Whats the best testing equipment?

[lillurker]

I have had the tank up and running for about 3 months now. Everything seems fine. I have a question about the best testing kit for my setup, but first I'll tell you what I have.


28 gallon bow front
35 lbs of various L/R
40lbs of carib-sea sand
1lb of crushed coral (mainly for appearance)
1 skilter 250 (I don't use the filter part, cuz it always comes apart)
1 Aqua Tech power filter (carbon media)
28 ml of purigen in a micro mesh bag in front of the carbon filter
1 natural daylight producing bulb

1 Peacock mantis shrimp
3 hermit crabs (cleaners)
1 blue damsel (he might be food one day for the mantis)

I've been using the API saltwater master test kit. I want to know what you all think of this kit or if there is a better one out there for my setup.
I'm not in the position to maintain corals, cuz I'm renting a house and might have to move soon. I mainly want to ensure my L/R stays healthy and keeps providing a good looking enviorment for my mantis shrimp.
Also, I bought a Mardel in tank tester the other day. It monitors Ph, ammonia, and temp. It was cheap only costing 16 dollars, last for about a month. It is supposed to constantly monitor your water levels. Well, the readings from the Mardel tester differ alot from the API testers. It shows me having low Ph and some ammonia. My API reads a good Ph and a low ammonia (as of yesterday). Does anyone have experience with the accuracy of this tester? I'm inclined to believe the Mardel is junk. My tank is very clear and I have new corraline algae growth. I have been doing a weekly water change of 25%.
This is what I've been getting from my API tester.

PH 8.2
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrates 10ppm (and dropping)
Ammonia 0 to 0.5

I know long message, but I want to hear from the experienced on how well I'm doing and any advice I might need to know.
Thanks

[Sk8r]

Salifert.
And keep a log. That will let you correct a trend before your test shows bad numbers.
You need a refractometer; a ph meter; ordinary strip tests for nitrate/ammonia [don't accept anything above 0]; alkalinity test [Salifert].

[K' Family Reef]

the home test kits have not worked for me at all!...although i know a lot of others recom salifert test kits and say they are the best etc... i use all salifert test kits and well its a guessing game... point being that if you have any color at all say for phosphate test then you need to do something to fix the problem... but if you are measuring ph and you cant tell if the color is 7.8 or 8.2 then you know you have a problem...

recently i went to lfs to have my water tested
(to compare to home tests) using their fancy professional grade instruments test kits etc.. and the results they arrived at were totally different then the results i got... for example my ph was at 7.89 (tested at home = 8.0) and my salinity was quite a bit higher then i was measuring on my hydrometer at home

i would recom even if you buy your own test kits to occasionally go to LFS to have them test your water... also i would recom getting a refractometer and not even messing around w/ a cheap hydrometer... espec if you are going w/ corals!...

[JRod]

Even if you are not keeping SPS, you still need good water quality. Do you think that LPS, softies and fish really don't care about your water quality. If you are going to get in this hobby you need to know your parameters and keep them stable.

Hagen has worked for me in the past and I really like the Tropic Marin kits. The two you are using need to be replaced.

If you want the best test kits go Lamotte, no doubt.

If you want electric kits go Hanna.

[Eric55]

I use Salifert and I'm happy.

They may seem a little confusing to use at first, but once you do them each a few times it is very easy.

A good test kit (not a fair one) gives you back good information. Without that, you're not going to get the results you want.

[crumbletop]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10723586#post10723586 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lillurker
I have had the tank up and running for about 3 months now. Everything seems fine. I have a question about the best testing kit for my setup, but first I'll tell you what I have.


28 gallon bow front
35 lbs of various L/R
40lbs of carib-sea sand
1lb of crushed coral (mainly for appearance)
1 skilter 250 (I don't use the filter part, cuz it always comes apart)
1 Aqua Tech power filter (carbon media)
28 ml of purigen in a micro mesh bag in front of the carbon filter
1 natural daylight producing bulb

1 Peacock mantis shrimp
3 hermit crabs (cleaners)
1 blue damsel (he might be food one day for the mantis)

I've been using the API saltwater master test kit. I want to know what you all think of this kit or if there is a better one out there for my setup.
I'm not in the position to maintain corals, cuz I'm renting a house and might have to move soon. I mainly want to ensure my L/R stays healthy and keeps providing a good looking enviorment for my mantis shrimp.
Also, I bought a Mardel in tank tester the other day. It monitors Ph, ammonia, and temp. It was cheap only costing 16 dollars, last for about a month. It is supposed to constantly monitor your water levels. Well, the readings from the Mardel tester differ alot from the API testers. It shows me having low Ph and some ammonia. My API reads a good Ph and a low ammonia (as of yesterday). Does anyone have experience with the accuracy of this tester? I'm inclined to believe the Mardel is junk. My tank is very clear and I have new corraline algae growth. I have been doing a weekly water change of 25%.
This is what I've been getting from my API tester.

PH 8.2
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrates 10ppm (and dropping)
Ammonia 0 to 0.5

I know long message, but I want to hear from the experienced on how well I'm doing and any advice I might need to know.
Thanks

Since you aren't doing corals, the tests you have should work just fine. You only really need ballpark values. Your ammonia should be at 0 which is the only worrisome thing in your readings -- it means you have a cycle going on. Be careful it doesn't get worse.

When you have the time to do corals, better tests are a good idea. I like the tests from Seachem and Salifert.

[lillurker]

jeeeeez, JRod! Believe me, I do care about my water quality. Thats why I'm asking all you guys for advice. Sounds like my chops are getting busted over here.
Thanks for the inputs though, I'll be looking into those kits now.