treesprite June 27, 2007 Share June 27, 2007 has anyone else used the Aquarium Pharmacueticals tests? I had to get a new nitrate kti and this thing is impossible to read. It says to hold the test tube in front of the white side of the color scale card, but doesn't say how close and the color changes with the distance. I sent an email to the company a few days ago and they have not responded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascal June 27, 2007 Share June 27, 2007 has anyone else used the Aquarium Pharmacueticals tests? Yes. Big mistake IMO. Well worth the extra money to get a more reliable test kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toastiireefs June 27, 2007 Share June 27, 2007 really? i kinda liked mine and i thought API was a reliable company? it was slightly hard to read but you get the eye for it whats a morre reliable test kit since im in the market for new ones.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsaavedra June 27, 2007 Share June 27, 2007 whats a morre reliable test kit since im in the market for new ones.. salifert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite June 27, 2007 Author Share June 27, 2007 (edited) im waiting for someone to say salifert is ok - people keep complaining about it I was thinking about using that raffle 25$ gift certificate for test kits from DF&S, which are saliferts The nitrate one is the one I'm having trouble with - I have some other one or 2 kits from AP but dont have difficulty with those. I'm having a nitrate issue which I can't keep a track of if I don't have a reliable test kit (overfeeding and had 3 inches of crushed coral which I believe was holding nitrate - I do water changes and there are only 3 fish in the tank, so that's all I know of to which I can attribute the problem; the crushed coral has been removed and I will put sand in its place, and I'm trying to resist the urge to add extra food for the piggy female clown who chomps down whole still-frozen cubes in one big mouth full) Edited June 27, 2007 by treesprite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YBeNormal June 27, 2007 Share June 27, 2007 No, people (myself included) have recently been concerned about reported issues with Salifert Alk, CA and maybe Mg test kits and the very unusual absence of Habib (the company founder, owner, CEO, CIO, chief chemist and head PR guy). Habib is once again active on RC and working to resolve or refute the test kit issues that have been reported. Salifert is one of the most respected brands of test kits out there. Others in the same league cost much more than Salifert and cheaper test kits--especially the mass market brands--just don't measure up. I'd go with Salifert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite June 27, 2007 Author Share June 27, 2007 you posted that while i was editing my post before it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YBeNormal June 27, 2007 Share June 27, 2007 I've heard of no reported issues with Salifert's nitrate test kits so I'd recommend giving it a try. I had an API nitrate kit go crazy one time from one week to the next. It registered 10ppm one week and over 50ppm the next week. Nitrate levels were actually well under 10ppm. I haven't trusted API since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JasonD June 27, 2007 Share June 27, 2007 (edited) I always used API kits on my freshwater tanks. Never any problem with them and always trusted the results, though they are harder to read than the Salifert kits -- which is what I'm using now on my SW tank. I'm on the fence right now with Salifert...it seems to be a one-man show (Habib) and if he gets sick (or decides he wants to be a beach-bum in Tahiti) the company will cease to operate. There have been questions recently about the accuracy of some Salifert kits and there was NO reply from the company for months. I'm leaning towards the LaMotte kits...they are a highly respected company in the laboratory world (I'm a microbiologist by training). They have been around since 1919 and have real customer service, unlike Salifert. Marine Depot sells LaMotte. Edited June 27, 2007 by JasonD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phisigs79 June 27, 2007 Share June 27, 2007 I have tested ALK and Calcium with API test kits and compared it to Salifert and they are pretty close if not right on. I have had problems with the calcium Salifert test kit so i always test using both kits to make sure its right. Pretty sad since Saliferts kinda pricey and suposed to be reliable! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigJPDC June 27, 2007 Share June 27, 2007 Yes, the nitrate API test seems weird, and gets a shade darker if you hold it against the card. I took a sample of fresh sw and used that for reference for zero nitrates. The calcium test sucks IMO, I really can't tell when purple becomes blue, and the target in the manual is purple, meaning I really don't know how much calcium I have in my tank. The alk test seems to be awesome, blue to yellow. Kits that use color chips would seem to be the best, like they make for testing pool water, but I don't know if those exist. jp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phisigs79 June 27, 2007 Share June 27, 2007 The key to the calcium test is once you see a shift in color add one more drop and thats what your calcium is at. Only thing with API test kits are they round all there numbers so you be alittle high or lower but not enough to make a big difference Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigJPDC June 27, 2007 Share June 27, 2007 you mean a shift in color from dark purple to dark blue? And then just add 20? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phisigs79 June 27, 2007 Share June 27, 2007 it should go from pink to purple Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigJPDC June 27, 2007 Share June 27, 2007 OK, so when it goes from pink to purple you add 20. Seems that I have been seriously overreporting my calcium levels then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite June 27, 2007 Author Share June 27, 2007 (edited) So I'm not the only one getting conflicting readings. Edited June 27, 2007 by treesprite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascal June 27, 2007 Share June 27, 2007 (edited) My API horror story: I was using them to maintain Alk at 10-12 dKH (11 ideally) and thought that I was right on: 10-11 dKh every time. Then I bought a Salifert Alk test kit. Emptied the syringe -- nothing. I think I even emptied it almost all the way again before I got a color change. My conclusion -- the Salifert thing was hype, their tests were really c***P. Still, I had the nagging feeling that something just wasn't right in my tank. So just in case, I went and bought another Salifert test from a different store with a different batch #. Same result. Hmmm. Finally I came up with the idea to test my fresh SW and use that as a guage. Reefcrystals should come to 11 dKh at 1.025. With both Salifert tests that's exactly what happened, but with according the AKI kit the Alk was somewhere around 6 or 7. So the Salifert kits were right, and relying on the API Alk kit meant that I had actually been running my tank around 18-20 dKh. And I wondered why I has so much precipitation and so little growth? I would never use one of those tests again. I'd rather just look at my tank and guess. IME that would not only be cheaper but probably more accurate as well. Edited June 27, 2007 by Rascal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigJPDC June 27, 2007 Share June 27, 2007 cool! My API test kit says that fresh Reef Crystals is 11 dkh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigJPDC June 28, 2007 Share June 28, 2007 OK, I did the calcium test this morning, and you were right - the change from pink to purple is very easy to see. I kept going until the purple changed to blue, but appear to only have been off by 20. What I was reading before at 440 should have been only 400 for calcium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phisigs79 June 28, 2007 Share June 28, 2007 good to hear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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