what is preferred test kit for each category

[skey44]

i am having a hard time trusting my test kits. they are a mixed bag and mostly considered to be quality brands from what i have seen on this and other boards.

alkalinity- lamotte and it is probably my favorite, but they don't have all the tests and read some bad reviews about their other tests

ca- salifert- okay, but seems to always read around 400 no matter what I do

phosphate- elos- seems good so far (new)

nitrate- elos-" "

magnesium- elos- have already gotten inconsistent results- first three days testing on a newly setup (5 days) tank got 1250 then 1300 the next day, then 1000 (confirmed with two tests) i don't feel I could have used this much in a few days on a new tank with no livestock but small group of cleaners

kz- potassium received a bum test that doesn't do anything

api- nitrite, ammonia, pH these seem pretty good for spot checks.

so maybe you can see my trouble here. I don't really feel good about any of these test kits at this point.

what do you guys do? I don't feel to good about my test kits and I'm trying to be as quantitative as possible with my new tank setup.

[bertoni]

Test kits seem to be constant sources of issues. All test kits seem to go through troubles from time to time. The brands you've listed are as good as any. Hach also makes some nice kits. I have one of their phosphate kits and it seems to be a bit easier to read than the others.

[skey44]

that just stinks when you are trying to get some quantitative data! wish there were a more reliable way.

[Billybeau1]

It's not as hard as you think.

For nitrite and ammonia, your API's are fine. Just keep an eye on the dates on the bottles. No more than a year IMO.

Nitrate: low level Salifert, high level API

I would not bother testing for potassium.

Calcium: Salifert, Elos, API

Alkalinity: Salifert, Elos, API

Magnesium: Salifert, Elos

PH: I would only trust an electronic pH meter. None of the titration type kits are very accurate from my testing, but API's pH is the closest I've tested.

Phosphate: I like Salifert.

This, of course, only covers the hobby grade kits. You can certainly spend hundreds of dollars for better accuracy. I just do not think it is necessary. :)