Your testing kit preference

[Vadim]

Ok, so today i bought salifert testing kits. I just tried to test my calcium, and at the end i couldn't figure out what my levels were. But wanted to know what you guys use for testing.

[dakotasreef]

I use the salifert test kits and love them. I test away from the tank in a different room because the tank lights make it hard to read.

 

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[bankyf]

I have been through just about every brand of calcium and magnesium test kit and finally decided to try a Salifert. The Salifert is the first kit that I have really had any confidence in. I had been avoiding them due to some things I read on the internet about some bad kits getting out, now I wish I hadn't wasted all the money on the other kits.

 

 

I use the salifert test kits and love them. I test away from the tank in a different room because the tank lights make it hard to read.

 

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[zygote2k]

After being in and around saltwater for nearly 20 years, I have realized that there are very few truly accurate test kits out there. LaMotte, Hach, and Salifert are the 3 most reliable kits on the market. Salifert is by far the most user friendly but they don't sell refills. Hach is more expensive than the others but is very accurate and relatively easy to use. LaMotte is the most accurate, less expensive than Hach, but they do sell refills. I have found that all 3 are consistent from batch to batch over the last few years.

Any of the test kits that use a color changing reaction need to be tested away from aquarium lights- preferably natural daylight or you won't be able to see a proper color change.

[OldReefer]

+1 on everything from zygote2K. I have had the same experience. This week I tried an Elos Potassium kit and it was the most miserable test I have ever done. Fussy, expensive and inacurate.

 

Salifert is the best Ca kit I have used. If you can't get outside light, at least do it under incadesent light. I don't know how color-blind people ever keep a tank.

[bcjm]

Salifert calcium is the best I have used so far. The color change is very obvious and easy to read. Are you sure you are using it correctly?

[overklok]

Salifert has improved their Alkalinity test kit. Better color change and the bottle for the adding the drops of reagent is much improved. The update happened in Nov 2010. I also use the Hanna alkalinity meter, it reads about .5 kh units below the salifert.

[Origami]

For alkalinity, I've switched over to the Hanna Checker and have been very satisfied with it. To verify it's accuracy, I mixed up a homemade 10dKH alkalinity standard and checked it against the Checker. The checker was accurate to within 0.1 dKH.

 

For phosphate, I also use a Hanna Checker. But, rather than use their Phosphate version, I use the ULR (Ultra Low Range) Phosphorous Checker which gives me greater precision under low phosphate conditions.

 

For calcium, Salifert's a great choice. I also use API's much cheaper kit, but verify it's accuracy against a calcium standard from time to time.

 

For magnesium, I use Seachem's test kit.

 

I monitor pH continuously through my aquarium controller. I keep calibration solutions on hand to recalibrate the probe from time to time.

 

I recently purchased Elos' potassium test kit. I've not used it enough, nor have I tried to verify its accuracy, and have not formed an opinion of it. I don't find it too difficult to use, but it is unconventional. (Evaluating potassium typically involves measuring the turbidity of the water after adding test reagents. In this kit, you add reagent to the test tube until a black dot, under the vial, is obscured. This can be a qualitative assessment if you try to look too hard. That's also the reason some people give for their dissatisfaction with the kit. Unfortunately, there's no real alternative to the method right now. A Hanna checker should be able to do it, though!)

 

I occasionally test for iodide and iron (but very infrequently). I use Salifert kits for both. The iodine checker made by Hanna is useless for our reef setups as the resolution (0.1 ppm) is much too coarse for our needs since 0.06 ppm is the target level for all forms of iodine in our tanks.