Test kits

[leon1972]

I was wondering what different people thought of different test kits. Accuracy, ease of discerning results, how small of trace is detected etc etc. I also was wondering what you thought of the different kinds meaning powder tablet strip and liquid. I also think something like this should be a sticky as there is much different opinion and it would be nice to hear from those we trust that have experience and have gotten to know from this site.

I personally am looking for something different that has easier to read and more precise results that my current red sea test kit

 

[Bifferwine]

Red Sea test kits can be hit or miss, in my experience. They can be difficult to read. The paper test strips can be very inaccurate and shouldn't be relied upon. Your best bet is to buy some liquid test kits -- the kind with the little test tubes. Salifert is a good brand, but is very pricey. A good low to mid range (price wise) and good quality test kit are the API brand test kits. The colors on their cards can be difficult to discern, but overall for someone on a budget, I'd recommend API.

 

[leon1972]

Well for now I'm looking to buy just one kit. Even if pricey I'm willing to go with a kit that makes me happy. I was thinking I would try a salifert for ammonia tomorrow. That way i don't blow too much money finding a kit I like. How is the salifert on smaller detections? Ie most my kits in red sea only go to 5 at the lowest. I would like someone to detect as low as possible. How easy are the salifert cards to read?

 

[Northstar24]

I recently switched to the sailfert nitrate test and it has a high and a low range version of the test (based on how you look at the colors) So the sailfert definitely has an advantage over the API tests there

That being said, you really only test for ammonia during the cycle so I don't know if investing in the sailfert ammonia test is worth it

 

[leon1972]

Well I need a different test kit. My test kit NEVER read over .25 so I'm suspect on my current test kit. The ammonia kit is the cheapEst of the salifert kits so it's my guinea pig test to see if I like the salifert or not and to see how accurate my current kit is.

 

[Bifferwine]

Maybe your ammonia never went above .25? It's common for some tanks to only see very low levels of ammonia, especially if you use cured live rock.

 

[Northstar24]

My API ammonia test did the same thing, I bought a second one and it worked fine. They are notorious for showing readings of .25 I could test my water today, knowing that ammonia is 0, and that first kit of mine would still register .25