I have lost faith in Salifert alkalinity test kits. They really seem to vary. The one I have now reads 2 dKH lower than the Elos and the Hanna Colorimeter, and the Salifert alk kit I had before that read 3 dKH lower. That's pretty frustrating.

Thanks for voting everyone! Lots of interesting information here...everyone is all over the charts!

I've used both salifert and elos. I never noticed noticed a big difference between the 2 and prefer to use salifert but it isn't always easy to get

i have never used salfert. except for \mg and it seems to be a pain to use IMO compared to elos or API
dont know about the other tests like Ca.
how easy is it to test ca or k with salfert vs elos

Just so I know where to vote, where do you rate the seachem test as for high end, low end? Thanks.

Seachem is low end. Thanks for voting!

Elos kits are done in the same fashion as API kits.

Salifert's calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium are all very similar tests. Salifert's alkalinity is a bit tricky because the color changes slowly over several drops from blue, to blue purple, to purple, to purple pink, to pink. According to customer service you're supposed to read it when the color is purple pink. This can be difficult to tell, but in all reality the difference is like 0.25 dKH all the way from blue to pink so who cares to be that picky?

I wish Elos was as picky as the Salifert kits though, as with Elos (and API) you go up by quite a jump. I guess you get used to it. I just know that I don't want the color to change when I put in 7 drops (7 dKH), but I do want it to change when I put in 8 drops (8 dKH) because I want alkalinity between 7 and 8. Takes a bit of getting used to not knowing exactly what you're at when you're used to kits like Salifert.

low end for 35$. I would hate to see how much the high end kits are worth!

That is simply because I am more interested in Salifert VS Elos than anything, and you can't put the Seachem kits with kit like Hanna, LaMotte etc which are very pricey. Some of API and Seachem's kits are comparable (imo) to Salifert which I would consider mid-end test kits, but that is irrelevant for the purpose of this poll. Imo, Elos is a slight step up from Salifert, but neither Salifert nor Elos could be considered high end kits.

IMO high end would be: LaMotte, Hanna, Merck, etc. Mid would be: Elos, Salifert, Seachem, API, etc. Low-end would be: Hagen, Instant Ocean, etc.

API kits are good bang for the buck.

My tank was just started up but my new water change water tested the same as the tank (Elos 10 dKH with Reef Crystals).

You can't bring it down can you? I doubt it will be an issue once there is a demand for it but right now is there a problem with that?

Elos test kit - Alk - 16 drops 8 dkh - where I try to keep it

I lost quite a few sps colonies and frags because of a bad Salifert Alk test kit( read higher than the alk actually was) so i switched to API. From what i have read everywhere, not one test kit is always accurate. Some people have had bad Salifert, Elos or API test kits. So i tought i might as well save a few bucks with API. Oh and after that i got a bad Salifert test kit too :(
This is sooo frustrating.
I keep my alk at around 8 because i'm dosing VSV.