Test kits?

[reefnoob88]

Which test kits are absolutely vital and cannot be done without? Im using API test kits for the cycle and i already have the Red Sea Alkalinity pro. Do you order them individually or all in one pack?

[JohnZena]

Which test kits are absolutely vital and cannot be done without? Im using API test kits for the cycle and i already have the Red Sea Alkalinity pro. Do you order them individually or all in one pack?Alkalinity, calcium, magnesium
Ammonia
Phosphate
Nitrates
Nitrites
PH
I bought Red Sea Foundation Pro and Red Sea Marine Care on recomendations and the next test thread others were bashing them. Others say Salifert. Some say Hanna. Im using Triton ICP so Im looking ballpark. Basically i need 3 kits. Phosphates are separate.

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[Ron Reefman]

Once you have a cycled tank you can drop the nitrite test kit.

Ammonia and nitrate are always useful, but much less so after the tank is established.

Once you have fish and corals in the tank you can start with Ca, alk and Mg tests. But unless you have a lot of lps and sps corals, these may not change much except when you do water changes.

Phosphates... I gave up checking it years ago. The algae uses it so fast and kits are terribly unreliable, IMHO.

pH... it is what it is. It may be useful as a tool if things are going wrong in the tank, but as a routine test it's not very helpful.

All marine test kits are only close approximations of actual water parameters. And each individual has the ability to have an affect on the results, i.e. we both do the same test, on the same water, with the same test kit and there is a reasonable chance we get different readings... probably close, but different.

[mcgyvr]

The basic essentials IMO are
nitrate, alk, cal, mag if corals
Just nitrate if fish only

And of course something to measure salinity..

[PatW]

Depends on what you are doing.

For cycling a tank: ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

For long term: nitrate, calcium, alkalinity and magnesium.

As for the tests themselves, people vary in which tests they like. Since most tests are color metric, your color perception will affect which test you like.

I like Red Sea Pro for nitrate.
Red Sea Pro and Salifert for alkalinity. API for quick and dirty.
Red Sea Pro and API for calcium
Salifert for magnesium. I don't get good results with Red Sea Pro.
For phosphates Hanna ULR.
For ammonia and nitrite Red Sea.

I have not tried all of the Salifert tests. I only try them if I am a bit leery about the Red Sea test.