wondering what test kit everyone recommends for following the initial cycle. In the past i have used API test kits however they seem unreliable and i have always had a difficult time reading the results in the past.

 

I was thinking of maybe purchasing this Red Sea kit to get started. Recommendations?

 

Thanks everyone!

 

I am exciting to get back into reefing after taking a hiatus for school and retiring the old ten gallon.

 

I like the Red Sea kits for Alk, Ca, and Mg. and the hannah checker for phosphate.

[thehammer1985]

As for nitrates had just started using nyos new kits 3 weeks ago and I love it. I know some refers like to keep their nitrate under 1ppm and want to see decimal points (which there are not a huge variety off on this kit), but it perfoms flawlessly .5-20. The color reading comes with a black background and another vial to add water to and compare. I have yet to use a kit this easy to read in 5 years of reefing. Now for the kh mag and calcium I use salient and absolutely love them . I'm not gonna write a huge I love you paragraph on these bc as you will see most people also like these.

[yomon347]

I like Salifert test kits when I want an accurate test, or API just for a ball park test. I compared the API KH with the Salifert KH and found them to be very close. The API calcium is pretty close to Salifert in terms of accuracy as well based on my comparisons.

The API nitrate and phosphate are junk for reefing, I use them for my planted tanks only. Also, the API ammonia kit is pretty bad, I have to run two tests, one with freshly made salt and one from my cycling tank to even attempt to get a reading.

 

For cycling I like to use the API Nitrite test, its easy to read and quick to test, just to make sure the cycle is progressing. I usually cycle for atleast a month reguardless of what the tests show by adding frozen mysis cubes. Then keep feeding and adding a few hermits/snails once there is no more ammonia/nitrite.

 

I did not feel I needed the more accurate Salifert tests until about 8 months into my main tank, the API ones were fine until then. Sucks dropping $100 on test kits when you are first starting.

[markalot]

I like salifert using the red sea holders for alk, cal, and mag. Softie tank sounds nice, I would just do weekly 5 gallon changes and not worry about it.

[khuzdul]

IMHO, if you have it, then API works good enough for cycling unless there is a rush to stock the tank ASAP. Others may be better and be easier to read, but it's easy enough to tell 0 (or really darn close to 0) from not 0 with API.

[thehammer1985]

The api test kits are fine for cycling I'm I put too much money into my tanks to not justify a good test kit when you finally have live stock in there. Also you are keeping a living animal that should be treated the best if not for his sake than for the sake of having a beautiful tank. Slifer test kits are expensive but to me they've been amazing minus the nitrate test. The nyos is a new product and I'm glad I gave it a try.

[Steventomas]

Thanks for the responses everyone! I plan on practicing self control and letting the tank cycle for at least 3-4 weeks this time so I will the use the API kits just to get an indicator of how the cycle is going, then I'll probably end up buying salifert kits when I'm ready to start adding coral.