Test Kits

• To: Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
• Subject: Test Kits
• From: Jonathan_Kirschner at Energetics_com (Jonathan Kirschner)
• Date: 14 Aug 1996 09:03:03 GMT

John Lobingier asked:

>What is the word on the Red Sea test kits?  Are they accurate?  I am
>considering buying the iron and phosphate test kits they have because Tetra
>does not make these kits.  The phosphate kit has a range of 0.1 - 3.0 ppm.
>How important do you think phosphate testing is for a planted tank?  If you
>have any experience with Red Sea iron, phosphate, KH, GH, and CO2 tests
>please tell me what you think.  Thank you.

My experience with these kits has been that you get what you pay for.  The
only Red Sea kit I
have used is the KH kit, which I naively purchased in addition to my Wardley
alkalinity kit, not
realizing that the two kits were essentially measuring the same thing (same
colorimetric
endpoint, although the results are expressed in different units). 
Personally, I prefer the Wardley,
although any kit's accuracy can only be measured by testing it against a
known standard
solution.  IMHO by far the best kits for hobbyists, though costly, are by
LaMotte.  After spending
money on countless pH kits that were impossible to read I finally sprang for
a LaMotte.  I also
purchased a LaMotte CO2 kit.  I feel that both were worthwhile investments.

Jonathan Kirschner
Rockville, MD where it's already beginning to feel like fall.
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