Salifert Alk kit prob?

[Biggen]

Just wondering if there are any know issues with the Salifert Alk test kits.

To give some history, I have been battling a chronic low Alk problem in my tank. I thought it may be because the Kent Tech CB product was weak so I switched over to B-Ionic in hopes that would alleviate my low Alk problem. It didn't. My Alk always measures at or below 8DKH. I was really confused today when I tested my newly mixed batch of new Oceanic salt today. Guess what the Alk reading was??? Yup, 8DKH. So I took the Oceanic salt to the LFS today to see what they measured it out as. They took a reading of 12 DKH. Significantly higher than I am getting with my kit.

This worries me a little as I have been putting quite a bit of ALK into my tank the past two weeks because I "thought" I had an ALK issue....

I am going to post this over on RC in Salifert's vendor forum and see what they have to say. Perhaps I just got a bad kit.

 

[reefrunner69]

Just wondering if there are any know issues with the Salifert Alk test kits.

Nope, mine reads over 8 for sure I think you either have a bad kit, or the LFS does. I don't suppose it's possible that you have done the test wrong?? I doubt it as you would not get the same reading every time. I stopped measuring ph in my tank cause of a bad ph kit. Salifert is a good kit, but they were a small company that took off very fast, that can occasionally cause quality control issues, I know that retailers have to wait to get them in stock they are so busy making the kits. Have you purchased another kit?

 

[Biggen]

I don't think I have done the test wrong. Its pretty straight forward: 4ml of sample, 2 drops of KH color, and then begin to dispense 1ml of titrant until the solution turns from blue to orange/pink.

I haven't purchased another kit yet as all my LFS has is Red Sea. They hadn't even heard of Salifert!! I have to always get them online. GRR....

I guess tomorrow I need to get something until I can order another Salifert kit.

 

[Wally]

Id like to keep informed on this issue also. I just ordered my first Sailfert kits one for Ca and the other for Alk. I just got the Ca kit today but the Alk is on backorder. Umtil now I have been using Hagen kits for Ammonia, Nitrite, nitrate, phosphate and PH.

The sailfert seems like it will take a little longer but the results should be easier to determine. No more color matching!

 

[Brisc0]

I haven't had any trouble with Salifert ALK kits. I will say that im very dissapointed in their PO4 kit. The color scale is one of the worst I have ever seen. May just be my eyes, but I really can't tell with any certainty if its reading .003 or .1 LoL

 

[Biggen]

Well hopefully, Habib will address my questions over on RC. I am going to have to purchase an Alk kit in the meantime while I wait for a new Salifert kit...

FYI, I tested the CA level my newly mixed batch of Oceanic salt this morning before I did the water change. According to the Seachem Ca test, the Ca level is ~485 ppm. I did the test twice and came out with the same results. I kind of expected the level to be this high as per the test results of others using the mix.

So either Oceanic is the most ionically unbalanced salt there is (more so than IO) or my kit is definitely bad.