nitrate testing on a budget

Bertie

Reefing newb
Three times this past year I've had a titrate-style nitrate measurement kit start giving wrong signals - not suddenly off, but slowly becoming less accurate so that I wound up with a tank reading of 40 on the nitrate scale when I bought a new kit to test the one that was placidly giving me 5 or 10. I decided to look for something more accurate.

Oh my.
The electronic probes were around $250.! Now that's better than losing all my corals (which I have come close to doing) but it is on the high end. Does anyone know of a nitrate reader somewhere between the $13.00 range and the $250.00?
 
The kits I've been using are API. I'm on the third, as they seem to get contaminated or something, although I've done a fair amount of laboratory work and try not to let equipment touch or roll.API is the only brand offered by my LFS, but I will look up Hanna.

We'd be willing to go in for the $250. unit if we knew it would be accurate and could be used in different sw tanks without losing accuracy. Of course we'd be willing to go the Hanna route. too. I shall go look it up! Thanks.
 
You should look into trying a Salifert test kit. They are much more accurate than the API kits, but won't break the bank like an electronic tester will. I have no idea why your nitrate tests keep going bad. It's not normal for them to do that.
 
Have you been buying them from the same store? I bought an API kit from my lfs when I first started....kept getting false reading. Even did a side-by-side test with their kit...mine was bad (and I only had it a few weeks) Went back and bought another one, BUT before I left the store, I did a test to be sure it was good (it was). If you're getting it from the same store, they might have the same bad stock.
 
Seems Hanna doesn't make a nitrate test, but only a nitrite one. (Odd, that!) So I've ordered a Salfert and hope my poor critters survive the 40% water changes twice a week to bring me back down to the under 10% which is my goal.

Thanks to everyone for all your help.

It seems that one thing that hasn't changed since our last excursion into reeftanks in the mid eighties a oersib needs to have at least three different sorts of testing kits. I'll be a happy camper when I can find a brand that stays tried and true.
 
I also use the Salifert tests and like them a lot.

I just sent a sample of my water to aquariumwatertesting.com to compare my tests with what they get. I have seen mixed reviews on line of the service, but we will see how it goes.

John
 
Browsing around and came across this thread. I'm thinking my nitrate problem may not be a problem. I was wondering if my test went bad. I'm using the API and as you all know my nitrates are stuck on 40. I took a sample tonight and had it checked at 2 differents places. One got 10 on their API and the other 10-20 range on a strip. Interesting to see someone else has had problems with the API also. I'm gonna be checking into something else.
 
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