salifert calcium test kit, new versus old

[Reefen]

my calcium with old test kit 410, with new test kit 450. not acceptable. I cant believe salifert has put this on the market

 

[Shirak]

Maybe it's been 450 all along and the old one was off? Just sayin

 

[Reefen]

Maybe it's been 450 all along and the old one was off? Just sayin

except that i did the old test because my corals are not looking quite right

 

[Scorpius]

except that i did the old test because my corals are not looking quite right

Don't blame the test kit on your corals doing poorly.

 

[Shirak]

Maybe they are both wrong and it's somewhere in the middle..?? There is a degree of error with hobby kits and it could easily be 30-40ppm for Ca. Either way 410 vs 450 shouldn't make a huge difference as far as the coral are concerned unless it is swinging wildly rapidly which is highly unlikely for Ca. I would be looking at other factors such as nutrients, alk swings etc.

Might help too if you post some other info on your parameters and what corals, how long you have had them and what you mean by not quite right.

 

[aSaltyKlown]

How old is the "old" kit? I wouldn't even sweat that difference in range in my tank. I doubt that is what is bothering the corals. What is the Alk or salinity?

 

[Reefen]

How old is the "old" kit? I wouldn't even sweat that difference in range in my tank. I doubt that is what is bothering the corals. What is the Alk or salinity?

the old kit is in date, alk is 8.7 salinity .026 mag 1500 no wild swings every thing is on auto delivery system. i wouldnt say my corals are looking poorly, i said they looked not quite right, guess that is open to interpretation, been in the hobby 20 yrs, look at my corals every day for changes, so that i can act fast. the corals have places that have lost color, so i tested every thing looking for the possible problem and noted the difference in the salifert test kit and was not happy, not even really concerned about my corals yet, i intended the thread as an fyi on salifert test kit

 

[Reefen]

but I would say my calcium is probably ok, because i have not lost any coralline algae

 

[taricha]

Or you could say it's 430 +-5%. More than acceptable performance for a test kit (both of them).

 

[Shirak]

I have heard mixed reviews on the procedures for the new kit vs the old kit. I have not used the new kit personally so I can't comment on it. To say the old one is correct at 410 and the new one is incorrect at 450 though seems like a stretch unless you can confirm with a high degree of accuracy it is indeed 410 but as mentioned above a 5% error range with both kits could mean they are both working just fine.

Loss of some color could be lighting or nutrients if all other parameters are normal and stable. Nutrients can change pretty rapidly and cause color shifts.

 

[Darren in Tacoma]

Once you open a bottle of reagent it starts to deteriorate. I wouldn't trust any test kit to test the same after a year or so. Even less maybe.

 

[Just a Wrasse.]

Don't blame the test kit on your corals doing poorly.

Agreed.

 

[LgTas]

I've noticed a similar difference in values between the old and new. That said, I'm looking for stability rather than a magic number so not a major issue.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I agree, both values are fine.

FWIW, assuming test kit perfection is a recipe for disappointment.