Best nitrate test

[BluTang85]

hey guys, so I’m a big fan of Red Sea and have been using Red Sea for most of my testing. I’m curious if there’s something else that might work better or have better color differential.

 

[chinw76]

I love my nyos test kit, its simple and easy to read color chart. Check it out at Bulk Reef Supply.

 

[SPR1968]

I use the Red Sea Nitrate Pro version and its good although it takes 9 minutes. I have also had the standard one but prefer the Pro as its more accurate.

I didn't get on with the Salifert one as I found the scales just to wide, but i know some people like it and i think its a lot cheaper.

Ive read good things about the NYOS (and I love/have their NYOS 160 skimmer).

 

[BluTang85]

I use the Red Sea Nitrate Pro version and its good although it takes 9 minutes. I have also had the standard one but prefer the Pro as its more accurate.

I didn't get on with the Salifert one as I found the scales just to wide, but i know some people like it and i think its a lot cheaper.

Ive read good things about the NYOS (and I love/have their NYOS 160 skimmer).

Yea I dislike that it takes 9-10 minutes the Red Sea. I hear good things on the NYOS and that it has a wide scale with the colors. I had no idea NYOS made equipment, nice!

 

[SPR1968]

Yea I dislike that it takes 9-10 minutes the Red Sea. I hear good things on the NYOS and that it has a wide scale with the colors. I had no idea NYOS made equipment, nice!

Ive just had a look at the NYOS and i now remember the reason I didn't get it is was it has a wide scale like Salifert.

It goes 0 1 3 5 12 25 40 etc

Im in the 10-15ppm region so I wouldn't know if its 12 or 25 and there is a big difference. Hence i stayed with Red Sea Pro and use the 'high' scale with dilution which has gaps of around 4ppm were I am.

The kit itself looks good, but just not for my system requirements at the moment.

 

[Adele]

I use salifert. But being the “best” is subjective. There is still the color comparison process which can be a challenge but since I am looking for consistency, it does the job.

 

[RCS82]

I find the salifert kit real easy to use. You can look thru the side of the sample for a low range reading. I can always tell if I have something like 1 or 2 or 4 or 5 for a reading.

 

[Jstn]

I wish red sea made a high end kit, the dilution and wait time is annoying; I don't care if I am 0.75-4, I am more worried about the higher end difference.

 

[Bill_Moorman]

I second/third/tenth the Nyos kit. I have a hard time discerning color changes (I’m only 28!) but the Nyos kit is easy to read.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

If you have a Hanna ULR Phosphorus checker, you can use the reagents from a Red Sea nitrate test kit and test the nitrates with the Hanna checker. Here's a thread on that topic. I currently use a Salifert test kit, but I'm going to try this approach when the Salifert runs out.

 

[Bill_Moorman]

If you have a Hanna ULR Phosphorus checker, you can use the reagents from a Red Sea nitrate test kit and test the nitrates with the Hanna checker. Here's a thread on that topic. I currently use a Salifert test kit, but I'm going to try this approach when the Salifert runs out.

I got a few sentences down and this seems complicated.

 

[GoVols]

I find the salifert kit real easy to use. You can look thru the side of the sample for a low range reading. I can always tell if I have something like 1 or 2 or 4 or 5 for a reading.

+1

 

[mta_morrow]

I like the Red Sea pro.

While the 9 minute is ticking down, I do the Hanna phosphorus, which then takes 3 minutes, and the Hanna alk.

By the time the 9 minutes is done, I have the big 3 complete!

 

[fishbox]

I like the Red Sea pro.

While the 9 minute is ticking down, I do the Hanna phosphorus, which then takes 3 minutes, and the Hanna alk.

By the time the 9 minutes is done, I have the big 3 complete!

Exactly. I also use the Aquarium Note App to track my parameters as well as many other things. It has a really nice timer feature that you can set for each test that you do. This allows me to do all my tests really fast as it can do several timers at one time.

 

[PatW]

I use the Red Sea Pro. It has the lowest detectable range for nitrate tests of about .1 ppm or about half of the lowest value of .25 at their color chart. It is a color comparison test like all of the others. I have not used the Salifert test but that is what I would probably use otherwise.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I got a few sentences down and this seems complicated.

It's pretty straight-forward. The post is just a bit more detailed to explain how the work was done.

You'll need the Red Sea Nitrate Pro kit, a Hanna Phosphorus ULR Checker, a 0.2 to 0.4 micron syringe filter designed for acid (can be found on Amazon), and some accurate glassware to dilute the sample.

1. Take 10 mL of tank water and add 90 mL of RO/DI. You won't need all of this, but the increased quantity helps reduce measurement inaccuracy. If you wanted to add 1 mL tank water to 9 mL RO/DI, you could.
2. Add 10 mL of the dilution you made in step 1 to the Red Sea test vial.
3. Add 0.16 mL liquid Reagent 1 to the Red Sea test vial (can be done with 1 mL syringe).
4. Add 0.1 mL powder Reagent 3 to clean, empty Hanna vial (you can use the 0.05 mL red scoop for this)
5. Add 0.1 mL powder Reagent 2 to the Red Sea test vial. Shake vigorously for 1 minute.
6. Use a 0.2 or 0.4 micron syringe filter to filter the sample into the Hanna vial containing Reagent 3. Mix, then let sit for 9 minutes.
7. After the 9 minute wait, zero the Hanna Checker with an RO/DI blank.
8. Read the sample vial that sat for 9 minutes.
9. Add 0.117 to the result on the checker, then multiply by 0.0765. This is the final reading and represents the nitrate concentration in PPM.

 

[saltyhog]

If nitrate is below 2 I like Red Sea, if above 2 I like Salifert. Have and use both.

 

[BluTang85]

I like the Red Sea pro.

While the 9 minute is ticking down, I do the Hanna phosphorus, which then takes 3 minutes, and the Hanna alk.

By the time the 9 minutes is done, I have the big 3 complete!

This is true I usually always do the nitrate first so I can do the rest of my checking while waiting

 

[jasonrusso]

hey guys, so I’m a big fan of Red Sea and have been using Red Sea for most of my testing. I’m curious if there’s something else that might work better or have better color differential.

I have the red sea pro kit and the regular kit. My nitrate is over 4 (max on the pro) so I just use the regular red sea kit. I also have a salifert kit but it is pretty much the same.

 

[SPR1968]

I like the Red Sea pro.

While the 9 minute is ticking down, I do the Hanna phosphorus, which then takes 3 minutes, and the Hanna alk.

By the time the 9 minutes is done, I have the big 3 complete!

That’s exactly what I do! Lol

great minds........