Red Sea Magnesium Pro test kit

[Texreefer]

Just picked up this New test kit and very impressed with the apparent quality. everything is contained In a black plastic case and Glass vial for testing.. not plastic ones. also has a "Titrator" a piece of equipment that holds the Syringe above the attached Testing vile so the drops can be easily added and mixed. Not Cheap at about $35 but appears to be worth the money.. I will give results soon on how easy it is to work and read the results

[Texreefer]

Ok, a little confusing the first time.. you actually have to take the starting plunger point and subrtact from the ending plunger point to get the amount of titrant used. my reading was 1280 so will will increase it to about 1400 which is where I want it. overall, after the initial learning curve, I would say very nice kit and easy to use

[stoneroller]

Salifert works the same way but its syringe has the "math" built in, so to speak. How many reagents does it use?

[Europhyllia]

Ok, a little confusing the first time.. you actually have to take the starting plunger point and subrtact from the ending plunger point to get the amount of titrant used. my reading was 1280 so will will increase it to about 1400 which is where I want it. overall, after the initial learning curve, I would say very nice kit and easy to use

Why don't they just adjust the results chart for that? (assuming they always issue the same syringe)

[Texreefer]

Why don't they just adjust the results chart for that? (assuming they always issue the same syringe)
Dont know.. seems like they would want to remove as much human error as possible... the only thing I don't like about this kit, otherwise it is great

[Texreefer]

Salifert works the same way but its syringe has the "math" built in, so to speak. How many reagents does it use?
I have used Salifert for Years... 2 reagents.. its almost identical to the salifert in process... just a little fancier

[Europhyllia]

lol so I can keep my Salifert kits and just pick up a fancier box for them at the container store ;) ?

[Big_Pun]

IMO the red sea test kits are so much easier than sailfret and very well packaged. i own the colors kit and Cal and mag tests.

MofaqM-I6uM

[tebstan]

It's the same as the old Red Sea kit, but with way fancier packaging and supplies! The cost is about the same as the old kit though; nice to see the price didn't jump up to the Salifert range just because of the packaging.

[Europhyllia]

so the process is really exactly the same (other than you have to swirl for 15 seconds between each drop with the Red Sea kit and with the Salifert you can add the drops and then swirl once for all)
The packaging with the fancy syringe holder looks nice though! :) I bet it would make it a lot easier for people with arthritis, etc.

[Europhyllia]

It's the same as the old Red Sea kit, but with way fancier packaging and supplies! The cost is about the same as the old kit though; nice to see the price didn't jump up to the Salifert range just because of the packaging.
Jump up? A quick search seems to indicate the Salifert Mag kit sells for between $25 and $30 on average. Wouldn't that be lower than the Red Sea kit?

I do like the fancy spill proof titrator thingy and could totally see myself purchasing this kit so I am not dissing it. :)
But it seems like it's the same thing as the Salifert IMO. Just with nicer accessories, a few more steps/time and a little more expensive (due to the extra titrator thingy I am sure)

[Texreefer]

The "Titrator Thingy" is worth buying the kit one time.. becaue it could be used with any other kit as well that uses that type of syringe(ie, salifert) i like the fact you can basically do it with one hand and don't have to worry about spilling it

[tebstan]

A quick search seems to indicate the Salifert Mag kit sells for between $25 and $30 on average

Where? I paid 44.99 at a local sponsor....

I've tried getting it cheaper online but it seemed to always be out of stock, plus added shipping costs.

[FireWater]

Where? I paid 44.99 at a local sponsor....

I've tried getting it cheaper online but it seemed to always be out of stock, plus added shipping costs.

I agree. Where Karin? I paid more for my Salifert test kits than the whole tank is worth.

[Texreefer]

Where? I paid 44.99 at a local sponsor....
Ouch!

[Texreefer]

several sites list the salifert kit very cheaply
( i removed Link) aquacave ( I have bought from them many times) sells salifert for $25

Marine depot sells red sea for aroung $29

[tebstan]

Marine depot sells red sea for aroung $29

Did you mean salifert?

I didn't think about online prices. It's not always a fair comparison to local stores, and I prefer to shop locally for small items. $5 shipping doesn't sound bad... but $5 shipping on a $25 item? The percentage increase irks me.

[Europhyllia]

Uhm. I buy the test kits when I buy bulk stuff like DI resin and GFO, etc. Since I am a preferred customer on that site the savings really add up. Plus I love their glue. lol
Great idea Mike about buying the Red Sea kit once to get the hardware and then just using it with my Salifert stuff!

[Texreefer]

Did you mean salifert?
No, Meant Red Sea.. just showing the pricing was comparable from different sites for both kits... I love and agree with supporting local stores.. but not when there is that big of a price difference. especially when i'm still spending $5 in gas to drive over there and back.. same as shipping for me

[tebstan]

When we're talking about $5 or $10 it just matters what else you're doing with your time and money. Ordering other stuff online anyway? Shipping is already a given. Spending your day off checking out LFS? Gas money is already a given. :)

[Europhyllia]

When we're talking about $5 or $10 it just matters what else you're doing with your time and money. Ordering other stuff online anyway? Shipping is already a given. Spending your day off checking out LFS? Gas money is already a given. :)

Exactly. :)

[Texreefer]

When we're talking about $5 or $10 it just matters what else you're doing with your time and money. Ordering other stuff online anyway? Shipping is already a given. Spending your day off checking out LFS? Gas money is already a given. :)

I completely agree.. thats the rule I use...but i'm still too cheap to buy a $45 test kit:wink_smile:

[ramsey]

I really like the Red Sea tests though I have concerns about the accuracy of the mag test. It told me it was around 1600PPM which is HIGHLY unlikely. My Seachem mag test show it around 1300PPM which is more like it. I've only used ot once though so I may have done something wrong. I'll try again because I love the calc test and the titrator alone is worth the price of the kit.

[Europhyllia]

oh I just saw that there are refills for the test kits for around $15 each. Now that makes it a lot more appealing.
You buy the $30/$44 kit first and then after that just get the refills. Nice!

[Europhyllia]

I am getting some! I had enough points on my credit card to get some free stuff from Amazon so I chose the basic reef kit (Ca, Mg, Alk) and the algae kit (Nitrate and Phosphate). Can't wait to try them out!

[Europhyllia]

I got it! It's nice. I got the foundation kit meaning it's all three in one box. That's a bit of a problem because I can't get it to all fit back into the one box lol
Other than that I agree: it's very nice.

One thing that freaked me out: I was so dazzled by the beautiful test kits that I also bought a bottled supplement: Nitrate and Phosphate reducer.
I enthusiastically dosed it to my main tank and didn't notice until AFTER I poured it in that it smelled like nailpolish remover. I usually hesitate to pour acetone into my tank so this caused me some panic...