Test kits

[Jerry Ebner]

I was wanting to get people's opinions on what test kits they like the most. I have the API master saltwater kit. But it don't test for reef needs, new to corals on my second week of a softie tank. Before I buy API reef kit I wanted to get input on what others prefer. .
I prefer something easy to read , As my current API is at times is very difficult to tell the color pattern just buy eye of color chart.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

API has been shown to be fairly inaccurate at times and hard to judge based on their coloring scales. Several folks on here have suggested Salifert and Red Sea kits when I posed a similar question a few weeks ago. Hanna checkers for Phosphate and Alkalinity were also mentioned as being good testing kits.

 

[marktea]

Salifert switched over from api

 

[KJ]

Salifert Alk Ca Mg NO3 Hanna PO4

 

[Jason mack]

Salifert Alk Ca Mg NO3 Hanna PO4

+1 for these !!

 

[Jerry Ebner]

Am I not all up on the terms here No3 and Po 4 ?

 

[XNavyDiver]

I was wanting to get people's opinions on what test kits they like the most. I have the API master saltwater kit. But it don't test for reef needs, new to corals on my second week of a softie tank. Before I buy API reef kit I wanted to get input on what others prefer. .
I prefer something easy to read , As my current API is at times is very difficult to tell the color pattern just buy eye of color chart.

Hanna checkers for phosphorous and alkalinity, red sea for nitrate, everything else salifert.

 

[Jason mack]

Am I not all up on the terms here No3 and Po 4 ?

Nitrate no3 / phosphate po4

 

[DLHDesign]

Note that there are two Hanna checkers that seem to (kind of) do the same thing; Phosphate and Phosphorous. While not the exact same thing, the two devices basically tell you the same thing about your tank. The practical difference between the two is in their level of precision;
- The Phosphate measures in ppm (parts-per-million) with an accuracy of +/-0.01ppm.
- The Phosphorous measures in ppb (parts-per-billion) with an accuracy of +/-5ppb.

In general, if you are running an "ULN" (ultra-low nutrient) tank, you'll want the Phosphorous checker. Otherwise, either checker should give you a good enough value. Both checkers and regents cost the same, so I generally suggest the Phosphorous checker (I have both myself and that's the one I use more often, at least).

 

[smh254]

Hanna checkers for phosphorous and alkalinity, red sea for nitrate, everything else salifert.

Exactly

 

[HB Fisheye]

I'm all for Hanna checkers and Salifert.

 

[iemsparticus]

Hanna Alk and Phosphorus, Red Sea Calc and Nitrate, Salifert Mag and Potassium.

 

[PatW]

I think the API test for calcium is ok. But the Red Sea Pro works fine too.

For alkalinity, I have used Salifert, Red Sea Pro and API. API is only good to 1 unit. The other two are more sensitive than that. If you have growing hard corals, they can deplete ALK fast. I test daily. So I like using a test that is consistent and reasonably sensitive.

For nitrates, API is ok for low to high levels. The Red Sea Pro test is sensitive to less than .25 ppm. I like running nitrates at about 1 ppm so Red Sea works for me.

Magnesium. API does not seem to have a test. The Red Sea test drives me crazy..... admittedly a short distance. I like the Salifert test for this. It gives me consistent results.

Phosphates. I stopped testing. If I get much in the way of phosphates, my algae growth picks up. They suck the phosphates out of the water so testing is, as the Borg would say, futile. So if I start getting algae, I use counter phosphate measures. Crude but it works for me. Hanna ULR is the one to use if you test this.

The conclusion here is you will do fine using Red Sea Pro or Salifert.