Do you think any of this coral will survive?

[H2Ochem]

Why don't ya'll cut the guy some slack? He's apparently new to the hobby and bought a test kit he saw at the store probably thinking a test kit is a test kit. Ya'll crack on him like he's supposed to know what a "real" kit is as opposed to a "not real" kit. No reason to be snooty about it. It's that kind of attitude that makes people feel stupid to ask for advice.

I don't see anyone "cracking" on the guy. Think they just gave an opinion or advise to help out. As far as test kits go all can be hit or miss. So, as mentioned by another poster have two to verify. In addition you always want a trace of nitrates. The level being bio load dependent.

[stoneroller]

I'd say take a sample down to the LFS and get it tested for free ASAP.

[corydrysdale]

Who's to say their's is not way off. I recently took my calcium reading with a SeaChem text kit (kit looks like a first aid kit, with the powders and the drops) My calcium level was 180 when i tested it. I had been dripping lime water for 2 weeks in a attempt to bring it up. No luck. Started dosing with Turbo Calcium and a week later tested with the SeaChem and it showed 350ish... Took said water sample to LFS and they stated probably over 1000 !!! My kit is 6 months old so who knows anymore. No idea how long they sit on the shelf before there bought. Any way, just thought id share my story.

[danny]

I've been to two different LFS where I've seen them using the very same API kits when I brought them some of my water to test. I have taken my water to Jason at AD (real test kit) shortly after running my own tests with a fake kit and found my results almost identical. Just my two cents.

[Noober]

being a noob I cant really help much, my 1 year saltwater anniversery is coming up soon...... I can say I've seen zoanthids last through pretty much anything. I once had a quarintine tank that I took everything out of on a tank move, and I left two 3-6 polyp frags of some zoas I had 3 100+ polyp colonies of in there. There was no flow, no light, no filteration, and a heck of a film on the top of the water for close to 2 months. a couple nassiserius (note i cant spell and dont even try) snails that were in there and the zoas made it fine lol, I threw them into my display tank the other day as a test and they opened up, their color is bleached from what a healthy frag would look like but none the less they seem to be getting better week by week. ps a chunk of a montipora frag that was left in there was dead within the first week. Anyway sorry about the crash and good luck with the recovery! Hope I'm not missing anything but I'm wondering what caused the crash? - Matt

[Noober]

ps, so far, and i hope I havnt been doing anything wrong, but my algae is not much of a problem, a weekly clean on the glass and I'm good. I use sailfert for calcium mag and alk. for nitrate nitrite and ammonia i use api. their ph test kit (api) always matches with my ph probe on my neptune aqua controller. Everytime i check my water pollution, i assume that when my api test kit shows 0 nitrates, that it means that it is within an acceptable range... I dont see how it could ever be actually 0, i am a noobie, but if the nitrogen cycle is taking place, there has to be a by product of it at times, even with a good protien skimmer, chemical media reactor, and plenty of benifical bactera (nitrifiying). I've got all of that plus a refuge with chato and mangroves and some other macro algaes. I still get algae on the glass, what else is it feeding from? my reactors have phos and slilicate absorbers as well as nitratie ammonia and nitrite, not to mention the natural absorbers in the fuge.... I hope I am correct in assuming that a 0 on the nitrate level is indicating that its within a safe range, mabe I should spend more on the pollutiant test kits.... anyone have any ideas on this?

[Bill S]

Why don't ya'll cut the guy some slack? He's apparently new to the hobby and bought a test kit he saw at the store probably thinking a test kit is a test kit. Ya'll crack on him like he's supposed to know what a "real" kit is as opposed to a "not real" kit. No reason to be snooty about it. It's that kind of attitude that makes people feel stupid to ask for advice.

There's a reason why folks bad mouth SOME manufacture's test kits. Yes, the stores DO use API and others. BUT, they have the luxury of this: When they open a brand new test kit, they compare it against another kit. That way, they know that the kit they are using, works. Also, they run tests several times a day, every day. Their reagents are fresh - and this is the bane of just about every test kit out there. We learn very early on, in bio lab, that reagents are critical - and they are generally made fresh, in a lab.

So, the reason why you will see Salifert so highly recommended, is that they produce a top quality test kit, and the reagents are designed specifically for shelf life. They don't last forever, but they will outlast the others, several times. Are they expensive? Heck yeah - about as much for ONE test as others charge for a "Professional Kit".

I look at it this way: Even if you have a small tank, you've spent $100s of dollars on the livestock. Aren't they worth it? I chased an Alkalinity problem a few years ago, and was testing with a pretty decent kit (not Salifert). I found out the kit was showing only 1/2 the actually alkalinity. The company replaced the reagents - but what the heck?

BTW, I worked in a LFS for 8 years. Just because they do something, doesn't necessarily mean it's right...

As for the OP - he's already used to me (I hope!). I think he knows we're trying to help. I TRIED to get him remove his livestock several days before his tank crashed.

[H2Ochem]

There's a reason why folks bad mouth SOME manufacture's test kits. Yes, the stores DO use API and others. BUT, they have the luxury of this: When they open a brand new test kit, they compare it against another kit. That way, they know that the kit they are using, works. Also, they run tests several times a day, every day. Their reagents are fresh - and this is the bane of just about every test kit out there. We learn very early on, in bio lab, that reagents are critical - and they are generally made fresh, in a lab.

So, the reason why you will see Salifert so highly recommended, is that they produce a top quality test kit, and the reagents are designed specifically for shelf life. They don't last forever, but they will outlast the others, several times. Are they expensive? Heck yeah - about as much for ONE test as others charge for a "Professional Kit".

I look at it this way: Even if you have a small tank, you've spent $100s of dollars on the livestock. Aren't they worth it? I chased an Alkalinity problem a few years ago, and was testing with a pretty decent kit (not Salifert). I found out the kit was showing only 1/2 the actually alkalinity. The company replaced the reagents - but what the heck?

BTW, I worked in a LFS for 8 years. Just because they do something, doesn't necessarily mean it's right...

As for the OP - he's already used to me (I hope!). I think he knows we're trying to help. I TRIED to get him remove his livestock several days before his tank crashed.

No offense but I've been in a few labs myself. Have too say that reagents come from a limited number of manufactures for there specific apps. Where and how they get there is a whole new game.Please dont think that a 30 dollar test kit does not have the same reagent that a 10 dollar test kit does. ....kinda like RO/DI filters....theres only a few players out there...

Just my experience. Your milage may vary.

[Bill S]

No offense but I've been in a few labs myself. Have too say that reagents come from a limited number of manufactures for there specific apps. Where and how they get there is a whole new game.Please dont think that a 30 dollar test kit does not have the same reagent that a 10 dollar test kit does. ....kinda like RO/DI filters....theres only a few players out there...

Just my experience. Your milage may vary.

I have owned maybe 200 test kits. Plus or minus 100 in the 35+ years I've been keeping saltwater fish. Oh, and I'm a molecular biologist, by education. Until about 5 years ago, I too used API, Seachem and others. After chasing non-existent problems, I switched. I'd never go back.

And NO, the Salifert test kits are NOT just like the others. For instance, the Nitrate Salifert kit uses 2 powdered reagents. By not hydrating them (as others do), AND by keeping them dry, they last much, much longer. Ever notice that API kits are in white bottles? In a lab, do you keep reagents in white bottles, or exposed to light? Since you've worked in a lab, you'll note that reagents are dated. If you make them up yourself, you also date them. Do you own any Salifert kits? Some of the Salifert tests are extremely complicated. Many involve titration. The iodine kit is probably one of the few on the market. People don't spend $28 on a single test kit just to brag about owning it...

BTW, IF you have to buy a kit off the shelf, reach to the back for the newest one. That's what the LFSs do...

[Squiers007]

A little off topic, but bstreep, you said you were a molecular biologist and I was just curious if you were still working as one and where you went to school at? I am also a molecular biologist so its always good to meet others with the same interests.

And just to throw in my 2 cents about test kits. IMO the only way to go to get truly accurate results is to use a a spectrophotometer instrument like the ones made by Hanna that read the "color" for you and use powdered reagents as well. These are very expensive but will give you the most accurate results short of using an even more expensive nutrient analyzer.