Test Kits

What test do you use most often?

  • API

    Votes: 5 27.8%
  • Red Sea

    Votes: 4 22.2%
  • Salifert

    Votes: 9 50.0%
  • Nyos

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Seachem

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Electronic (Hannah, Milwaukee, etc.)

    Votes: 11 61.1%
  • Other

    Votes: 3 16.7%

  • Total voters
    18

jcook54

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I'm curious to find out what test kits you all use. As a recovering Elos fan boy, I started using Salifert once Elos got too hard to find. That started around 2011 and I've been a dedicated Salifert test kit user ever since. So, what's you test kit of choice?
 
I use Hanna for alk and phosphate, and salifert for calcium, nitrate, and mag. I also have the salifert alk kit to double check Hanna at times. I prefer a digital result over color match, but salifert has always given mostly accurate results.
 
Alk:
•Hanna: great, but reagent can get pricy.
•Red Sea: quality varies as it’s hard to read the color change sometimes, but I use this as a redundant test.

Calc:
•Red Sea; Color change is very consistent and easy to determine.

Mag:
•Red Sea; Color change is also easy to read, but testing has many steps.

Amm, Nitrite:
•API; it’s cheap and good enough to determine readings of 0.

Nitrate:
•Red Sea; easy to read only after practice. Very precise measurements that go down to 0.25ppm

Phos:
•Hanna Phos ULR: Very precise measurements
 
I posted a review of the Rikka kit that's on Amazon. $15 for dkh, Ca, and Mg (all three for $15). It seems to be reasonably accurate compared to Salifert.

Eventually going to make one of yall try it out to verify I'm not the worst Salifert scientist ever.
 
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