Which test kit should I trust

[LxHowler]

I have just been testing my tank for nitrate and I am now not sure which test I should trust. I have used a red sea and a salifert kit, the red sea kit said I have Nitrate of 36 ppm and the salifert said 2.5 ppm.
Everything else in the tank is testing fine just the nitrate test that is the issue
Is there a way to test the test kits or do I have no choice but to buy a new one and see which is the most common outcome?

 

[Jekyl]

I have just been testing my tank for nitrate and I am now not sure which test I should trust. I have used a red sea and a salifert kit, the red sea kit said I have Nitrate of 36 ppm and the salifert said 2.5 ppm.
Everything else in the tank is testing fine just the nitrate test that is the issue
Is there a way to test the test kits or do I have no choice but to buy a new one and see which is the most common outcome?

Have your LFS test it. What's your phosphate at? In my tank at least these numbers kind of go hand and hand.

 

[LxHowler]

Have your LFS test it. What's your phosphate at? In my tank at least these numbers kind of go hand and hand.

Good point I forgot about getting the lfs to check it. I haven't been able to do a phosphate test as I've run out. The new one is on order the last time I tested it was a few days ago and it was 0.04. I'll check phosphate when the kit arrives tomorrow

 

[blaxsun]

Nyos and RedSea are both pretty good.

 

[MONTANTK]

For nitrate and phosphate I really like the Red Sea kits. I was told salifert nitrate isn’t the greatest. I do use salifert for Ca and Mg and never had issues

 

[LxHowler]

For nitrate and phosphate I really like the Red Sea kits. I was told salifert nitrate isn’t the greatest. I do use salifert for Ca and Mg and never had issues

I've always heard good things about salifert tests. Apart from the scale being hard to read I've always heard they are pretty accurate. Might just be the people I talk to. Ive always preferred it to the red sea. I've been thinking of trying the nyos one, lots of people seem to like it

 

[BoxKing]

I just switched to Hanna HR from Nyos.
My Nyos was showing me next to 0ppm, and my most recent (1st test) today resulted in 0ppm from Hanna. It was annoying to me not knowing if I was sitting at 1-2ppm on the NYOS, all while squinting for minutes, changing the light schemes, taking pictures— yadda yadda just to deal with “Oh, well I’m in a range…”

I liked the NYOS over all others… but I’m now on a full digital process by Hanna for all my parameters that I monitor.

 

[blaxsun]

Hanna and Nyos are usually very close (I also have the Hanna digital testers).

 

[Miami Reef]

@LxHowler

How does your tank look? Is there a lot of algae? 2.5ppm and 36ppm is a large gap. It’s pretty difficult to get 2.5ppm unless you are on top of your filtration and water changes.

and 36ppm is pretty high. Overfeeding can cause that.

I personally think you’re somewhere in the middle.

 

[PeterB113]

I would use nyos or Hanna for nitrate

My faves are

Nyos nitrate

Salient calcium & magnesium

Hanna salinity dhk

 

[MONTANTK]

I've always heard good things about salifert tests. Apart from the scale being hard to read I've always heard they are pretty accurate. Might just be the people I talk to. Ive always preferred it to the red sea. I've been thinking of trying the nyos one, lots of people seem to like it

I love salifert for Ca, Mg, and Alk. I’ve always used Red Sea for nitrate and phosphate because I was told it was one of the best

 

[LxHowler]

@LxHowler

How does your tank look? Is there a lot of algae? 2.5ppm and 36ppm is a large gap. It’s pretty difficult to get 2.5ppm unless you are on top of your filtration and water changes.

and 36ppm is pretty high. Overfeeding can cause that.

I personally think you’re somewhere in the middle.

The tank is looking better than ever which is what made me question it. I would have expected to be having algae issues and unhappy corals is at 36ppm but 2.5 ppm is also slightly lower than normal. The tank averages between 5-8ppm normally depending on how long its been since water change.
I only did a water change yesterday aswell so it would make sense for it to be in the lower end but not that low.
The only change I have made is switching salt to fritz recently but I don't think that would make a reading that high.

 

[LxHowler]

Thanks for all the suggestions hadn't thought about the hannah checker for nitrate. I use the hannah for alk and really like it. Might end up getting the nitrate one if it makes it easier to read

 

[LxHowler]

I've just checked the expiration date of my red sea test kit. It only has a month left on it. Is it possible that the kit has gone bad early? It has been open for a while or is this unlikely

 

[LxHowler]

Just thought I'd update this to close the question. I bought a nyos test kit that came back with a result of 3 and my lfs said 4 so I have gotten rid of the red sea test kit

 

[Miami Reef]

Just thought I'd update this to close the question. I bought a nyos test kit that came back with a result of 3 and my lfs said 4 so I have gotten rid of the red sea test kit

I don’t like the Red Sea nitrate test kit. It only goes up to 4ppm but the high range version is faulty. Diluting it with RODI water makes the shade turn purple in the vial and it doesn’t match any of the pinks on the card. It’s a fail.

I’m very tempted to get the nyos. I heard very good things about it.

 

[LxHowler]

I don’t like the Red Sea nitrate test kit. It only goes up to 4ppm but the high range version is faulty. Diluting it with RODI water makes the shade turn purple in the vial and it doesn’t match any of the pinks on the card. It’s a fail.

I’m very tempted to get the nyos. I heard very good things about it.

So far I'm very happy with the nyos. Tested both my tanks with it and found it to be very easy to read because its yellow and not pink. I struggle to read my salifert sometimes because it's such a small sample and the shades are so close together.
Wish I'd bought the nyos one sooner

 

[clfmadden]

I don’t like the Red Sea nitrate test kit. It only goes up to 4ppm but the high range version is faulty. Diluting it with RODI water makes the shade turn purple in the vial and it doesn’t match any of the pinks on the card. It’s a fail.

I’m very tempted to get the nyos. I heard very good things about it.

Thanks for posting this. I’ve been struggling to read the Red Sea high range. My LFS gives a totally different result. Just couldn’t figure it out!

 

[ChaosAquaculture]

after using several types of test kits, I swear by red sea and salifert if I dont haave red sea on hand - kali

 

[Gtinnel]

I use salifert for nitrate and I really like it, ecspecially because it gives the ability too look through the vial sideways and divide the result by 10. I just recently started using the Hanna HR and it and my salifert tests give me the same readings, within reason at least.