HELP! Which test kits?

curiel909 · Aug 8, 2019

Good day everyone!

As mentioned in the title, i need help with choosing which test kit you recommend for a reef tank. At the moment i have a TDS meter, refractometer and an API Saltwater Master test kit that has maybe 4-5 more tests left (friend gave me it to me).

The tank has been setup for 6 days.

My parameters are as followed from my ,most recent tests.

8/5/19
pH 8.4
Ammonia 0.25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 40
Salinity 1.024

8/6/19
pH 8.2
Ammonia 0.25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 80
Salinity 1.023

8/7/19
pH 8.2
Ammonia 0.50
Nitrite 0.50
Nitrate 40
Salinity 1.022

I am thinking of buying this kit off Amazon;
What test kits are you using? How effective are the results?

Thanks!

Brew12 · Aug 8, 2019

curiel909 said:
Good day everyone!

As mentioned in the title, i need help with choosing which test kit you recommend for a reef tank. At the moment i have a TDS meter, refractometer and an API Saltwater Master test kit that has maybe 4-5 more tests left (friend gave me it to me).

The tank has been setup for 6 days.

My parameters are as followed from my ,most recent tests.

8/5/19
pH 8.4
Ammonia 0.25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 40
Salinity 1.024

8/6/19
pH 8.2
Ammonia 0.25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 80
Salinity 1.023

8/7/19
pH 8.2
Ammonia 0.50
Nitrite 0.50
Nitrate 40
Salinity 1.022

I am thinking of buying this kit off Amazon;
What test kits are you using? How effective are the results?

Thanks!

That's a pretty complete grouping and not a bad way to go.

Hobby level testing isn't going to be incredibly accurate. The most accurate devices we have are the Hanna checkers, but they are a bit pricey and not the quickest to use. Fortunately, accuracy doesn't matter too much for most reefers.

I highly recommend trying out different test sets to see which ones work for you. Starting with all Saliferts isn't a bad idea, but when when you start getting low, try a different brand and see how it goes for you.

Here is what I use.
Alk: Hanna
Calc: RedSea
Mg: Salifert
No3: API
PO4: Hanna
I: Salifert
Fe: RedSea

I use the Hanna for Alk and PO4 for the accuracy. The rest are pretty much what are the easiest for me to read and use and get repeatable results.

reacclimating 2 the hobby · Aug 8, 2019

Salifert unless you want to buy hanna for po4, alk, cal...

W1ngz · Aug 8, 2019

I'd suggest getting aquaforest kits for nitrate, Alk, Calcium and Magnesium. They're cheap, and come with standard samples so you can make sure you're doing things correctly. At this stage, learning to test properly is way more important than what the water parameters are.

The Salifert ammonia test kit will do a much better job than the API.
Don't bother with nitrite at all, and honestly, just skip the liquid tests for phosphate.

Get some refractometer calibration solution also, to help make sure your salinity is accurate. If salinity is wrong, everything else will be skewed.

Later on you can spend the extra to get the Hanna digital meters for alk and phosphate.