test kit confusion?

[Goonter]

alright i tested with my API kit, i think it might be outdated.... however i cannot see an expiration date anywhere on it, can anyone point me in the right direction to find it? Saliferts and Hagans aren't expired.

 

Anyhow.

 

Nitrate: 20 ppm API

5 ppm Hagan (not expired until 2010)

 

Calcium: 460 API

380 Salifert

 

Alk: 10 API

10.3 Salifert

 

okay, so now i know all of these are different priced, i hear the sailfert is really accurate, but on the nitrate and calcium, which should i trust? This is really important because it lets me know if i am overfeeding or not (i have 2 anthias, soon to be 3, and man they eat A LOT). I usually feed them 2 times a day. So which is it? any help or advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Goonter]

bump

[sl-atl]

I don't use either of those brands, but a quick and dirty way to see if the test if off is to test some distilled or RO/DI water. If your API kit stll shows significant nitrates that's an indication that the regents have gone bad or were no good to begin with.

In general, "titration" type tests tend to be more accurate than the ones where you drop in reagent and look at the resultant color. Salifert has a great rep, but I use Seachem since it's a little less pricey. Most of their kits come with a reference test that let's you verify the kit is still working accurately.