Best magnesium test kit?

[thatindonesianreefer]

Hi
I have a red sea magnesium pro test kit as of right now but i’m not that happy with the results.
They seem inconsistent and not that accurate. I plan on switching the kit with another brand (maybe salifert) but still don’t know which is the best. What do you guys use?

 

[DIYreefer]

I've used salifert for years and it seems get the job done.

 

[thatindonesianreefer]

Is it ok for me to use red sea’s equipment (vial syringe and the syringe holder thing) insted of the saliferts?

 

[Semper.Reefing]

I second the salifert! Easy and straight forward

 

[Semper.Reefing]

Is it ok for me to use red sea’s equipment (vial syringe and the syringe holder thing) insted of the saliferts?

The salifert test kit will come with a vial and syringe of its own.

 

[Seansea]

Salifert is great. Their directions say go until it turns grey or blue but go until ts blue. I have matched it up with my icp and it's right on

 

[adamg77]

I like hana

 

[thatindonesianreefer]

The salifert test kit will come with a vial and syringe of its own.

Yes but is it ok if i switch it with red sea’s? The reason is beacuse red sea’s equipment from what i know is higher quality.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Hi
I have a red sea magnesium pro test kit as of right now but i’m not that happy with the results.
They seem inconsistent and not that accurate. I plan on switching the kit with another brand (maybe salifert) but still don’t know which is the best. What do you guys use?

The best test is an ICP-MS

None of the hobby kits are worthwhile and you are better off not testing at all.
Basing dosing on data given by any hobby test kit is likely to cause more problems than it solves.

Just say NO to magnesium testing: RMM is born

OK, this thread has been many years in the making, and I'm posting it here since folks in the chem forum are probably already tired of all the threads relating to problematic magnesium testing. I'm going to propose a method, let's call it the Randy Magnesium Method, or RMM for short. All good...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[thatindonesianreefer]

Also what nitrate test kits do you guys use?

 

[Semper.Reefing]

Yes but is it ok if i switch it with red sea’s? The reason is beacuse red sea’s equipment from what i know is higher quality.

I’d recommend just using what they give you in the provided kit and follow the instructions for best results.

 

[thatindonesianreefer]

I’d recommend just using what they give you in the provided kit and follow the instructions for best results.

Thanks

 

[thatindonesianreefer]

I’d recommend just using what they give you in the provided kit and follow the instructions for best results.

Also what kind of nitrate test kit do you use?

 

[UMALUM]

The best test is an ICP-MS

None of the hobby kits are worthwhile and you are better off not testing at all.
Basing dosing on data given by any hobby test kit is likely to cause more problems than it solves.

Just say NO to magnesium testing: RMM is born

OK, this thread has been many years in the making, and I'm posting it here since folks in the chem forum are probably already tired of all the threads relating to problematic magnesium testing. I'm going to propose a method, let's call it the Randy Magnesium Method, or RMM for short. All good...

www.reef2reef.com

Randy's ideas sound good in a perfect world till you get a bad bucket of salt and wake up to 700 mag. Then you can't figure out what the heck is going on because the RMM method says not to test. Hmm. Great idea

Salifert works just fine for magnesium.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Randy's ideas sound good in a perfect world till you get a bad bucket of salt and wake up to 700 mag. Then you can't figure out what the heck is going on because the RMM method says not to test. Hmm. Great idea

Salifert works just fine for magnesium.

Randy's works well in the real world, because the likelihood of receiving a 'bad bucket' is much lower than the likelihood of getting a bad test result even with a good test kit.

Salifert works just fine if you're happy with a kit accurate to about +/-200 ppm.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Also what nitrate test kits do you guys use?

Salifert is simple and easy to use!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Hi
I have a red sea magnesium pro test kit as of right now but i’m not that happy with the results.
They seem inconsistent and not that accurate. I plan on switching the kit with another brand (maybe salifert) but still don’t know which is the best. What do you guys use?

Best method: no test at all.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Randy's ideas sound good in a perfect world till you get a bad bucket of salt and wake up to 700 mag. Then you can't figure out what the heck is going on because the RMM method says not to test. Hmm. Great idea

Salifert works just fine for magnesium.

I don’t agree.

IMO, most cases of 700 ppm magnesium are test error that get “fixed”, pushing a real 1300 ppm to 1900 ppm.

I think testing magnesium to avoid a bad batch is more likely to cause problems than avoid them.

 

[UMALUM]

I don’t agree.

IMO, most cases of 700 ppm magnesium are test error that get “fixed”, pushing a real 1300 ppm to 1900 ppm.

I think testing magnesium to avoid a bad batch is more likely to cause problems than avoid them.

Like I said " in a perfect world " as we are all aware isn't the case your plan sounds great.
I have 2 buckets of reef crystals mixing in the low 9s and one mixing at 1350 all confirmed by spectrum. So when I test a bucket at 920 and spectrum gets 960 out of it I'm gonna venture to say salifert was close enough. Instant ocean is not the only manufacturer who has been having consistency issues lately especially with magnesium which I think is the most expensive ingredient but could be mistaken.

 

[UMALUM]

Randy's works well in the real world, because the likelihood of receiving a 'bad bucket' is much lower than the likelihood of getting a bad test result even with a good test kit.

Salifert works just fine if you're happy with a kit accurate to about +/-200 ppm.

Randy can speak for himself, I never knew him to need a secretary.