What test kit brand are you using?

[Mrmiles]

Hanna phosphate and salinity
Salifert alk calcium nitrate
ICP ATI

 

[BighohoReef]

I figured a picture is worth a thousand words. ;Pompus

How often are you testing?!? I love it!

 

[RobB'z Reef]

I figured a picture is worth a thousand words. ;Pompus

Sure you got enough? Lol

 

[BighohoReef]

Sure you got enough? Lol

I can guarantee that’s one of the the best dosed tanks in the world. Lol it’s good stuff

 

[blasterman]

Mostly salifert....for their ratio of economy to value and their alk test in low resolution mode is reliable and cheap and it's mostly what I test. Saliferts Mag test is garbage so all brands have their strengths. If you are running a reactor you obviously need a more granular and convenient tool than wet tests for alk.

 

[Dr. Jim]

ALK: GHL Ion Director (best); Salifert; Red Sea (will phase out); Hanna checker (unreliable)
Ca: Salifert; Red Sea (will phase out)
Mg: Salifert; Red Sea (will phase out)
PO4: Red Sea (most reliable); Hanna P (unreliable; inconsistent; losing faith in Hanna checkers. Had same experience with them many years ago and gave up on them back then but tried them again more recently. They appear to be unreliable because of sensitivity to fingerprints, smudges, scratches etc on the vials).
NO3: Nyos (easy; seems consistent; but no "fine tuning" between adjacent colors for 12 and 25); Red Sea (good, but time consuming; annoying when reading is around 4 because 4 is upper level of "low range" and bottom level of "high range", but has adjacent colors for 12 and 16 as compared to Nyos 12 and 25); will try Salifert
K: Salifert
Cu: Salifert; Hanna checker (for fish Q)
-Triton ICP and N-DOC and API ICP from time to time.
-Used Hach many years ago and am planning to revisit them.
-I use laboratory-grade pipettes to measure volumes for all kits instead of syringes. Rinse all vials in tap water followed by RO/DI after every use, then dry them. (Very important, especially for Hanna checkers, IMO)

 

[Daniel92481]

How often are you testing?!? I love it!

Thanks! I usually test ALK and phosphates 3-5x/week.

 

[Daniel92481]

Sure you got enough? Lol

Haha I should be stocked for 2020. Although idk, it is 2020!

 

[BighohoReef]

ALK: GHL Ion Director (best); Salifert; Red Sea (will phase out); Hanna checker (unreliable)
Ca: Salifert; Red Sea (will phase out)
Mg: Salifert; Red Sea (will phase out)
PO4: Red Sea (most reliable); Hanna P (unreliable; inconsistent; losing faith in Hanna checkers. Had same experience with them many years ago and gave up on them back then but tried them again more recently. They appear to be unreliable because of sensitivity to fingerprints, smudges, scratches etc on the vials).
NO3: Nyos (easy; seems consistent; but no "fine tuning" between adjacent colors for 12 and 25); Red Sea (good, but time consuming; annoying when reading is around 4 because 4 is upper level of "low range" and bottom level of "high range", but has adjacent colors for 12 and 16 as compared to Nyos 12 and 25); will try Salifert
K: Salifert
Cu: Salifert; Hanna checker (for fish Q)
-Triton ICP and N-DOC and API ICP from time to time.
-Used Hach many years ago and am planning to revisit them.
-I use laboratory-grade pipettes to measure volumes for all kits instead of syringes. Rinse all vials in tap water followed by RO/DI after every use, then dry them. (Very important, especially for Hanna checkers, IMO)

You’ve gone through the test kit journey. I was curious if there was a quality difference year over year between the test kits which have been consistent and which are better or worse over time. I definitely have an opinion forming, now that I’m aware of hach I’ve add that to the list of test kits I should try. I also like your idea of using pippettes and the care. I do that with the Hanna checker pipettes plan on being more ridged with the cleaning. Thank you for sharing! It’s great info!

 

[Dr. Jim]

You’ve gone through the test kit journey. I was curious if there was a quality difference year over year between the test kits which have been consistent and which are better or worse over time. I definitely have an opinion forming, now that I’m aware of hach I’ve add that to the list of test kits I should try. I also like your idea of using pippettes and the care. I do that with the Hanna checker pipettes plan on being more ridged with the cleaning. Thank you for sharing! It’s great info!

I can't say that I've seen a difference over the years comparing the same test kit with itself,
but the more I use them and experiment with them, the more confident I am with my conclusions.
One thing I learned by using pipettes (and I compared them with graduated cylinders) is that not all of the lines on the Hanna checker tubes are the same. I've had several that were marked at a level less than 10cc according to the pipettes.
Also, with the Hanna curvettes (vials), I try to touch them only at the top rim and the very bottom, be careful when (slowly) moving them in and out of the checker (in order not to scratch them), and after dipping each vial in a container of RO/DI water I wipe them with a microfiber clothe while holding them up to the light to check for smudges. I close the cap an the ALK reagent immediately and don't touch the syringe with reagent to the vial (and wipe the syringe after use). And STILL...I get suspicious readings sometimes!
It was probably over 20 years ago that I last used the Hach test kits so it is not easy to remember the details, or why I stopped using them, but vague memories are telling me to look into them again. (I forget if the PO4 and NO3 are "low-range" enough).

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Nothing that can’t be fixed.. Hach will be added! In all honesty I hadn’t heard of it. Now I have a interest piqued!
Thank you and thank you for the feedback!

It's more aimed at aquaculture and other water professionals, rather than aquarium hobbyists.

 

[BighohoReef]

It's more aimed at aquaculture and other water professionals, rather than aquarium hobbyists.

That's good to know. I was sharing my findings with my wife this morning (biology major) we nerd'ed out on my poll question then she started to critique my polling/research style can never win

 

[RobB'z Reef]

It's more aimed at aquaculture and other water professionals, rather than aquarium hobbyists.

True statement, but high quality equipment. In the past I found them pretty decent to work with and I was successful using their tests. I'll post some pics later of what their stuff looks like for those curious.

 

[t5Nitro]

The color disc nitrate kit looks cool from Hach. Also haven't heard of the brand before. Thanks.

 

[gfd71]

I think the key is to find a kit you feel is good. I watched many videos and settled on Hanna for alkalinity and phosphate(ULR Phosphate). I’m anal at times so I use a 10cc syringe to fill sample bottles and do all tests the exact same way for same amount of time so even it’s always consistent. I went with Red Sea for calcium and magnesium. Then Nyos for nitrates and that’s all I test. To me consistency is key. These are all hobby grade and won’t be exact so I just shoot for stability

 

[BighohoReef]

I think the key is to find a kit you feel is good. I watched many videos and settled on Hanna for alkalinity and phosphate(ULR Phosphate). I’m anal at times so I use a 10cc syringe to fill sample bottles and do all tests the exact same way for same amount of time so even it’s always consistent. I went with Red Sea for calcium and magnesium. Then Nyos for nitrates and that’s all I test. To me consistency is key. These are all hobby grade and won’t be exact so I just shoot for stability

Thank you for the feedback!

I'm realizing very quickly that mixing and matching to find that sweet stability spot is probably the way to go. Did a test this morning again with the salifert (nitrate is still a meh for me, color chart really bugs me) and I ordered a hanna kit and a ICP test kit yesterday for our quarterly all up testing.

 

[BighohoReef]

Bump... looking for more data please

 

[slojim]

Ok, I'll play. But it won't help your data. I'll add that I've had fw and sw tanks for decades, and that I've used and purchased each dr s for work
I like the hach, a lot, but I personally wouldn't spend that much on a hobby kit unless I got a used one or something. This forum is big so it runs the gamut, some reefers have thousands tied up in testing, some openly brag they don't test To each their own. i test weekly.
I have a red sea pro mag kit. It's easy enough.
I just got a salifert silica test. Hanna was tempting, but I want to make sure I was really interested in silica first (my iodine test is still sealed, I don't remember why I even bought it) first
Almost everything else forever has been api. I find it easy, consistent, and available everywhere. I'll probably stick with it for most tests But I will be changing to either salifert or Hanna ulr for phosphate when this current bottle runs out i do struggle to estimate changes in shade since it doesn't have low end resolution of
Oh, while I have an ammonia test kit i bought while cycling,(red sea, because that's what the lfs had in stock), I prefer the seachem badge for qt tanks The online reading vs " why is my new fish upside down, maybe I should test" is worth it

 

[Marc2952]

Alk: hanna
Cal:salifert
Mag:salifert
Nitrate:salifert
Phosphate:hanna
Salinity:Milwaukee
I heard hanna is coming with the nitrate test kit, if they do it where it reads up to atleast 20ppm im definitely getting it.