What test kits do i need?

[Notsolostfish]

Its my first saltwater tank, and i was wondering what test kits do i need? Im not on budget, money is not an issue. I want something reliable. I dont have any test kits currently. As im gathering parts.

 

[blaxsun]

Congrats on the new tank. You'll want an ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and phosphate test kit to start with and monitor your initial cycle. Good brands are Aquaforest, Nyos, Red Sea and Salifert (Red Sea offers a Marine kit that features these as well as pH and alkalinity).

Later when (if) you move into corals you'll want to augment this with pH, alkalinity, calcium and magnesium. Hanna makes a series of digital test kits for most of these parameters as well but they're about 2-3x the price and you can always add them later as you use up the other kits.

 

[PatW]

The first thing you do is cycle your tank. For that you need ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. I would not advise the API tests because the ammonia test gives a low ammonia reading when the actual reading is 0. And you do not want to put livestock into a tank that still has ammonia (Highly toxic),

I used Red Sea starting out. I now use Red Sea Pro (nice thing is you can get replacement chemicals so you do not have to buy the hardware.

Tests you should have

Ammonia - I used this in cycling and have not used it since.
Nitrite - I used this in cycling and have not used it since.

Next are the nutrients: nitrate and phosphate. Too much and you get an algal explosion and too little you get cyanobacteria or your corals starve.

Nitrate - Salifert, Red Sea Pro, and I hear the new Hanna High range is good.
Phosphate - Hanna is the only one that makes a sensitive enough test to be useful. Use either Hanna ULR phosphate or ULR phosphorous. The ULR phosphorous is a bit more sensitive.

Coral building chemicals (also shells for marine mollusks). I have an small polyp coral tank (reef building corals). I have a doser for ALK. I hand dose Ca. And Mg seems to do fine with just water changes. I have a fair bit of growth but if my growth was extreme, I might end up dosing Mg.
Calcium - Red Sea Pro. I have not tried Salifert but I would think it is good.
ALK - Red Sea Pro, Salifert, and Hanna. Hanna has a big reputation because it gives a number. On Red Sea Pro and Salifert, you have to watch for the color change at the titration end point and that feels a bit like a judgement call. I regularly use all three. Oddly enough, Salifert (the cheapest) might just be the one that varies the least (most precise),
Magnesium - I use Salifert. Red Sea Pro drives me crazy On this test.

Trace Elements - there are tests for trace elements. I have tried a few but they did not inspire confidence. You can send off a sample of seawater to get tested for trace elements but that has issues also. The best way to keep trace elements in line is to do regular water changes (in my experience and I do not consider myself to be the last word on this.

 

[Koh23]

For start - nothing.

After that, no3 and po4 is all u need.

And after you have some corals, depends on type, kh,ph,ca and mg is all u need.

Ca and mg depends on water changes routine, volume of water and type of corals, its uselles to measure ca and mg in 10g system with few zoas and mushroom and weekly water changes.....

Only thing that i closely monitor is kh..... After some time, all other parameters falls into place and dont require constant measuring....