Safe to use Salifert test kits???

[bigbris1]

I mean, even without the extensive knowledge & experience, once you get to the point where you stop putting your hands in the tank, testing should be a resort to defer to when the tank begins to look off.

We all know what the "ideal parameters" are, but every situation (tank) will be different. Each individual's tank will need more or less of something. Stability is key, & testing & the subsequent additions or deletions (constant adjustments) will disrupt that stability.

 

[kimoyo]

I know this is off the topic but I have to disagree with you guys. Not that it might not be true after a while but definitely not when your just beginning. In the beginning before you tank is packed full of corals or matured, its still growing. Your alkalinity demands won't be linear and you really need to test to make sure that your demand hasn't passed your import. Kedd also said the same thing to me but your talking about tanks going for years and which have reached steady states; entirely different situation for a new tank startup. If you know your tanks use and how much your adding then you don't need to test, but without a mature tank its very hard to know tanks demand when it changes frequently. Then consider that new tanks usually have frags in them which are definitely harder to monitor visually.

When I had my tank up I didn't even really test for alkalinity because I inferred it from my pH. When the window was closed I expected a certain pH and when it was open another pH. But even this is another form of measurement because I got a rough idea of where my alk was in relation to my pH from doing measurements.

 

[e.muehlbauer]

I'm perfectly happy with salifert for alk and calcium...partly because I can see the change. I'm also not concerned about absolute accuracy....while I don't want 2.5 reading as 3.5, I'm not disturbed if 3.3 reads as 3.5 or 3.1....My tank remains very steady, and I know what to dose....so I only test alk maybe every 10 days or so. My 30 gal has more fluctuations, but I don't care as its mainly mushrooms. I almost never test for calcium, maybe once or twice a year, as its never been below 390 in the past 7-8 years. I never test for nitrates, pH, or phosphates anymore. I agree very strongly, though, that newer tanks need careful monitoring of all parameters.

 

[tripstank]

I will never disagree with experience.

However, in order to discover you tanks optimal parameters, you must test for them.

Does anyone have salifert's contact info?

 

[KathyC]

We all know what the "ideal parameters" are, but every situation (tank) will be different. Each individual's tank will need more or less of something. Stability is key, & testing & the subsequent additions or deletions (constant adjustments) will disrupt that stability.

Bristol...since stability IS key the adjustments are necessary for any tank that is using an ever increasing amount of CA/Alk as long as it is done in a routine manner.

 

[KathyC]

Does anyone have salifert's contact info?

Go to the first post on this thread and click on the link. You can just post there (if you're a member), or send him a PM through RC.
You can also go to 'sponsors' (Home page/Forums) on RC and there is a second much shorter thread there on the topic.

 

[gnatp2]

A very limited number of the KH/Alk kit reagent KH have very likely been contaminated in such a way that it would give a high false value.

Each batch consists of several thousands of bottles and the best possible estimate is that only 10 - 50 bottles out of a batch of several thousand have been contaminated.

So only a very, very small number of reagents (but yes, even one is too many )

The two batches very likely affected are:

1106-C and 1106-F , the batch number can be found on the label of the large KH reagent bottle.

Most of the contaminated 1106-C were, luckily, already returned before even getting to the end user, very recently.

I also think that most of the contaminated 1106-F have now been located.


The nature of the contamination would be such that a limited number of bottles as a group would be contaminated untill the contamination would be exhausted.

This also shows that there was or is NO batch related issue, that is a whole batch being bad.

It appears that the issue is more widespread than Salifert would like to admit:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1185538&perpage=25&pagenumber=2

It is also frustrating that Habib seems to be dragging his feet on this issue.

I ordered my lamotte alk test kit today

Nate

 

[reefman]

i need to buy a test kit to test my test kits :biglaugh:

 

[scumonkey]

I test every day with salifert........I got a bad alk kit :screama:
I thought I made a mistake when mixing up my randys 2 part-x-tra strong- I didn't.
I let my alk slide thinking it was my bad.
Read this article/bought 2 different test kits by other companys and found...
my alk had NEVER been too high and had fallen from 4.11 to 2.29 :Yikes:
DAMN SALIFERT!:smash::screama: