test kits?

[Joe0813]

I know I just posted a thread, buuut my tank is just about ready to put water in it. So what kind of test kits does everyone use and what type of refractometers.

[baja_driver]

salifert for test kits

[jamesbaur13]

For starting out I'd use API Saltwater Master Test Kit and a refractometer from Bulk Reef Supply

The test kit is cheap and are good enough for starting out. There's no sense in wasting your money on accurate kits when starting up a tank. If you need the accuracy for the species you are stocking, you are stocking the wrong species at this point.

When those are used up then I'd start looking at the salifert kits.

[baja_driver]

Why not start out with good test kits so you can have you tank running right the whole time. Not just when you decide you want new stuff. Just do it right from the beginning avoid hassle later

[jamesbaur13]

Originally Posted by baja_driver

Why not start out with good test kits so you can have you tank running right the whole time

My point is with it being new it isn't going to be a suitable environment for sensitive species irregardless of what test kit is being used.

Keep in mind, test kits do get used up and don't last forever. The API is going to run $20 to test 4 parameters, the Salifert is going to cost $70 to test those same parameters.

I own both API and Salifert kits, my readings are very close between the 2. The only real advantage the Salifert has over the API with 3 of the 4 tests is that they have a greater resolution than the API. The PH test has no advantage over the API.

[sponger0]

I use API for pH, ammonia, nitrites and nitratesand has worked fine on both my tanks.

But for calcium, magnesium, alk, and phosphates I would go with Red Sea, Salifert, or Hanna Checkers. My favorite are Hanna Checkers though

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Two kit types to avoid (IMO): pH kits (meters are much better, even cheap ones) and nitrite, which is almost never worth bothering to measure in a reef tank.

[doctorgori]

I was thinking the same thing...I haven't used a color chart for pH in years...
...only caveat being those Red Hanna pens aren't very forgiving if you let the electrode dry out (supposedly there is a procedure for recovering one)

....I own the Red Sea Magnesium and am generally pleased ...I've personally witnessed their 3-in-1 (mg,ca,alk) and it seems similarly easy/accurate....

...I do have the Hanna Checkers...the 713 is sorta skimp on the packets on the 1st time buy, but the test is easy
...but IMO the Hanna Ca is a lil tougher to use (for me at least) to dole out the required .1ml sample size; seems too small an amount for the user to accuratley dispense or rather real easy to screw up ...

[Joe0813]

Thanks everyone for the input

[Chris27]

Most hobby grade test kits are about the same when it comes to accuracy, that said, Salifert or Elos is really no more accurate then API. The difference in price is typically associated with precision....the more precise the measurement....the more expensive it is. Take for example the shiny Cadillac of a colorometer available from Hanna for $250, it's precise, accurate, and designed with quality components and it's far easier to measure phosphate with it then a $20 liquid kit. The point is, you pay for precision, and pay even more for accuracy.

For example, an API calcium kit is $10 and measures in intervals of 20ppm, whereas a Salifert Ca kit is $30 and measures in intervals of 10ppm. Neither is more accurate then the other, one is just better for pinpointing a specific measurement.

When it comes to hobby kits, they are cheap, and therefor carry with them the chance of error during testing. If companies like API and Salifert were to sell us a kit that is guaranteed to be without error, they certainly wouldn't be a mere $30, they would be much more expensive.

When it comes to these tanks of ours, it's generally accepted to strive for stability rather then a pinpoint measurement, so if you measure alk at 9 dKH with a cheap kit day in and day out, it's really no more beneficial to measure the Alk at 8.7 or 9.3 with an expensive kit.

[Joe0813]

Oh I have no problem spending the money on my tank or buying quality equipment. So I think I'll get the salifert

[BassandReef]

I like the API test kits. they have great customer service as well.

[f3honda4me]

Suggestions on a decent PH meter?

[crashwl21]

i like api tests also

[tfrechette]

Didn't like Salifert. Instructions are a folded piece of paper. I know I at least had a problem reading their phosphate test. Too many shades of pink. I'm pretty sure I had trouble reading other of their kits.

Using API for the basics; Red Sea for ALK/CA/Mg; Hanna Checker for phosphate. I heard Red Sea was coming out with basic kit next month.

[rich19020]

I got my first tank just last May and I started with the API. Now I use the following Salifert for most of everything. I also have some RedSea but don't recommend them until you get confortable with the testing.

I would invest in a digital PH monitor.