Salifert test Q?

[phenom5]

okay,
so like a good little RC member, i dutifully recommend salifert test kits...after all, everybody on RC says they're the best so it must be true. the fact is, i've never used them myself. well, i'm in need of a few new test kits, and since i'm only buying a few individual test kits i can stomach the cost. my question is this: are they worth the money? if so, why? sure the test kits themselves may be more accurate, but there is one constent that isn't accurate...me. certainly, a more accurate test kit is a good thing, but no matter how accurate they are, it still comes down to a human eye matching the color of the water in the test tube to a reference chart. which is less then accurate IMO. so i'm curious if the salifert test kits are worth the money? and why don't they make them easier to read? i'm sure there's a perfectly good reason, but why not make them contrasting colors...IE blue=0.5, red=0.1, green=0.15 and so on and so on...instead of light blue=0.5, blue=0.1, dark blue that's almost purple but isn't quite purple=0.15...

just something i'm curious about, i'm probably going to buy them regardless so i can check them out for myself...

[Craig Lambert]

Actually I think one of the best things about Salifert test kits is that the ones I use most frequently do NOT use color matching. Alkalinity, Calcium, and Magnesium require reading the remaining volume of a syringe containing a reagent. The only one I use from time to time requireing a color match is Nitrate.

[phenom5]

Actually I think one of the best things about Salifert test kits is that the ones I use most frequently do NOT use color matching. Alkalinity, Calcium, and Magnesium require reading the remaining volume of a syringe containing a reagent.

oh..so that's what all the fuss is about. :D thank you, that's exactly what i wanted to know. and that's what i'm looking for...Ca, ALK, Mg.

thanks, i'm going to order some today.:thumbsup:

[TWallace]

The Salifert pH and Phosphate test kits use color matching as well. The pH one is pretty good though on the colors, they're rather distinct and easy to distinguish compared to other pH test kits I've used. The Phosphate one is pretty difficult to read comparatively.

I use a Seachem test kit for Calcium and it sounds very similar to the Salifert one, you read the remaining volume of liquid (titrant?) in the syringe and compare that to a chart which tells you your Ca level.