test kit

[demon666]

i want to pick up a high quality test kit this weekend. any sudgestions on which 1 to get?


shawn

[Jack]

What do you want to test for?

[demon666]

full water quality

[Beverly]

There are water quality tests and water chemistry tests.

Water Quality:

While a tank is cycling and rock is curing, you will need ammonia, nitrite and nitrate kits.

After a tank has cycled and the rock is cured, you would probably need to monitor nitrate and phosphate. Testing for ammonia or nitrite would be useful if something seems out of whack, if something dies, or something like that. I usually use less expensive Aquarium Pharmaceutical test kits for water quality.

Water Chemistry:

Alkalinity, calcium and magnesium tests should be done every month at the very least, imo. I use Salifert test kits for determining water chemistry.

Checking salinity and pH are also important. The most accurate way to test salinity is by using a refractometer. The swing arm salinity meters are sometimes quite inaccurate. The best way to test pH is to use a probe and digital readout thing (don't know what it's called ). These two items are a little on the expensive side, but well worth having in your reef testing arsenal.

Here are some reef chemistry calculators and articles that will help you better understand alk, Ca and Mg in a home reef environment:

Aquarium System Volume Calculator:

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/volcalc.html

The Reef Chemistry Calculator:

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html

What is Alkalinity?

http://advancedaquarist.com/issues/f.../chemistry.htm

Calcium:

http://advancedaquarist.com/issues/mar2002/chem.htm

Magnesium in Reef Aquaria:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2003/chem.htm

How to Select a Calcium and Alkalinity Supplementation Scheme:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2003/chem.htm

The Relationship Between Alkalinity and pH:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/may2002/chem.htm

Solving Calcium and Alkalinity Problems:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

High pH: Causes and Cures:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-03/rhf/index.htm

Low pH: Causes and Cures:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/index.htm

HTH

[demon666]

yup sorry ment chemisty

[dirtyreefer]

Originally Posted by demon666

yup sorry ment chemisty

Well duh!

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Salifert seems to be the most popular brand among the reefers I know. More expensive but higher quality (hopefully).

[reeferaddict]

You know, I've tried the good ole' Seachem and Salifert 80 buck a kit test kits... but for the money Aquarium Pharmaceuticals makes some inexpensive easy to use kits, ("easy to use" - READ - will get done more often!). Calcium accuracy is +- 20 ppm so I shoot for 420 to get between 400 and 440... dKH is accurate to +-1 dKH so I shoot for 10 to be between 9 and 11. Those should be monitored daily IMO until you get your consumption/additive/reactor rate dialed in. If you really want to get picky save you money for the OTHER expensive kits... I check my iodine every couple of weeks and my strontium and magnesium every month... (again more often as you set up your usage and additive rates). Get a Pinpoint pH monitor, don't even play around with anything else. Test strips are inaccurate and with a monitor you can just glance at it for a very accurate reading - (calibrate the probe every month or so). Pinpoint also makes a calcium monitor - it's on my list but another $300 - *SIGH* If you can't afford a monitor, you can get digital pH pens at a hydroponics shop for around $60 - $80, but they're a little less accurate and require more frequent calibration. If you are using RO/DI water be sure to get some sort of TDS meter or monitor to tell you how your filters are doing as well. While a refractometer certainly IS the most accurate way to measure salinity, I keep a couple of hydrometers that I calibrate to the refractometer (to give you an idea of how inaccurate - here's what they read - Refractometer 1.025 - AP Hydrometer 1.023 - Coralife Hydrometer 1.028) Though the refractometer is dead simple to use, it's still not as quick as just dropping in a hydrometer every day or two for a quick check. Phosphate's easy and test kits are a waste of time almost always reading Zero.. if you have algae problems you have phosphates.

And that's what I have to say about that....