Api master kit for the cycle?

[Notsolostfish]

I got hanna checkers for everythinf else i just wanna if api master kit for the cycle is good or i need something better.

 

[Gtinnel]

It’s not great but for a cycle it’s good enough IMO. Just be aware that ammonia will often show a small amount even once the cycle is complete and there is none present.

 

[Notsolostfish]

It’s not great but for a cycle it’s good enough IMO. Just be aware that ammonia will often show a small amount even once the cycle is complete and there is none present.

Ok whats better than api for the cycle

 

[Rmckoy]

I got hanna checkers for everythinf else i just wanna if api master kit for the cycle is good or i need something better.

Api is good for cycle . As when some of us started , that’s all that was available .
It will give you rough numbers or
To at least tell you ammonia is present .
nitrates are elevated etc .

I wouldn’t rely on their actual value for example their phosphate test goes
From 0 to .25 which is a huge range .
The ammonia test will most likely always tell you there is .5 -1 ppm

I’ve used their nitrate kit for years . The darker it was said nitrates were higher but the actual value was hard to tell

 

[Gtinnel]

Ok whats better than api for the cycle

Anything else is better but again for a cycle it’s fine. I keep an API master kit around so that I have it if I cycle a tank.

Actually once I saw your thread I just got mine out to check the cycle of a tank I setup a month or so ago.

 

[Notsolostfish]

Anything else is better but again for a cycle it’s fine. I keep an API master kit around so that I have it if I cycle a tank.

Actually once I saw your thread I just got mine out to check the cycle of a tank I setup a month or so ago.

Like i dont mind spending the money. What else do you really recommend? Just recommend me a kit.

 

[Gtinnel]

Like i dont mind spending the money. What else do you really recommend? Just recommend me a kit.

Assuming you have a better test kit for nitrate (I personally like the Hanna HR) then the only other tests you need for a cycle are ammonia and maybe nitrite. After the cycle you will likely never use either of them again.
If I had to pick for ammonia I’d say Red Sea (although you have to wait a long time before reading the results), for nitrite I would probably just stick with the API, but I’ve never used any other brand nitrite test so I can’t really give much of an opinion.

Again for a cycle I wouldn’t worry about getting better test kits. Spend the extra money on test kits that you will be using for the life of the tank not just the first few weeks.