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Originally Posted by Tom Wood
I think it's time to change the 'Lamotte is best' meme. I use the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals (AP) NO3 test kit and found it every bit as accurate as the LaMotte, so I threw the LaMotte away.
If you don't believe me, get a new AP NO3 kit ($7 at Petsmart) and dose a known dose into clean water. Use The Fertilator over at APC to quantify the dose and expected result, then test it. It'll be right on. (Follow the directions, especially the shaking.)
TW
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My past experience with test kits warrants the better quality, I've done more testing on water than anyone I've ever met in this hobby. I do it as part of work as well.
You can calibrate and check the test kit against standards and even if it's off, that be accounted for, so cheap kits can be used certainly if they are consistent. In the ranges and accuracy ranges I've been interested in, Lamott is okay, I needed something more precise and consistent personally.
For the money, the cheapy kits are not a bad deal, I would not place much reliance on them unless you have tested them against a standand and
do NOT assume each NO3 is going to be the same, calibrate every test kit.
Lamott test kits are nice, easier to use and perhaps the ADA/Dupla of test kits for hobbyists.
I don't need kits for the hobby, I can look and tell if the plants need NO3.
That's much more important than testing (noting plant health and growth). Some of the best tanks and plant folks do not use test kits at all, except for CO2 and even there I and some others don't need a test kit.
Many don't use pH/KH at all, just eye ball with a bubble rate.
Regards,
Tom Barr