What Freshwater Test Kit is the best?

[jessecohen10]

what freshwater test kit is the best

 

[mfdrookie516]

Moved to General Hardware/Equipment Discussion

 

[Fishkeeper26]

A lot of people use the API master test kit, as far as which is the best idk.

 

[jessecohen10]

i got that one and it didn't work

 

[Fishkeeper26]

Did you follow all the directions correctly because for some of the test you need to add drops from two different bottles.

 

[Fishkeeper26]

Here's a different one....

http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/207467/product.web

 

[carey]

I have to agree, the best and most value will come from an API liquid test. if you wanna go crazy on accuracy and spend more money you can get salifert test kits.

 

[rich311k]

No hobby grade kits are all that accurate, The API one does a more than adequate job for what we want to accomplish.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

There's also the Hagen (Nutrafin) master test kit. It has 10 (?) different tests that covers FW and SW.

Aquatic - Products

 

[HUKIT]

i got that one and it didn't work

I've never heard that reaction before, what specifically didn't work? Don't take this as a insult but are you following the directions? I find people forget to shake the living daylights out the nitrate bottles.

 

[jcolon]

I've never heard that reaction before, what specifically didn't work? Don't take this as a insult but are you following the directions? I find people forget to shake the living daylights out the nitrate bottles.

Yep .. I was guilty of that my first time ... but the API test master kit is a great kit.

We should be on Aquarium Pharmaceuticals payroll for all the good word of mouth and referrals we send them

 

[BeavisMom62]

I've never heard that reaction before, what specifically didn't work? Don't take this as a insult but are you following the directions? I find people forget to shake the living daylights out the nitrate bottles.

True! I've heard that there are solids in the nitrate bottles and sometimes it helps, especially if the kit has been sitting for a while, to bang the bottles on a counter top to loosen the solids and mix them correctly.

Was your test kit expired? What "didn't work"? and how do you know?

 

[BeavisMom62]

Yep .. I was guilty of that my first time ... but the API test master kit is a great kit.

We should be on Aquarium Pharmaceuticals payroll for all the good word of mouth and referrals we send them

Hah! Isn't that the truth! Also Seachem Prime!! Everyone recommends that.

 

[jcolon]

Hah! Isn't that the truth! Also Seachem Prime!! Everyone recommends that.

True That!

I'm thinking AA should just mail them invoices with copies of the threads as proof! Once the $$$$ reaches $1 mil ... div it up At the rate we recommend ... figure we'll reach the goal a new or two

 

[jessecohen10]

yes i read the bottle i did everything it said to, every time it showed up blue it's a ph test kit blue is 7.8 or more i put a whole bottle of ph down in the tank and it still read 7.8 or more

 

[HUKIT]

yes i read the bottle i did everything it said to, every time it showed up blue it's a ph test kit blue is 7.8 or more i put a whole bottle of ph down in the tank and it still read 7.8 or more

I would be less concerned about the test kit at this time, why you are dumping chemicals into your tank, why are you trying to lower your PH? PH is highly overrated and the most important thing is having the PH stable. My best advice is don't mess with your water chemisty with unnatural products. Whether or not it's high or low once properly acclimated the fish will adjust naturally. If you do try lowering stay away from chemicals like PH down use peat moss or add some driftwood and let it leach tannins.

 

[jessecohen10]

my tank is fine that whole incident was about three weeks ago i took a cup of the tank water in petco and they said it was perfect so the test was wrong, i just tested it again and it read blue like i said, i just want to know what is the best for everything else besides the ph level

 

[Mr. Limpet]

yes i read the bottle i did everything it said to, every time it showed up blue it's a ph test kit blue is 7.8 or more i put a whole bottle of ph down in the tank and it still read 7.8 or more

I agree that you should leave the pH alone and 7.8 isn't bad at all (pretty common actually) mine is at that level and I have a wide variety of fish that have no problem with it.

pH down doesn't really work like that, you have strong buffers in your water supply and you have to "crack" them before you can lower the pH. I did a lot of testing to lower my pH and keep it stable (a key point to remember) and it was nearly impossible.

 

[jessecohen10]

no you don't understand it didn't read above 7.8 so i thought when put some of the ph down it was so high that it couldn't read it, what if it was at 8.4 is to high

 

[Mr. Limpet]

no you don't understand it didn't read above 7.8 so i thought when put some of the ph down it was so high that it couldn't read it, what if it was at 8.4 is to high

Did you try the high range pH test? There's 2 in the kit and I've never use the regular other than when I was playing with my pH level. 8.4 is on the higher side IMO, but not unrealistic for most fish. I'd suggest testing your tap water pH, then let some sit for 2hrs and test it again. Mine goes from 8.2 out of the tap, to 7.8 after 2-24hrs and it's always rock solid at 7.8 in my tanks. My fish are happy, I'm happy and now I rarely test my pH.

Just so you know, (my) Petco tells everyone their water is fine, but they use test strips and those are (IMO) a waste of paper. The API FW Master test kit is the best choice for the money and as long as you follow the directions, it's spot on each time for me.