Jump to content
SaltCritters.com

Build your best test kit


stash98

Recommended Posts

My test kit is old. I need to get new stuff and see a lot of people here saying that they prefer one brand for one thing and one for another.

 

If you had to build a test kit today, what would you suggest? I have yet to see anyone buy into an all in one from any one kit provider.

Link to comment

This is what I use:

  • ammonia - API
  • nitrate - API
  • phosphate - Hanna ULR Phosphorus Checker (Salifert is acceptable)
  • alkalinity - Hanna Checker (Salifert is acceptable)
  • calcium - Salifert
  • magnesium - Salifert

Salifert is basically fine for all these tests.

Link to comment

This is what I use:

  • ammonia - API
  • nitrate - API
  • phosphate - Hanna ULR Phosphorus Checker (Salifert is acceptable)
  • alkalinity - Hanna Checker (Salifert is acceptable)
  • calcium - Salifert
  • magnesium - Salifert

Salifert is basically fine for all these tests.

 

 

Damn this gets expensive quick..lol.

Link to comment

The thing is, you only need ammonia and nitrate kits for the cycle. Once you add livestock, you need a phosphate kit.

 

After you get some stony corals and/or a lot of coralline algae, then you add calcium and alkalinity tests. You don't need a magnesium kit until you start dosing two part.

 

On a budget, get Salifert vs Hanna.

 

That list is roughly:

  • Ammonia $11.50
  • Nitrate $5.00
  • Phosphate $14.50
  • Alkalinity $13.25
  • Calcium $14.50
  • Magnesium $14.50
Link to comment

I use the Hanna Checker for alkalinity. It's the parameter I test most often, and the Hanna is the easiest test and most precise (for me).

 

I use the Hanna Checker for Phosphate (ULR) since my measurements tend to be too low for my crummy eyes to read a lot of the colorimetric tests.

 

I use Nyos tests for Calcium, Magnesium and Nitrate. I picked them up because I had a bad (old) batch of test kits and I wanted something a little premium that I could trust. The Nyos was on sale. I really like them, but they're definitely on the pricey side. Salifert works well, too, and for that matter, I'd trust Salifert for pretty much any parameter worth testing.

Link to comment

I have a Salifert phosphate kit and I don't like matching their colors. Got a Red Sea Algae Control kit for PO4 & NO3 but haven't used it yet.

 

Got a Seachem copper kit because it has a good level of accuracy. Only used it once but I sleep better at night.

 

Everything else is Red Sea. Their titration syringes tend to get stuck when adding drops but the test results seem reliable. And I would only use their "pro" tests. They give different results than their other kits.

 

Anyone have opinions on a good digital thermometer with min/max memory? I have a General AQ150 but I don't trust its readings.

Link to comment

Archived

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

  • Recommended Discussions

×
×
  • Create New...