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Philippines, Manila
1 Level
490 Review
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Review on Nutrafin Iron 0.0-1.0 mg/L Test Kit for Freshwater and Saltwater - 50 Tests by Lilly Smith

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Perfect for checking iron levels in planted aquariums

There is a lot of skepticism about iron testing on the internet so I wasn't sure if I should try this test kit. I am happy to say that I am very happy with my experience with him. You must be realistic in your expectations and understand that these colorimetric tests that you read by eye will not give you much accuracy. You can actually read down to about 0.25ppm with this test and possibly see if the reading falls somewhere in between. In my opinion, that's quite enough for this purpose. It should be noted that the free iron test is quick (1 minute), while the chelated iron test (which you often see in aquarium iron supplements) takes 30 minutes. This is a result of chemistry only, not a result against a test set. When I first tested my aquarium it showed both free and chelated iron very close to 0 ppm. Then I added enough Seachem iron to bring the level up to 0.25ppm. I measured the iron level 10 minutes later and it was actually around 0.25ppm. The Seachem iron is in a form that quickly detects the presence of free iron so it can be measured and checked quickly. What I really like about this Nutrifin kit compared to some Seachem kits I own is that they use glass mixing tubes. and visualization of the colorimetric test instead of the flat plastic wells that Seachem uses. Glass vials don't stain (unlike plastic vials) and help emphasize the color change because you're looking at a greater depth of the colored solution (chemists call this Beer's Law). I'm pretty impressed overall. I think I'll check out other Nutrafin test kits in the future when my Seachem tests run out.

Pros
  • GOLS certified
Cons
  • Only available in black