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Unread 09/13/2018, 01:09 PM   #1
Oldfishman
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What test kit or kits should I be adding.

I currently have a JBJ 28 gallon tank. I have a refactor, TDS meter, and a API saltwater test kit. What should my next test kit or kits be and which brand. I currently have a pair of clowns and six different types of coral in my tank.


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Unread 09/13/2018, 01:58 PM   #2
homer1475
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I personally like salifert for calcium, and magnesium. Hanna checkers for alkalinity, and PO4(Hanna Ultra Low Range). Red Sea Pro for nitrates. Those 4 tests are all thats really needed. Ammonia, and nitrite are not needed once your cycle completes. Unless there is an issue, but I haven't used and ammonia and/or nitrite test in years.



While API usually get a bad rap, they are perfectly fine for getting within the "range" for a reef tank, but more precise kits are recommended for controlling reef tank parameters.



FWIW I also like to use a milwaukee digital refractometer. Anything you can use that makes testing faster, more precise, and easier means that said tests will get done on a regular basis.


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Unread 09/13/2018, 09:25 PM   #3
bertoni
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A lot of people are happy with the Hanna meter for alkalinity. That said, we get reports of problems with all the test kits, etc. I have found IO and Salifert kits to be fine, although the IO calcium kit took longer to run. For the basics, I'd have alkalinity and calcium on hand, given that you are trying to keep corals. Magnesium and phosphate kits sometimes are helpful, too, but you could wait a bit. Most people end up with at least a magnesium kit. The Salifert worked well for me. I got a decent thermometer from Cole-Parmer, as well.


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Unread 09/14/2018, 04:37 PM   #4
Jaffster
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Quote:
Originally Posted by homer1475 View Post
I personally like salifert for calcium, and magnesium. Hanna checkers for alkalinity, and PO4(Hanna Ultra Low Range). Red Sea Pro for nitrates. Those 4 tests are all thats really needed. Ammonia, and nitrite are not needed once your cycle completes. Unless there is an issue, but I haven't used and ammonia and/or nitrite test in years.



While API usually get a bad rap, they are perfectly fine for getting within the "range" for a reef tank, but more precise kits are recommended for controlling reef tank parameters.



FWIW I also like to use a milwaukee digital refractometer. Anything you can use that makes testing faster, more precise, and easier means that said tests will get done on a regular basis.
This. Though the Red Sea Alkalinity Pro kit is quite good, there's no reagents to add like the Salifert one; you just put 10ml of tank water in the vial and then add the titrant until it turns green.

If you're testing Alkalinity regularly it's much better value for money. The last point on this is purely subjective and personal, but I've had a few far-off results from my Phosphorus Hanna checker randomly, I always clean the vials with a lint cloth and make sure all the reagent is mixed. It just sometimes throws a 0.5+ equivalent rather than the actual >0.1.


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Unread 09/16/2018, 09:07 PM   #5
Ramracer32
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One that you should look at is the red sea Algae control test kit NO3 PO4. This kit is awesome and in my opinion a big key to keeping everything healthy and growing was eye opening when i bought it.


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