Current test kit thoughts

BRS
Jump to Last
Greenstarfish03

Greenstarfish03

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 23, 2019
Messages
269
Reaction score
137
Location
Michigan
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have been at this a long time and have used the same kits for a while. I don't like some of them and like others so I would like to know what others are using and what you like and don't like about them. I currently use Hanna for alk and phosphate and like both of them. I the hang for nitrates though. To me it takes lo long and is a pia. I use red sea fo
MG and ca and they are pretty good. I have the red sea combo for nitrate, ammonia, nitrite, ph etc. And I don't like it at all. It takes to long and for ph and nitrate it basically asks you to tell the difference between I definable close shades of the same color so to me it really doesn't tell me much. I'm looking for quick but good tests. I also run an icp every so often and it's good.
 
Reef. said:
You don’t really need ammonia or nitrite after the cycle, for calcium and mag salifert is very good and for ph API is very good.
Click to expand...
Yea good point ammonia and nitrite came in my red sea kit but in like 10 years I have never seen anything other then zero;)
 
Tidal Gardens
I like the Hanna alk however my salt states it is 8dkh whenever I test with the checker it always reads 8.7 on fresh salt mix so you have to take the error margin into consideration my salinity meter is also Hanna which is regularly calibrated so I assume my alk checker is .7 off which is within the margin of error stated by Hanna

35EF2873-5398-40EB-93DB-5243D877A713.jpeg
 
For the Hannah Nitrate checker, do you have the LR (Low Range) as I've heard that one is a pain to use. I absolutely love the High Range checker and it's extremely easy to use. It's basically the same process as the Phosphate ULR checker.

I've run the gamut on test kits and have found the following to the best for me.

Salinity - Milwaukee MA887 Digital Salinity Refractometer
pH - Salifert
Alkalinity - Hannah Checker
Calcium - Red Sea
Magnesium - Aquaforest (Salifert is also good.)
Nitrate - Hannah High Range Checker
Phosphate - Hannah ULR Checker
 
DE FISH said:
I like the Hanna alk however my salt states it is 8dkh whenever I test with the checker it always reads 8.7 on fresh salt mix so you have to take the error margin into consideration my salinity meter is also Hanna which is regularly calibrated so I assume my alk checker is .7 off which is within the margin of error stated by Hanna

35EF2873-5398-40EB-93DB-5243D877A713.jpeg
Click to expand...
That is interesting. I dind't think about the error on the alk tester by Hanna. For the most part I guess I don't care about a difference of .7 and I generaly am comparing my results relative to previous results and I'm looking for stability generaly. If I read 11dkh before then I'm mainly trying to stay at or near 11. I just don't want 11 to become 8 or 14, but if my 11 was really 11.7 and its always that way then things are generaly good. Sometimes if things are slowely drifting up or down then yes I may adjust my disomnga bit but that is about it. Unless of course soemthing abd happens:) One thing I have noticied w/ the hannah alk kit is that once the reagents expire you will start to see some drifting of results. I've always wondered if the expiration date was real or manufactured tos ell more product for some of these things and I can say I have proven w/ this kit that you need to replace the reagents when they expire. My ALK was drifting up and there was no reason for it and the tank looked fine. I adjusted and it kept going up so I ordered new reagenets and tested them side by side and the old kit was several points higher thent he new one. Thanks for the input. I always like seeing other people expereinces w/ these things.
 
www.dinkinsaquaticgardens.com
muzikalmatt said:
For the Hannah Nitrate checker, do you have the LR (Low Range) as I've heard that one is a pain to use. I absolutely love the High Range checker and it's extremely easy to use. It's basically the same process as the Phosphate ULR checker.

I've run the gamut on test kits and have found the following to the best for me.

Salinity - Milwaukee MA887 Digital Salinity Refractometer
pH - Salifert
Alkalinity - Hannah Checker
Calcium - Red Sea
Magnesium - Aquaforest (Salifert is also good.)
Nitrate - Hannah High Range Checker
Phosphate - Hannah ULR Checker
Click to expand...
I must have the LR kit b/c its sucks. I used it once and vowed I would never use it again. Speaking of that I should try to sell it b/c maybe some people are more patinet then I am. I just went out and looked and I dind't even realize their were two different kits. I clearly bought the wrong one. The high range would be more then sifficient for me. It looks like it will test from 0.0 to 75.0 w/ a resolution of .1. I defintely don't need to be more accurate then .1 and if it tests down to zero why would anyone need the LR. Thanks for pointing that out I dind't even realize their were two different kits. Thanks for the rest of the input as well.
 
I use the high range Hanna checker for nitrate, low range Hanna phosphate, and Hanna dkh. They are an absolute pleasure to use and I test more frequently because I have them. I use red sea calcium and I really like it.

I use searched iodine/iodide and I do not like it and the salifert potassium, which is fine.

NH4 and NO2 are tropic Marin and they are fine. I don't test them regularly though, only when setting up. A really important point is that high no2 will throw off most no3 tests.
 
Hanna for Alk
TM for PO4 - all liquid reagents and 4 min
NYOS for Nitrate - I can see yellow better than pink
pH - Apex (also really liked the PinPoint handheld battery model - but don't recommend dropping it into your sump - didn't really like that).
Salinity - Refractometer - not a big fan of the LED models
Temp - Apex but I check with a few others
Mg - AF
Ca - Red Sea (still using it up, might change, might not).

For any true titration - Mg/Ca I love the magnetic stirrer I bought a few months back. Really made a difference. Thought it was a tad gimmicky so delayed purchase. Just be careful were you keep that little white stir magnet. Almost lost it a few times until I got it's own bottle.
 
Greenstarfish03 said:
I must have the LR kit b/c its sucks. I used it once and vowed I would never use it again. Speaking of that I should try to sell it b/c maybe some people are more patinet then I am. I just went out and looked and I dind't even realize their were two different kits. I clearly bought the wrong one. The high range would be more then sifficient for me. It looks like it will test from 0.0 to 75.0 w/ a resolution of .1. I defintely don't need to be more accurate then .1 and if it tests down to zero why would anyone need the LR. Thanks for pointing that out I dind't even realize their were two different kits. Thanks for the rest of the input as well.
Click to expand...
The high range hasn’t been out that long, you might have only had the option of the low range at the time you bought yours.
 
Greenstarfish03 said:
I must have the LR kit b/c its sucks. I used it once and vowed I would never use it again. Speaking of that I should try to sell it b/c maybe some people are more patinet then I am. I just went out and looked and I dind't even realize their were two different kits. I clearly bought the wrong one. The high range would be more then sifficient for me. It looks like it will test from 0.0 to 75.0 w/ a resolution of .1. I defintely don't need to be more accurate then .1 and if it tests down to zero why would anyone need the LR. Thanks for pointing that out I dind't even realize their were two different kits. Thanks for the rest of the input as well.
Click to expand...
No problem at all! They released the LR version first and it seems only useful for people who run Ultra Low Nutrient tanks. That coupled with the cumbersome nature of the test and most people are not a fan. They released the HR version not long after and it's much better in my opinion. I highly recommend it.
 
Nutramar Foods
muzikalmatt said:
No problem at all! They released the LR version first and it seems only useful for people who run Ultra Low Nutrient tanks. That coupled with the cumbersome nature of the test and most people are not a fan. They released the HR version not long after and it's much better in my opinion. I highly recommend it.
Click to expand...
I'm just bummed I dropped the money on one I didn't need.
 
DE FISH said:
I’d just stick with salifert, nyos or Red Sea for nitrate
Click to expand...
I currently use red seal and I don't like it at all. I'm basicaly judging between 4 or 5 almost identicaly shades of pink so it seems somewhat useless to me unless its terribly off. Are the Salifert or nyos easier to disguish between levels and quicker b/c I think the red sea takes about 15 mins.
 
Avast
Calcium - Red Sea Pro and it works pretty well. Not really exact but good enough.
Magnesium - I use either Salifert or Aquaforest. I am not sure if these are all that accurate. But they are good enough for my purposes. I basically want to know if my Mg is too low and the tests do that fine.
ALK - I dose ALK so it is good to have a decent test. I use Red Sea Pro, Salifert and Hanna. As far as I can tell, they are all pretty equivalent.
Phosphate - I use Hanna ULR phosphorous. It is the most sensitive test on the market and I wish it was more sensitive,
Nitrate - I have not found a test I REALLY like. Red Sea Pro works pretty well especially at the low range. But it is all shades of pink and that can drive people nuts. And I understand that. I will have to look at the Hanna Nitrate HR. I heard BAD THINGS about the Hanna LR (do it once and NEVER AGAIN).
 
I find the colours on the salifert nitrate easy to tell apart. At very low levels like 0.2 - 0.5 it can be hard but if your at 1+ i find it fine.
 
Deltec
BRS

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%

  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%

  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%

  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
See comments…

New Posts

Deltec
World Wide Corals
Tidal Gardens
TCK Corals
Dinkins Aquatic Gardens
Top Shelf Aquatics
Nutramar Foods
Chewy.com
New Posts
Back
Top