Test Kit reccomendation

[allendehl]

Hi there folks,

One by one I am placing orders for all the needed stuff to kick off my first tank. I am now selecting my test kits.
My tank will be a Reefer 350 (75 Gal) and I only plan on having fish and rocks for now. Maybe later add corals but that will be when I get the hang of the hobby.
Are Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrates the only parameters I should be concerned about for now?
I checked in some of the online sellers and the API tests are way cheaper than the rest. Are they any good?....or at least good enough for what I'll need now?

Thank you!

[mcgyvr]

Yep.. Just get the API master saltwater kit for now..
Cheap and accurate enough..
After your cycle you can basically throw ammonia/nitrite in the trash..


Go better when needed (salifert, hanna, red sea,etc...)

nitrate/phosphate will be needed for fish only..
Along with salinity of course (get a refractometer for that too)

[allendehl]

Thank you mc!! Refractometer is on the shopping list as well. Found this one on Amazon that seems to be good and at a nice price. What do you think?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AZ1SMC2/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I24D4LKM97PTHJ&colid=1BFRWM0O8XMLE

[homer1475]

Just bought that same one to replace an older one that got rusty on the window hinge.

Decent refractometer, but its light and cheap feeling. Seems to hold calibration well though. Although I check it often, it has not lost calibration in the 3 months I've had it.

Yes the API kit will be fine for a while(they are cheap for a reason, but still work well enough). When you get more serious(corals, etc), you can order better kits such as the hanna meters and/or salifert kits.

[hkgar]

You might consider calcium and alkalinity. Higher level of calcium is generally thought to help with the growth of Coraline algae, although regular water change should be ok to maintain desirable level.

[Knighthawk]

My test kits are Hanna ULR phosphorus, Hanna Dkh, Red Sea pro CA and MG, Red Sea pro NO3.


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[madweazl]

Honestly, I wouldnt even bother purchasing ammonia and nitrite kits; you'll literally use them a couple of times and never touch them again. Set up the tank, take a whiz in it, let it go three weeks, take some water to the LFS, and have them test it. If it isn't ready, wait another week and take another sample back. With a FOWLR, I just wouldn't bother with any test kits.

[monkeysee1]

For now, get the Red Sea pH, Ammonia, Nitrate/Nitrite and Phosphate.
You can get the Red Sea Reef Pro Test Kit in due time, when you start adding corals.

[Dr RBG]

CHECK this one .....seems like the same one you are thinking of but 10 bucks cheaper

https://www.amazon.com/Eyourlife-Refractomer-Refractometer-Temperature-Compensation/dp/B01A9R1Q56/ref=pd_sbs_328_5?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01A9R1Q56&pd_rd_r=B001HBBRXG9C50VEKSZC&pd_rd_w=trsmL&pd_rd_wg=RNgIe&psc=1&refRID=B001HBBRXG9C50VEKSZC

[allendehl]

Oh geez...too late. Will check if Amazon has price guarantee.

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[RobZilla04]

Honestly, I wouldnt even bother purchasing ammonia and nitrite kits; you'll literally use them a couple of times and never touch them again. Set up the tank, take a whiz in it, let it go three weeks, take some water to the LFS, and have them test it. If it isn't ready, wait another week and take another sample back. With a FOWLR, I just wouldn't bother with any test kits.

Almost spit out my coffee :lmao:

[ReefyGra]

So true

[Salahunreal]

Not sure if taking a whiz in the aquarium would be a good idea. I said that to my wife who works in a lab and said that urine has a bacteria.. Some of it are good for human being and some are bad and cause infection and so on
How that kind of bacteria would impact on the aquarium environment later on?

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[hkgar]

I learned, many years ago, in first aid that urine was sterile and in the absence of anything else could be used to wash out a wound. Unless you have a UTI.

THE TERMS "sterile" (containing no living organisms) and "toxic" (poisonous) are unrelated. A substance could be sterile and toxic (cyanide) or non-sterile and non-toxic (yoghurt). Urine is normally sterile when produced in the kidney and stored in the bladder, but is likely to become non-sterile as it leaves the body. Urine is non-toxic, although it contains urea and other substances which can be toxic if they are not excreted and reach high concentrations in the body. (Incidentally, something is either sterile or not. "Quite sterile" is like being slightly pregnant).

Ken Joy, Kenilworth, Warwickshire (lsrak@warwick.ac.uk)

From: https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-2473,00.html