Ammonia test kits - Any price/performance info

W

waterbeing

Premium Member
[Since I don't use it too often and it's about to go out of date, I may try to replace my old ammonia test kit and I was wondering if there was any consensus on what kits most people use. There are many variables to judge on, (price, time to do the test, colorwheel/card ease of match, titration types?, etc). I've used older ones I've had for years and am now using Aquarium Systems "Fastest" series, but the 15 minute wait for results is a bit annoying.
If you have any info on the kit you are using, I'd be interested in hearing experiences in regards to ease of use, timings, and lastly - relative price.

Also, if you have ever used the Seachem ammonia monitor that is attached to the tank inside and can give relative ammonia levels for about 1 yr? Even though it doesn't give PPM readings, it does appear to give a continous relative reading and kit testing could provide additional info when needed.

Thanks,]
 
[Like you I do not test for ammonia often enough to have a comment on the best test kit. Just test nitrites with a strip and assume if zero ammonia is ok too. Maybe I should test more often..

As far as the Seachem ammonia monitor, it works well. I had one couple years in a large FW cichlid tank. A large Angelfish recently died of old age and the monitor alerted me quickly, probably saving all the fish. The dead fish was hidden so I would not have noticed it for a while.]
 
[Those stickons work great and I have one in my QT tank any time it's up. When I cycle I buy a salifert test as I want to be as accurate as possible to be sure the cycle is complete. After that I test maybe once every other month until it expires (or if something looked funny). Once the kit expires or I run out, I test every once in a while with the cheap strip test. It is not accurate but it should be zero and if it's not I have a problem (actually it has never not been for me) and I would do water changes.]
 
[Thanks all,

I added the seachem monitor to my QT tank with hyposalinity now too, as I just happen to catch an ammonia spike from my normal kit and it was way too high. I water changed and put the monitor in, but I can't match the colors very well and the Aquarium Systems test still says it's up about 0.4 mg/L. Oh well, maybe the die-off of my wonderful Green hair algae during the hypo is bouncing things a bit. Guess I'll use both, since the kit it about to expire anyway...]
 
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