Fauna Marin has released a testing kit that tests for over 90 parameters in seawater and reverse osmosis water. Named Reef ICP Test Total, the test is based on sending aquarium water off to a lab for ICP analysis, only thanks to some extra vials Test Total can test for way more than a standard ICP water test including pH, KH, salinity, conductivity, nitrate and even coloration and CO2. It uses the latest generation Spectrogreen ICP-OES to test for everything from Aluminium to Zinc, but in the competitive testing market that is ICP those extra (important,) parameters, and an RO test, help this parameter-packed test pack really stand out.
Nitrite, odor, acid-binding capacity, the list goes on along with phosphorus, total phosphate, ortho-phosphate, silicon, silicate, and the ratio of those nutrients. You can test nitrite, nitrate, KH, pH, conductivity, and salinity yourself but doing them all can be a chore, and getting a laboratory to do the testing, not hobby level, hobby accuracy test kits will no doubt offer many reefers peace of mind and faith in the results, especially those who are having problems. There’s even a neat little particle filter included preventing dirt particles from tarnishing the samples. When shopping for ICP tests it often comes down to what they test for, and price, and Reef ICP Test Total looks like the most feature-packed ICP test to date. It’s priced at just over 32 euros in Germany ($33,) but if you don’t want all the extras and want stripped-back ICP-OES, Fauna Marin still offers that too, and for a fraction of the price.
