What makes a good test kit?

[Glue Masters]

Hey party people, while trying to educate myself on all things reefing, I am also curious about what makes a good test kit?

All kits seem to quickly test ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, water hardness, chlorine, alkalinity and pH levels but how accurate are they? Is there a brand that you prefer for a quick test?

Thank you!

 

[MarshallB]

Yeah most test say that, in reality some test take longer and require more steps than others.

Accuracy is definitely what is important. But, if you are needing to test often then speed and step count are also pretty important. I'm much less likely to do a test if i know its going to take me 10 minutes.

Test I use that are quick and accurate enough for me:

Nyos nitrate test
Hana for alk and calcium
Seachem for phosphate
Redsea Mag test. - From the Reef Foundation kit. Lot of steps and takes time, however since I don't test it often its no big deal.

When I was cycling the API master kit was good enough for Ammonia, Nitrite, and nitrate.

Have a PH probe for PH and I don't test for anything else currently.

 

[Glue Masters]

Yeah most test say that, in reality some test take longer and require more steps than others.

Accuracy is definitely what is important. But, if you are needing to test often then speed and step count are also pretty important. I'm much less likely to do a test if i know its going to take me 10 minutes.

Test I use that are quick and accurate enough for me:

Nyos nitrate test
Hana for alk and calcium
Seachem for phosphate
Redsea Mag test. - From the Reef Foundation kit. Lot of steps and takes time, however since I don't test it often its no big deal.

When I was cycling the API master kit was good enough for Ammonia, Nitrite, and nitrate.

Have a PH probe for PH and I don't test for anything else currently.

Thank you for such a quick answer - so you cherry pick for different type of tests, I gather. There is no all in one good test kit, like this one (amazon link) ? Or they are bs?

 

[MarshallB]

Thank you for such a quick answer - so you cherry pick for different type of tests, I gather. There is no all in one good test kit, like this one (amazon link) ? Or they are crap?

It depends on what you are looking for. Test strips are fine if you need to quickly gauge those parameters, but if you need to measure levels at a high accuracy then you need more specialized tests. If I was doing a fish only tank then I might consider those strips. Honestly you get what you pay for when it comes to tests. If you are going to keep coral then do yourself a favor and research what test kits you will need.

You don't need to test everything all the time, but if you run into issues its very helpful to know what your exact levels are in Calcium, Alkalinity, Salinity, Nitrate, Phosphate, and Magnesium. The ReaSea foundations kit will cover 3 of those.

For a cycling a new tank those strips are fine. During cycling you really only need to know if you have ammonia or not. If you have nitrate or not, etc.

 

[Glue Masters]

It depends on what you are looking for. Test strips are fine if you need to quickly gauge those parameters, but if you need to measure levels at a high accuracy then you need more specialized tests. If I was doing a fish only tank then I might consider those strips. Honestly you get what you pay for when it comes to tests. If you are going to keep coral then do yourself a favor and research what test kits you will need.

You don't need to test everything all the time, but if you run into issues its very helpful to know what your exact levels are in Calcium, Alkalinity, Salinity, Nitrate, Phosphate, and Magnesium. The ReaSea foundations kit will cover 3 of those.

For a cycling a new tank those strips are fine. During cycling you really only need to know if you have ammonia or not. If you have nitrate or not, etc.

Gotcha, I guess its same logic for cycling and measuring for fish and fishless cycling?

Sorry, noob questions

 

[PatW]

I test ALK daily. For awhile, I have tested with Salifert, Red Sea Pro and Hanna everyday. As far as resolution, it is Hanna, Red Sea and Salifert. As far as consistency, it is Salifert, Red Sea Pro and Hanna. I thought that Hanna would come out the clear winner in both, but it does not seem to.

 

[Glue Masters]

I test ALK daily. For awhile, I have tested with Salifert, Red Sea Pro and Hanna everyday. As far as resolution, it is Hanna, Red Sea and Salifert. As far as consistency, it is Salifert, Red Sea Pro and Hanna. I thought that Hanna would come out the clear winner in both, but it does not seem to.

Thank you!