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Test kit recommendations?


Keiris

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I like the nutrafin test kit. Its pricey but i needed it when i was breeding discus. Im sure others will disagree with this but i found it to be accurate. Now i use it for shrimp tank and i just ordered an ez tds pen from amazon today.

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I used the api master test kit and find it does the job for keeping neos. if u want cheap snd only have neos then it's fine. the only test of theirs that I really dislike is nitrate. its too easy to mess up and get a false reading! and not very accurate at all. but if used properly its good enough for neos..

ive also use the API calcium and gh/kh testkits. the gh/kh kits arent wonderful but they do give a rough guide.

same with calcium but if you test with 20ml instead of the standard 5ml then you get 5ppm accuracy with the Ca test.

for other tests I use aquasonic which is an oz brand. I just found out recently the salifert nitrate tests down to 0.2ppm if u keep bees or crs etc then that is awesome !

hope that helps.

love n peace

will

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I just got a Sera nitrate kit - much harder to find than Salifert, it seems, but the individual kits are not quite as expensive.

I am one of those oddities who uses dip stick tests. I've been using Tetra brand and the ease of use means I check weekly even though nothing is wrong with my tanks. If I have any suspicions that the results are not good, I go get the liquid tests (I have API for the most part, as my problem is mainly with the pH and nitrate tests). They have not disagreed so far.

I also use the Seachem in-tank ammonia dot. It measures free ammonia and not total ammonia nitrogen, which is fine for me. Hey, it hangs there and I look at it when I feed and dose the tanks. It does not get any easier than that.

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I've only seen pH and free ammonia. The ammonia one needs to be replaced yearly but is not expensive. I've checked mine against total ammonia and then referencing a chart that says how much free ammonia is present depending upon pH - the results matched. So I trust it. I know some people have complaints about it, I don't understand why though.

I did look into a digital nitrate reader, but I think the least expensive one I found was $250 (US). I don't really make that much money!

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hmm pH would be handy to watch the drift even if its not very accurate. ill have to look into it if its only a few dollars or less. I only have neos and guppies and they are very forgiving creatures when it comes to water parameters so its probably not really necessary until I move into more delicate caridina :-)

love n peace

will

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