Ammonia test vs. Nitrate Test

[mxmarks]

I bought a 'reef test kit' when I started cycling my tank (with fully cured rock, which I was told by the LFS was fine).

It tests calcium, phosphates, nitrates and something that escapes me at the moment.

I realized the other day I didn't have an ammonia test kit, to see how the cycle is going. When I went to get the ammonia kit, I saw that it tests nitrates? So I didn't buy it.

Is my reef test kit's nitrate test sufficent enough to see if it's cycling properly?

[dileggi]

Originally posted by mxmarks
I bought a 'reef test kit' when I started cycling my tank (with fully cured rock, which I was told by the LFS was fine).

It tests calcium, phosphates, nitrates and something that escapes me at the moment.

I realized the other day I didn't have an ammonia test kit, to see how the cycle is going. When I went to get the ammonia kit, I saw that it tests nitrates? So I didn't buy it.

Is my reef test kit's nitrate test sufficent enough to see if it's cycling properly?

The other test is dKH.

The reef master kit and the saltwater master kit both test for nitrates, assuming it's an API kit? Both of my kits included that, which is fine, it's the same test.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

The primary thing you care about in cycling is that ammonia has disappeared since it is very toxic. Nitrate levels, regardless of what they are, will not show that.