Can Anyone Recommend An Excellent Test Kit?
 

I have been looking all over the internet for test kits and they seem to range anywhere from like 50 bucks to 300 bucks. Im curious as to if its anywhere close to worth the difference. Ive been thinking of getting a cheap setup but that Elos set looks pretty sweet. With the packages looking all shiny and whatnot...
Thanks

Bah! I just typed out a big long answer for you, and my internet connection crapped out. Grr.

Anyway, the short of it was that I like to buy kits individually because I find the packages usually have one or two I don't want, and are missing some I do want! I like to use high quality kits like Salifert or Elos for everything, but mainly calcium, alkalinity, magnesium, and nitrate. I don't mind using API kits for ammonia and nitrite which are cheaper because you really only use these kits in the beginning of the tank setup, and then only later on if you are having some troubles. I don't test for pH (check out the link in my signature for explanation). If you choose to test for phosphate (good idea), use a quality kit for that too.

I use Salfert kits. But whay Myka said aboyut the kits is true. Just buy the ones you want/need. And you don't need them all at once.

I agree with everything said above as well.

Agreed,
No point paying $300.00 for something you will never use, just to have it expire on you. Testing trace elements IMO is a waste of time, it's very hard to determine the rate of which these elements are taken out of our tanks so to try and test/ dose for them usually leads to problems instead of fixes (regular water changes is the best solution to this). I test for CA, ALK, MG, Salinity, pH, Nitrate, Nitrite, the occasional phosphate and of course temp. Your best precursor to any problems is to just observe your corals though, color change, inflation/ deflation and necrosis of tissue are just a few things to watch for.

Okay Well i have a probe setup for PH and Temperature, so that stuff is going to be constantly monitored thru my aqua controller jr. I plan on doing roughly 10% water changes weekly. I think Marine Environment salt is what im going to use or Bio-Sea, Ive heard they have very nicely regulated trace elements.

so i think ill get cheap ones for
Ammonia
Nitrate
Phosphate

Should i test for Alk having a controller? I think after the tanks running for a bit ill get a kalk dose pump hooked up to the jr aswell

Nitrite should be the cheap one, not nitrate.

Save some more money and don't bother with a nitrite test kit. It's totally useless in a saltwater aquarium - nitrite does not have the toxicity that it does in fresh water aquaria and concerns about it in salt water aquaria are just a carry-over of the fresh water mentality of yesteryear.

I havent done a nitrate/nitrite test on my tanks in a LONG time

Nitrite and the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes Farley

As much as Randy Holmes Farley explains how there has to be several hundred ppm nitrite to be toxic to saltwater fish (unlike freshwater fish who are very sensitive), nitrite is still important to test for at times. If you have nitrite chances are you have or recently had some ammonia in the tank (as Randy also states), and you may have missed this with your ammonia kit. If there is nitrite showing up in your tank after the cycle has finished there may be some serious problems brewing. Nitrite is also a good indicator that something is amiss in the tank, often a more sensitive indicator than ammonia. Another thing to note is that there has been little study on the effects of nitrite toxicity on invertebrates.

I test for nitrite when cycling the tank, and at any time there is something amiss in the tank; corals fading or bleaching, fish panting, algae blooms, etc. Once the tank has matured these types of issues are rarely seen, so the warrant for a test kit later on is likely not very large. You can always get your LFS to test it for you. I do think it is a handy, and important kit to have in the first year or so of your reef's existence. I think I get my money's worth since the API kit costs less than $10.