colstudent69's Full Review: Salifert Kh/Alkalinity Test Kit
OK mad scientists(my nickname for salt water(SW) aquarium keepers) it is time to gather round for another diabolical test kit. It is time to review Salifert's KH/Alkalinity Test Kit. NOT using this test kit could result in some deadly consequences for your little fishies or corals. MUHAHAHAHAAA!
Wait, we actually WANT to keep our little fishies alive, so that they don't end up swimming with the fishes, right? At least in the bad way. So why is Alkalinity important? Wait, for the novices out there, what IS Alkalinity?
Alkalinity Discussion:
Alkalinity, sometimes referred to as total Alkalinity, is a measure of the pH buffering capacity of your aquarium's saltwater. While many chemicals make up Alkalinity, the vast majority of Alkalinity is hydroxides, carbonates and bicarbonates.
Alkalinity is typically expressed in dKH or meq/L concentration units. All we need to know is that dKH values should be around 8, which is what the concentration is in natural seawater. For those mad scientists that just need to know more, go here:
1. If your alkalinity is low in your tank, your pH swings in your tank will be larger and hence more deadly. SW aquarium inhabitants like stable pH values in the 7.7-8.5 range(8.0-8.3 is ideal).
2. Directly or indirectly carbonates/bicarbonates are used by corals in your reef tank to build their skeletons and grow. Low Alkalinity results in unhappy, stressed and downright grumpy corals. Persistently low dKH values can either directly or indirectly result in the death of your corals.
The Test Kit:
Salifert's test kit is the best test kit I've found for measuring dKH. You get the testing vial, 2 syringes(one with a nifty plastic tip), 1 bottle dye and 1 bottle testing reagent(chemical).
Usage:
This test kit can be used in full strength(for more accuracy) or 1/2 strength for more tests per kit. Exact instructions are included with every test kit and if you lose the instructions they are available many places on-line.
Basically you add the dye to your water to test and drop in the testing reagent until you see a color change from blue to pink/orange.
The Good:
Very accurate in my experience and very sensitive compared to other test kits I've used.
The cost! On-line price is hovering around $14 as of 05/02/2005. If you do the half tests and get the 200 tests out of the kit, that is 0.07 per test. Cheap! Even if you do the full strength tests your are only talking 0.14 per test.
The expiration date should always be checked, but it is typically 2-3 years for this test, which is long enough for even 1/2 strength testing.
Just for comparison, if you were to buy 200 tests of SeaTest's Alkalinity kit(1 kit, plus 9 refills), that would run you: 42.50 or a mere 0.22 cents per test. Yikes!
The Bad:
Not always available locally in local fish stores.
Make sure you seal the testing kit bottles good, they are liquid and if left open they dry up rapidly.
This is a sensitive test and one drop is enough to cause the color change. So for you impatient mad scientists out there, you need to be patient on this test.
Brian's Helpful Aquarium tip #873:
If you test regularly and know your dKH should be near a certain value, say 8, then you can add enough reagent quickly to a close value, say 6, mix well, and then slowly add until you get the color change. This saves you gads of time to perform other diabolical acts.
Who needs this test kit:
If you are running a fish only SW tank, you probably don't need this test kit. However, if you are testing your pH and find it swinging wildly or very low or high values, it would still be useful to see if low Alkalinity was contributing to your problem.
For SW reef tank keepers, this test kit is essential. Monitoring of Alkalinity should be done weekly, more often if you have a very high concentration of corals in your tank.
Summary:
An excellent test kit that makes you feel like a mad scientist! Accurate, cheap, nice expiration period. A little sensitive, but in the long run that is a good thing once you get used to it. ESSENTIAL test for SW reef keepers, and a good one for fish only SW tanks to check for problems.
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