Which nitrate kit is better?...

Russ265 · Aug 19, 2015

Myka said:
OK. Some do not have refills? I also ordered the Calcium kit.

pretty sure they all do.

ime there really isnt a large disparity with nitrate kits.

i tried several phosphate and alk kits before i settled on red sea.

Myka · Aug 19, 2015

Russ265 said:
pretty sure they all do.

ime there really isnt a large disparity with nitrate kits.

i tried several phosphate and alk kits before i settled on red sea.

I probably agree with you on the nitrate kits. API and Salifert are pretty much the same other than low end Salifert is easier to read, and I've found API kits that have been open for more than about a year tend to lose their accuracy.

You don't like the Hanna Checkers for phosphate and alkalinity? I've tested Salifert, Elos, and Hanna alkalinity beside each other (3x each). I was able to duplicate the test within 0.25 dKH of themselves with all three kits. Hanna and Elos essentially read the same, but Salifert read 1 dKH higher. Phosphate for low range there aren't too many options. I used to use the D-D Merck kit and it was great, now that kit isn't available I use Hanna. Both these kits I can duplicate to themselves, and essentially give the same reading to each other. Granted, I haven't tried the Red Sea kits. I'm a bit hesitant to use Red Sea because back in the day their kits were junk.

Russ265 · Aug 19, 2015

Myka said:
I probably agree with you on the nitrate kits. API and Salifert are pretty much the same other than low end Salifert is easier to read, and I've found API kits that have been open for more than about a year tend to lose their accuracy.

You don't like the Hanna Checkers for phosphate and alkalinity? I've tested Salifert, Elos, and Hanna alkalinity beside each other (3x each). I was able to duplicate the test within 0.25 dKH of themselves with all three kits. Hanna and Elos essentially read the same, but Salifert read 1 dKH higher. Phosphate for low range there aren't too many options. I used to use the D-D Merck kit and it was great, now that kit isn't available I use Hanna. Both these kits I can duplicate to themselves, and essentially give the same reading to each other. Granted, I haven't tried the Red Sea kits. I'm a bit hesitant to use Red Sea because back in the day their kits were junk.

hanna alk kits can be off by more than 1 dkh after an amount of time has passed. many a hanna owner has cursed at their alk kit.
po4 is great for hanna.

red sea normal alk kit is always +1 dkh ime.
red sea pro alk kit is spot on.

salifert, elos, and api phosphate kits are worthless to me. salifert and elos always gave me 0 reading. api .25.

it is personal preference i guess. but i always cross check my kits to make sure they agree.