Test kits, API or Red Sea...

willlovesfish

willlovesfish

Member
I am looking for a decent master test kit but am also trying to save some money without sacrificing too much quality.
From what I have read Salifert seems to be the best, but man are they expensive $$$!
I really don't want to spend more then $50. Anyone have a preference on API or Red Sea? I notice SWF.com sells Red Sea, is it better then API?
Thanks for the input and help!
 
willlovesfish

willlovesfish

Member
Oh come on, people must have opinions on this stuff! Give me anything, even if your opinion is it's a waste of money to go with anything else besides Salifert, just give me something peoples, please!
Thanks,
Will
 
sharkbait9

sharkbait9

Active Member
if i have to vote then api, like lion said red sea is hard to see and i naver got a result that was even close to my tanks real pars.
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
Do we have to choose one of those two?
I guess I'd chose API over Red Sea.
But if you are looking for relatively inexpensive, yet good quality test kits, check out the Seachem kits. Much cheaper than LaMotte, Salifert, etc.
 
joncat24

joncat24

Active Member
sea chems test are great. easy , accurate and not that expensive. Out of the two listed I like the API's. I have used them before also.
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
I've always liked them... it's a pretty standard deal... fill a little sample cup, drop in some reagent, compare colors.
The nice thing I like about the seachem is that the little sample cups are white, so it's easier to see the colors than with the clear test tubes. They also come with a dropper to sample the water, which works a lot better than sticking a test tube into the water to try to fill to the line.
The other great them about them is that they come with reference samples, so if you want a point of reference to try to "calibrate your eye" you can see exactly what "10ppm Nitrate" looks like or "0.25ppm Nh3" looks like. It helps me out quite a bit because I have lots of problems doing color comparions.
They aren't the greatest kits out there obiviously, but they work very well for their price.
 
willlovesfish

willlovesfish

Member
Wow, finally got some good opinions and votes, thanks to everyone who voted and gave their opinion.
Guess I should have included Seachem in the poll as well. I will for sure check them out before making a final decision. Otherwise API looks like the best for my price range etc.
Any other votes and or opinions are still welcome, thanks!
 
mckevinfang

mckevinfang

Member
i purchased a wrong item on an online action and i can't return it!! i need it for my saltwater reef tank it's a API (Aquarium pharmaceutical) freshwater master test kit will it work for saltwater? what should i do??
 
willlovesfish

willlovesfish

Member
Sorry to hear you got the wrong item, that's no good for sure.
I am pretty sure you can't use freshwater kits on saltwater, but hopefully some other people will chime in and confirm that for me...?
Good luck either way.
 
travis89

travis89

Active Member
Originally Posted by mckevinfang
i purchased a wrong item on an online action and i can't return it!! i need it for my saltwater reef tank it's a API (Aquarium pharmaceutical) freshwater master test kit will it work for saltwater? what should i do??
You can't use freshwater for saltwater or vice versa, they are different.
 
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