test kit

[bamaboy]

Iam using red sea marine lab test kit but I think the reading is wrong it was very cheap need some help on test kits. I need a very good one at a good price.

 

[Miklos]

I have that test kit,and it is was inaccurate alot of the time.When I brought my water to two lfs,it measured much higher in nitrates and nitrites than the Red Sea test kit.I would suggest measure your water about 3 times within a short peroid with that test kit and see if you always get the same results.Secondly I would bring your water to a lfs store and get it tested,generally lfs use better kits because they have more tanks.Although this is not always true.If you get pretty close readings from the two test kits,than I would just keep using the Red Sea kit.If they are completely different, buy a better test kit or even electronis probes.
Nick

 

[AnotherGoldenTeapot]

Toss the kit out and buy the Salifert equivalents of the ones you really need.

To be honest I've gone off "Made in Israel" products anyway.

Opinion varies on which tests are essential. Some people are ultra-minimalists. That really requires lots of experience and being able to judge if something is wrong by looking at how everything looks.

In an established tank there's not a lot of justification for ammonia and nitrite tests.

In fact, you don't really ever need a nitrite test at all - during cycling you can test for nitrite by the interference it causes with most nitrate tests i.e. off-the-scale nitrate reading when you know that's impossible.

I personally think that pH is bordering on useless too.

I check Alkalintiy, nitrate, and phosphate semi-regularly. My nitrate always reads < 2.5mg/l so I guess I'm just filling in time by measuring it.

I don't measure calcium, but since I run a calcium reactor I can infer the level well enough from my purposes from the alkalinity reading.