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BrokeCurmudgeon 
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Joined: January 17 2004
Location: Riverton, Utah
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 Topic: Rookie Help re Test Kits
Posted: January 26 2004 at 7:03pm |
Your help or advice would be most welcome as my experience is limited.
1.) I am concerned about the accuracy of my test kits. I have an Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Salt Water Master kit and I have noticed that the ammonia test is hard for me to read due to the color graduations. Also, it tells me to wait 5 minutes. If I wait longer, i.e. 7 minutes, it indicates a presence of ammonia. Any thoughts or experiences regarding this?
2.) Red Sea PH and Alkalinity kit. When testing for ALK the only results are "Low, Normal and High". How do I relate these readings to dKH?
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Abandon hope, all ye who enter here. - Dante
Riverton, Utah
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KeoDog
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Joined: September 18 2002
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Posted: January 26 2004 at 7:13pm |
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When first starting out I used the same test kits. Test a sample of saltwater that you know has no amonia and use that as a reference. You should be ok if the water tests close to the yellow end of the chart but if it starts to get to the dark green side that is bad. I wouldn't worry about the colors not matching up exactly. I would throw away the red sea alkalinity test and get a salifert.
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Kevin Kunz (Sandy, UT)
300g reef
"A trade by which one gains and the other loses is a fraud." Ayn Rand
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BrokeCurmudgeon
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Posted: January 26 2004 at 7:19pm |
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Thanks, that is about what I suspected I would have to do. I was told a a LFS that Salifert was going out of business and that is why they do not stock them. comments?
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Abandon hope, all ye who enter here. - Dante
Riverton, Utah
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KeoDog
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Posted: January 26 2004 at 7:27pm |
I havn't heard that about Salifert. I get almost all my test kits from http://www.fishsupply.com they usually have the best prices on Salifert. The only tests I do regularly any more are alkalinity, calcium and magnesium.
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Kevin Kunz (Sandy, UT)
300g reef
"A trade by which one gains and the other loses is a fraud." Ayn Rand
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BrokeCurmudgeon
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Joined: January 17 2004
Location: Riverton, Utah
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Posted: January 26 2004 at 7:33pm |
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thanks again! I like to support the local guy but....... If the don't stock what you need then what choice do you have?
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Abandon hope, all ye who enter here. - Dante
Riverton, Utah
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jfinch
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Joined: March 06 2003
Location: Pleasant Grove
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Posted: January 26 2004 at 8:14pm |
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I ditto the Salifert kits. Most, if not all, hobby kits are essentially the same. What you want to look for is resolution. I suggest a kit with at least 0.5 meq/l alkalinity resolution and 10 ppm calcium resolution. Good luck.
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DutchDude
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Joined: August 16 2002
Location: Draper, UT
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Posted: January 27 2004 at 9:09pm |
I also like the Salifert tests - The Aquarium has all the testkits one would need. Brad will come down some on the price if you pledge your support for the LFS  .
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