master test kits

[Mojorizn]

Once your initial cycle is over (that is if you have one and can be verified by 0 Amm / 0 Trite and close to 0 trate after a WC if your lucky ) requiring a simple test kit say from API...

 

Then get the better kit based upon your goals and stocking list.

 

I use API for KH and Cal since I have it handy and Salifert for MG.

 

Once the API runs out, I'll switch.

 

best-o-luck

[jeff@zina.com]

(depending on what you're testing - an exact number for magnesium is a lot less significant than an exact number for ammonia, for instance)

 

Except if my exact number from ammonia is less than the last one, which was less than the one before it, I may not need to react the same way I would if the opposite, rising, trend was true. A single number only indicates the system at the time the measurement was taken.

 

Granted, this assumes a process in relative stability. If I do a water change on an existing, stable, system and then show ammonia over .5, then I need to examine the situation now and, most likely, react right now. But then, that's only an issue if the ammonia was close to zero before. It could be I'm just cycling.

 

Jeff

 

 

Once the API runs out, I'll switch.

 

That's another good point. Since most of the test kit "sets" have individual tests run out at different times, buy the replacements as better regarded kits. Those will be the ones you use most anyway. Watch expiration dates and occasionally take a sample to the LFS for comparison.

 

Jeff

[lakshwadeep]

I have no proof other than my personal experiences and preferences. Salifert test kits when tested using seawater are dead on. I can't say the same for API.

 

If the person uses cured rock, they may not eve have a cycle...

 

Watching a "cycle" is only a good idea if your starting with uncured or base rock.

 

What did you compare the Salifert tests with so that you could say they are "dead on"? Themselves? Like I asked before, is it accuracy or precision that is the issue with the API kits? To prove something is accurate, you need to compare it to something that has a higher accuracy or use calibration standards that have a known concentration. Precision can be measured by doing repeated readings.

 

You didn't mention cured/uncured before, and using cured rock as a reason for not testing is no different than saying to "wait a week or two".

[AZDesertRat]

Regardless of the numbers, I find Salifert easier to decipher, the colors are much easier to detect than the subtle color changes with the API. Not only that but they are more sensitive too so are more accurate at lower ranges. I like being able to tell the difference between 0 and 1 instead of 0 and 10 etc.

[youngerd]

Wow, some good info here. My tank is cycling right now, and the API kit seems to give consistant results so far (as in I keep getting consistant results). But I agree that sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between subtle colors, so I will try Saliferts next. Then I will decide which to keep.