Test Kits

[BlueAbyss]

I agree with what Myka said above, all hobbyist test kit results should be taken with a grain of salt...

Maybe two, in the case of my freshwater API test kit. Every time I do the ammonia test, it comes back around the same color (about .25 by my eyes and a few other opinions). There is 0 nitrite. Whether this is because I actually have ammonia (I did find a dead fish this morning and was testing yesterday, but that doesn't explain the other 2 readings I've gotten over the past week that were the same color) or the test is inaccurate is hard to say. I like to think it's inaccurate, but I'll be running a few tests tommorrow to find out.

I'm afraid to think I might have a problem with the saltwater kit I bought at the same time... Meh, they were a featured product at J & L, so I got a deal on them anyhow if they turn out to be garbage.

[Canadian]

And save more money by not wasting it on a useless nitrite test kit.

From Randy Holmes-Farley at http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

Nitrite

Aquarists' concerns about nitrite are usually imported from the freshwater hobby. Nitrite is far less toxic in seawater than in freshwater. Fish are typically able to survive in seawater with more than 100 ppm nitrite!17 Until future experiments show substantial nitrite toxicity to reef aquarium inhabitants, nitrite is not an important parameter for reef aquarists to monitor. Tracking nitrite in a new reef aquarium can nevertheless be instructive by showing the biochemical processes that are taking place. In most cases, I do not recommend that aquarists bother to measure nitrite in established aquaria.