More accurate tests needed?

Yamaha1634

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I have been testing my water weekly but I'm finding the results hard to determine...

I test mag, calc and alk with Red Sea titration kits and love how easy they are to get an accurate reading with. But for PH and Nitrate I'm using API which aren't the best, my PH is always a toss up between 8 and 8.2 and my nitrates always seem to show 0, however the difference between 0 and 5 is so minimal and when most reccomend you keep your nitrates around 1ppm i have no chance of an accurate reading! I'm also not currently testing phosphates but think i should maybe start?

Having no issues with algae etc so I'm not worried but feel like i should be testing more accurately for long term stability

Questions:

Which test kits should i be using for Nitrates?
Should i be testing phosphates? If so which kit?
Do i need more accurate PH tests?

Finally i know everyone will tell me that Hanna are the best but when you have 8 tests to complete and the Hanna's are £60-70 each i just can't stretch to that cost I'm afraid. So I'm looking for the most accurate and easy to read kits from people like Nyos, Red Sea, Salifert etc etc
 

Timfish

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I use Nyos and Red Sea for Nitrate,
Nyos and ELos for PO4
API for pH. alkalinity and calcium
Red Sea and Salifert for magnesium

Keep in mind all the things we test for are in constant flux in a system and there are multiple variables affecting them. Often we're only testing what's left over from the various processes.

pH especially can vary a lot and I've seen systems that seem pretty stable and other systems where some change seems to be expected. If no one has mentioned it you should test pH at aboout the same time as it's common to see fluctuation through out the day.

I would be testing for PO4 as research has identified phospahte deficiencies can start occuring in corals below .03 mg/l which is certainly not good fo rthem.
 

WVNed

The fish are staring at me with hungry eyes.
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Perhaps what you need is a different way of thinking about testing.
Instead of expecting a test to give you an exact number what if you just expected it to tell you if tings were okay or needed fixing.
I ran my tanks a long time on API tests. I stopped using the color charts and understood what the colors meant.
A range of colors is okay and outside that range is bad.
Is my color in the okay range or do I need to do something.

Wanting exact numbers you can see is okay too. That's what I do now, but I use Hanna testers to get them.
Color matching test will give you different answers due to the light you are reading them under and there are many different light bulb colors now with LED bulbs.
 

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