hotdrop Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 Having looked through multiple forum posts here and in other places it seems like every manufacture has at least one test kit formulation that isnt super great and they occasionally get updated for either better or worse. Im curious what people here are currently using especially people who have gone the mix and match route. Quote Link to comment
Aquarium Care Center Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 In the shop we use a hanna spectrophotometer, it's extremely reliable and accurate. Our service team uses both Hanna Checkers and Red Sea test kits on the road, and we always have Salifert as a back up. I hope that doesn't over complicate things for you.. I will say that results are pretty much the same throughout all the the kits I listed, we don't really find any of these to be more accurate than the other - they're all great. Quote Link to comment
Coinee Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 I used API test kits but they are not that great for several reasons: The ammonia always reads above 0 ppm for no reason. The 5 ml marks on the test tubes are not actually 5 ml. One test tube has the line at 4.5 ml and another is at barely 4 ml. This leads to inconsistencies in testing. The less reagent left in the bottle, the more inaccurate they seem to get. I found the colours for certain things hard to read also. I started using Salifert and it seems to be more accurate and easier to use IMO. People also say good things about Red Sea's tests now. Quote Link to comment
Jeff Hood Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Red Sea for: calcium magneseum Ammonia Nitrite Nitrate pH Hanna checker: Alkalinity Low range phosphate copper refractometer from BRS. APEX for temp and PH probe temp calibrated from a ceriified thermometer from BRS. API for all my fresh water tanks. Quote Link to comment
DreC80 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Salifert for alk, mag, calc, nitrate Hanna for phosphate Refractometer API for ammonia, nitrite...but don't check those often anymore. Quote Link to comment
FISHnChix Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Api for ammonia and nitrate Redsea for alk and cal Salfert for Mag and phosphate Refracometer for salinity Quote Link to comment
Detritus Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 2 hours ago, Aquarium Care Center said: In the shop we use a hanna spectrophotometer, it's extremely reliable and accurate. Our service team uses both Hanna Checkers and Red Sea test kits on the road, and we always have Salifert as a back up. I hope that doesn't over complicate things for you.. I will say that results are pretty much the same throughout all the the kits I listed, we don't really find any of these to be more accurate than the other - they're all great. ^I would be interested in knowing what spectrophotometer you're using? Could you post a link possibly? Thank you for the help! -D Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 None of them are perfect. They all have issues, positive and negative reviews. I use Salifert or hanna for alk Salifert or red sea for ca and mag Api for ammonia and nitrate Quote Link to comment
Aquarium Care Center Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 1 hour ago, Detritus said: ^I would be interested in knowing what spectrophotometer you're using? Could you post a link possibly? Thank you for the help! -D Sure.. Hanna HI83303-01Aquaculture Photometer 1 Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.