waterdrop
Enthusiastic "Re-Beginner"
I personally feel that Saliferts might be justified if their cost is a little higher and I would pay it personally, but if API or Nutrafin is lower I still think they would be "good enough." If you come across both types of kits and can give us a real-life cost comparison I'm sure members would be interested. Be sure in all cases you are getting freshwater master kits and not saltwater ones.
I don't believe we are steering you in a wasteful direction money-wise. The API kits are good for something like 160 tests or so and last 3 or 4 years depending on which individual test. We all feel paper strip tests are worse than useless, they are misleading. The basic liquid-reagent tests of ammonia, nitrite(NO2), pH and nitrate(NO3) are just extremely powerful and helpfull not only for getting your water chemistry worked out but for your learning experience as a hobbyist. The whole biofilter topic is very core to the hobby.
~~waterdrop~~
I don't believe we are steering you in a wasteful direction money-wise. The API kits are good for something like 160 tests or so and last 3 or 4 years depending on which individual test. We all feel paper strip tests are worse than useless, they are misleading. The basic liquid-reagent tests of ammonia, nitrite(NO2), pH and nitrate(NO3) are just extremely powerful and helpfull not only for getting your water chemistry worked out but for your learning experience as a hobbyist. The whole biofilter topic is very core to the hobby.
~~waterdrop~~