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Your test kit decides how good every dosing decision is. A kit that reads 1 dKH off can push you into the alkalinity swings that kill SPS. Here's what we'd buy at each budget, and why.
Quick picks
| Need | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Best all-round alkalinity | Hanna HI772 Alkalinity Checker (dKH) | Digital, repeatable, cheap reagents (~$19 for 25 tests) |
| Best budget titration | Salifert KH/Alk, Ca, Mg | The hobby standard. Accurate if you go slowly with the syringe |
| Best starter bundle | Red Sea Reef Foundation Pro (Ca/Alk/Mg) | One box covers the Big 3 with clear instructions |
| Low phosphate | Hanna HI774 Phosphate ULR Checker | Reads the 0.00–0.20 ppm range reefs actually live in |
| Nitrate | Red Sea Nitrate Pro or Salifert Nitrate | Easy color cards in the 0–10 ppm range |
| Everything else | An ICP lab test (Triton or ATI) | 40+ elements and catches trace metals and contaminants |
1. Alkalinity: Hanna Checker HI772
Alkalinity is the parameter worth testing most often (2–3× a week when you start dosing). The HI772 removes the guesswork of reading a color change. Calibrate it now and then with Hanna's CAL check standards.
Product: Hanna Alkalinity Checker HI772
2. Budget Big 3: Salifert
Salifert titration kits are cheap and accurate. Swirl, add drops slowly, and read the syringe at eye level. Most "bad results" come from rushing the endpoint.
Products: Salifert Alk Salifert Ca Salifert Mg
3. Starter bundle: Red Sea Reef Foundation Pro
A good first purchase if you don't own any kits yet. It tests calcium, alkalinity and magnesium with a single set of instructions.
Product: Red Sea Reef Foundation Pro Multi Test Kit
4. Phosphate: Hanna HI774 Ultra-Low Range
Most hobby phosphate kits can't tell 0.02 from 0.08 ppm. That difference matters for SPS color and for avoiding dinos.
Product: Hanna Marine Phosphate ULR Checker HI774
5. The full picture: ICP testing
Home kits cover 5–8 parameters. An ICP test from Triton or ATI reports dozens of elements, including iodine, potassium, strontium and metals like copper. Run one every 1–3 months, or anytime corals decline for no obvious reason.
Products: Triton ICP kit ATI ICP test
How often should you test?
New tank or new dosing routine: alkalinity 3×/week, calcium and magnesium weekly, nitrate and phosphate weekly. Once things are stable: alkalinity weekly, everything else every 2 weeks. Then plug your numbers into the Coral Compass calculator to get exact dose amounts for your tank volume. Unsure of a term? See the reef glossary.