(upbeat music)
- Hey, it's Thomas here.
And today we're going to be checking
out Salifert's calcium test kit.
In this video, we'll go over what you get in the box,
what might make this Salifert calcium test kit
a good option for you,
and I'll walk you through how to perform
this titration-based test kit.
If you're newer to reefing,
testing for calcium is important because corals
with calcium carbonate skeletons require a certain amount
of calcium to be available
to them at all times in order to thrive.
And they will consume calcium as they grow
which lowers the amount of calcium in the water.
Dosing calcium back to the aquarium
without knowing how much is in the water already
can lead to a couple of issues.
One, not knowing how much is in there
and just adding some back could mean
that you're not adding enough
and the levels will continue to fall,
or you could be adding too much
and cause those levels to become elevated
which can also cause issues.
The only way to know if your calcium in your reef tank is
within that optimal range is to test for it.
Salifert's calcium test kit is inexpensive
and easy to perform and has been trusted
by successful reefers for decades.
It can read calcium in small 10 PPM increments
and has no ceiling, since you can continue to titrate
until you reach the end color.
So whether your calcium is low, right where it should be
or astronomically high, this test kit is going to
be able to give you an accurate reading.
In the box, you'll find Reagent 1,
Reagent 2 and Reagent 3,
a one milliliter syringe with a pink collection tip,
a two milliliter syringe, a scoop,
the test vial and instructions
with a quick reference guide.
To perform the task, collect two milliliters of sample water
from the aquarium, using the two milliliter syringe
and add it to the test vial.
Next, add one level scoop of Reagent CA1,
then 10 drops of Reagent CA2
and then gently swirl the vial for 10 seconds
to mix the reagents.
Then using the one milliliter syringe
with the pink collection tip,
draw up one milliliter of Reagent CA3.
The end of the black plunger should sit right
on the 1 milliliter marking of the syringe.
And it is normal for there to be
a small pocket of air below the plunger.
You don't need to remove it
and it will not affect the accuracy of the test
as the extra volume of the pink collection tip
will ensure you've drawn exactly 1 milliliter of solution.
And now we're ready to start the titration process.
Using the now full 1 milliliter syringe
with the pink collection tip,
add a single drop of Reagent CA3 to the vial,
and then gently swirl for one to two seconds.
And repeat until the liquid in the vial
changes from the pink start color to the blue end color
as shown on the quick reference guide.
Once the vial changes over fully to that blue color,
take note of the remaining amount of liquid
in the syringe and compare that amount to the chart
in the instructions to get your calcium reading.
For example, I have roughly 0.12 milliliters
left in my syringe, which corresponds to 440 PPM of calcium.
If your sample did not reach the end color,
you can draw up another one milliliter of Reagent CA3
and continue titrating until it does change.
Once your solution changes to the end point color,
compare that amount to the chart in the instructions
and take that result and then add 500 PPM.
For example, if my second syringe of CA3
has 0.8ml remaining,
I'll take the corresponding 100 PPM
and add 500 PPM to get my reading of 600 PPM.
A quick tip, if you're using standard test kits,
especially titration based test kits like this one,
having a small magnetic stirrer,
like this AutoAqua Smart Stir,
can make the testing process much easier
and they're relatively inexpensive.
So if you want to make this, and other tests,
even faster to perform and more accurate,
you can pick one up for around 30 bucks.
This Salifert calcium kit will perform up to
50 standard tests or a hundred tests
if using the smaller one milliliter sample,
which works out to between 37 cents
and 19 cents per test.
And should last the average reefer
just over a year of weekly, or twice per week, testing.
I would definitely recommend that you stick
to that two milliliter sample size
if you're newer to testing, as having that
larger sample size does make it easier
to get more accurate results.
However, if you are a more experienced reefer
and you can do the one milliliter test accurately,
then it will take that test kit a lot further for you.
If this Salifert test kit fits your reefing mantra
and you'd like to pick one up for yourself,
you can do that by clicking right here.