Test Kits

[Cary Meredith]

Oh my, they've come down quite a bit. I think the cheapest one could get when I purchased mine was $100. I think I paid 120 for mine. I use calibration solution and check it way too often. It's just so old, I'm cautious.

Yep and maybe that's why I didn't in the past, I thought they were to dang high in price, have the float and a swing arm, but love my new one, I had already dropped it a lot after testing with my swing arm and I as still at almost 1.031 when I tested first.

 

[FishGuyBri]

I calibrate mine weekly to 35 but haven't had to adjust even once yet except when I bought it. Love that thing. The apex conductivity probe is just too sensitive right now as my system breaks in so I don't trust it at all. I do have a ph problem so I figure I'll be outing a co2 scrubber here soon

 

[Chris Adams]

This is what I use
Cal = Red Sea Pro
Alk = hannah (I keep a couple reagent on hand to cross reference. After the bad batch any strange reading I get a cross reference with other bottle)
Mag = Red Sea Pro
Phos = Hanna Phosphorus ULR checker (really very happy with this after trying a couple other brands including the other hannah phosphate)
Nitrate = API
Refractometer
Apex with probe for temp and Ph (calibration probably should be performed been a while)

 

[GoVols]

I calibrate mine weekly to 35 but haven't had to adjust even once yet except when I bought it. Love that thing. The apex conductivity probe is just too sensitive right now as my system breaks in so I don't trust it at all. I do have a ph problem so I figure I'll be outing a co2 scrubber here soon

Ph problem. Trust me... Open your windows if you can and turn on fans.
Trapped in carbon dioxide is the biggest PH killer

I also plumbed my BK skimmers air intake outside and it did make a improvement too.

Every chance I get I open the windows.

 

[GoVols]

@MacQac

Welp, You might not like the feedback but you got the hottest thread of the night

 

[Chris Adams]

The winter is nice in florida so I open sliders and windows also. I do have a BRS reactor with the CO2 Absorbent tied into my skimmer. My tank is in bedroom so I deal with PH issues at night. Have 120lb dog + the wife and I

 

[GoVols]

The winter is nice in florida so I open sliders and windows also. I do have a BRS reactor with the CO2 Absorbent tied into my skimmer. My tank is in bedroom so I deal with PH issues at night. Have 120lb dog + the wife and I

+1
LOL
My wife an I down sized to a town home + 2 cats + 1 Maltese + 1 French Bulldog.
That's a lot of exhale in a 1450 SF (tightly built) town home

 

[FishGuyBri]

Ph problem. Trust me... Open your windows if you can and turn on fans.
Trapped in carbon dioxide is the biggest PH killer

I also plumbed my BK skimmers air intake outside and it did make a improvement too.

Every chance I get I open the windows.

I definitely do that, ph comes up to about 8.06

Won't be doing that in the south Florida summer though, so a scrubber will be in order...

 

[FishGuyBri]

@MacQac

Welp, You might not like the feedback but you got the hottest thread of the night

Haha thanks- and the answers are great!
The ultimate result of the post is answered- no one set of test kits are the best, it'll take some tinkering..

 

[GoVols]

I definitely do that, ph comes up to about 8.06

Won't be doing that in the south Florida summer though, so a scrubber will be in order...

Are you going to get the BRS scubber?

 

[reefwiser]

Ok, so what do you use for salinity? I am curious.

Milwaukee MA887 Digital Seawater Refractometer simple and fast reading. Easy to calibrate with ro/di water.

 

[PatW]

I prefer Salifert to Red Sea for magnesium. Salifert seems to be more consistent at least for me.

I run nitrate at less than 1 ppm. Red Sea Pro is very good for nitrate at less than 2 ppm. It has a detectable limit of about .1 ppm.

API is good for quick in dirty. I suspect that the alkalinity test may read a DKH unit high but it may be just that bottle of reagents. If you are running a fish only, it is probably good enough. The ammonia test is reported to read .25 ppm when it is really 0. I have not tried it so I am not sure. The Red Sea ammonia test is good.

 

[FishGuyBri]

Are you going to get the BRS scubber?

Yeah that's what I'm thinking so far.

 

[jsker]

I definitely do that, ph comes up to about 8.06

Won't be doing that in the south Florida summer though, so a scrubber will be in order...

I drilled a hole in the wall and ran my skimmer air line out to the outside, and let the skimmer suck in the fresh air. I also have a ceiling fan in the room for two things, one to move air and two to keep the tank cooler. I do have to turn it off in the winter, since we vary rarely run the heat

 

[Desmo996]

So for PH kits... does the vote go toward Salifert? I see Elos has one as well. The Red sea PH kit doesn't have good reviews on BRS (sample size 2).

I've been using my API PH kit for a long time and I'm about to run out.
For the record I replaced my API Calc kit when it ran out with the Red Sea... now I really like the usability of the Red Sea, however I did comparisons to see if there were accuracy differences... and there were none. So I see where folks hack on API but in reality, if you're not a detail fanatic... those kits are plenty good. IMHO

 

[PatW]

I like Red Sea Pro for nitrate. It can detect down to .25 ppm and maybe a bit lower. If you run a low nutrient system, that is handy. I have used API and it is pretty good but if your nitrates are below 5 ppm, it is not that useful.

I have used Red Sea Pro and Salifert for Mg. I get more consistent results with Salifert.

I have used Red Sea Pro and API for calcium. API works ok most of the time. Red Sea Pro seems to be more consistent.

I have used API, Red Sea Pro, and Salifert for alkalinity. API seems to be a bit erratic. Red Sea Pro and Salifert give pretty near the same results with the same reliability.

In my experience, API can be fine but it tends to be ball park. Red Sea and Salifert both make high quality tests.

For phosphates the Hanna ulr seems to be the only test on the market that is sensitive enough to be useful.

 

[GoVols]

I have used Red Sea Pro and Salifert for Mg. I get more consistent results with Salifert.

+1
Red Sea Pro was giving me high mag readings. Switched to Salifert and my mag showed 100 ppm lower. Dosed Mag up to the Salifert and my reef has been all good with cal and alk intake ever since.