Best cheap test kits

[Sexytang]

Looking for the best test kits for lowest price I’m looking at getting into the hobby and lost all my old test kids and wanting to go cheap

 

[blaxsun]

Salifert.

 

[Gtinnel]

Salifert.

I couldn’t agree more

This is the answer you’re looking for

 

[gbroadbridge]

Salifert, not only reasonably cheap, but also as accurate as you need.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hanna or salifert. Do not settle for less.
I have a hard time with the thought of buying and relying on a $20 test kit and risk losing $200-$300 of livestock due to false readings or non-user friendly use

 

[Tired]

Test kits are probably not a great place to cheap out. If there wasn't a good inexpensive option, you'd really want to go for good instead of inexpensive. Accurate testing equipment is one of the most important things you can get for this hobby, second only to things like "a tank that doesn't leak" and "a decent light".

 

[fishmonkey]

Looking for the best test kits for lowest price I’m looking at getting into the hobby and lost all my old test kids and wanting to go cheap

Hanna for alk, salifert for calcium and magnesium.

 

[MaxTremors]

Salifert for everything except phosphates, the best cheap kit for that is the Tropic Marin Pro. I do think it’s worth getting Hanna checkers for phosphate and nitrate though. They’re just so much easier to get a clear reading. They’re more expensive upfront, but cheaper in the long run (reagent refills are cheaper than new test kits).

 

[Biokabe]

Salifert is the closest approximation of cheap and good. Long-term, Hanna is the better bet.

This is generally not a hobby where going cheap is rewarded, unless you have the skills to DIY something that works as well as the commercial solutions.

 

[ZombieEngineer]

It may not be the cheapest, but I like hanna for ULR phosphate, HR nitrate, HR copper (for quarantine not checking display for copper), and ALK.

I prefer red sea for calcium and magnesium. The procedure is a little easier to be consistent and the overall cost per test is better (initial cost is a lot higher cause it's 100 tests. Refills are very cheap). The alk is nice too, but a little less accurate than the Hanna.

 

[gbroadbridge]

I prefer red sea for calcium and magnesium. The procedure is a little easier to be consistent and the overall cost per test is better (initial cost is a lot higher cause it's 100 tests. Refills are very cheap). The alk is nice too, but a little less accurate than the Hanna.

Why do you say the Hanna Checker is more accurate than the Red Sea Pro Test?

By their own specifications, the Red sea accuracy is +/- 0.15 dkh whilst the Hanna is +/- 0.4 dkH.
The Salifert is +/- 0.3dkH

 

[ZombieEngineer]

Why do you say the Hanna Checker is more accurate than the Red Sea Pro Test?

By their own specifications, the Red sea accuracy is +/- 0.15 dkh whilst the Hanna is +/- 0.4 dkH.
The Salifert is +/- 0.3dkH

Red sea accuracy is not 0.15 that is the precision per ml of titrant used. A single drop of the titration is about 3ml and its hard to accurately tell the end point. In the real world, your titration will vary 5-6 ml between tests of the exact same water sample. This is almost a 1dKH variation. The Hanna is much more consistent between readings like within 0.1 dKH usually, sometimes 0.2

 

[ZombieEngineer]

Red sea accuracy is not 0.15 that is the precision per ml of titrant used. A single drop of the titration is about 3ml and its hard to accurately tell the end point. In the real world, your titration will vary 5-6 ml between tests of the exact same water sample. This is almost a 1dKH variation. The Hanna is much more consistent between readings like within 0.1 dKH usually, sometimes 0.2