Salifert kH/Alkalinity Test low & high 100-200 tests
	Rating: 2.60 Quantity in Basket: none Code: SAT107 Price:$14.99
	Quantity:
Alkalinity testing and addition Calcium alone cannot form the skeletal material of corals and allow calcareous algae to grow. Some other substances are needed as well. A few other constituents are carbonate and bicarbonate. These two substances also have a major impact on the stabilization of the pH in the proper range of 8.1 – 8.4. Such stabilization is also called buffering. The total carbonate and bicarbonate concentration is also called carbonate alkalinity or carbonate hardness. The only difference between alkalinity and carbonate hardness is a conversion factor. NSW has an alkalinity of approx. 2.7 meq/L or approx. 7.5 dKH when expressed as carbonate hardness. For a stable system the alkalinity or carbonate hardness should have a value similar to NSW or slightly higher and should preferably not fluctuate by more than 5%. This means a maximum fluctuation of 0.14 meq/L or 0.4 dKH. Therefore an alkalinity test kit should be capable in measuring in steps smaller than 0.14 meq/L. Conclusion: Since the major buffer components used for coral and calcareous algae growth are bicarbonate and carbonate, they should be added to correct any decrease in alkalinity or carbonate hardness. A proper formulated buffer should function in such a way that the corrective measures results in a long lasting effect and should not upset the pH of the system. The alkalinity or carbonate hardness should be kept as stable as possible requiring highly sensitive and accurate means for testing. The Salifert KH/Alk test is very straightforward. It measures in sufficient small steps of 0.1 meq/L or 0.3 dKH with a sharp color change. This makes detection of important yet small change possible. The kit can perform approx. 100 - 200 measurements.

Customer Reviews	Add Your Review
1 New Test Kit is JUNK	02/28/2008 - by Alex from Dallas, TX US
I used the old Salifert ALK kit for years and worked great. The new test kit that incorporates the dye in the reagent is abosutely junk. After about a week and 3 -4 tests later, the color in the reagent changed from redish to orange and since then it gave me wrong results. I usually leave the top off the reagent bottle during the test and I'm not sure if the air discolorated it, but if that's the case, a warning should be given to close the bottle immediately after use. Horrible kit, don't buy it.
1 Salifert has changed this Kit!!!!	12/15/2007 - by Bryan Stanford from Shiloh, IL US
Please be aware that Salifert has recently changed this kit. Previously, the indicator solution was separate from the titrant. The indicator was blue and the titrant was clear. This was probably their best test kit. The color would change from blue to clear to pink in the span of three drops. But now they have changed their formulation. The have now incorporated the indicator into the titrant solution itself. The solution is now a reddish-orange color, and the color changes are absolutely terrible. It goes from blue to blue-green to green to light green to green-yellow to whatever!! DO NOT BUY THE NEW SALIFERT ALKALINITY TEST KIT!!! I previously gave the old version of this kit an excellent review back in 2006, but you are only allowed to add one review per product. So, I created a dummy account just to add this review. That is how strongly I feel about this lame new kit. Shame on you, Salifert!!! You had a perfectly good test and you blew it!
1 Absolute junk	11/07/2007 - by Earl Kleckner from Danville, KY US
I do not trust Salifert test kits anymore. Many of them are ultra inaccurate. I had a Salifert test kit that was showing my Alk to be 4.5 (when it was really 10+). I tried to raise my Alk for weeks, and eventually I got precipitation and my aquarium water turned solid white. Luckily I only lost a sally lightfoot crab. There are hundreds of people finding that their Salifert test kits are faulty, just check out the Salifert section at reefcentral.com. Salifert customer service is nonexistent as well...
5 Excellent	09/22/2006 - by Bryan Stanford from Shiloh, IL US
You can expect the same quality from this test as the Salifert Calcium and Magnesium test.
5 Very easy, always consist...	06/01/2004 - by anonymous from unspecified
Very easy, always consistent. Color change is obvious.