Salifert Nitrate Test Kit

Salifert Nitrate Test Kit

The Salifert Nitrate test kits are the best in the industry!

Nitrates are the end product of the Nitrification cycle. While low levels are not toxic, higher levels, depending on it being a reef tank of a freshwater or saltwater fish tank. Reef tanks have very small tolerance s for Nitrate (from 0-10mg/l, .05-2 mg/l is optimal) where fish tanks (from 10-100mg/l, where 10-40 mg/l is optimal).

When there are insufficient areas of a tank which are deprived of oxygen (anaerobic zones) or denitrification is not taking place properly, nitrate will build up. This    can also happen in an aquarium where the biological loading on the system is causing an imbalance e.g. if there is excessive livestock for the aquarium volume or over feeding is occurring

The buildup of nitrate can result in unwanted algae growth and the slowing down of coral growth.

The nitrate concentration in a reef aquarium should be lower than 1 mg/L, although fish only aquariums would usually have a higher concentration.

Just as with nitrite, many nitrate test kits are prone to amine interference which can make the levels of nitrate appear much lower than they actually are.

The Salifert test kit does not suffer from such interference and gives accurate and quick results with a total testing time of less than 3 minutes.

The test kit’s range goes from a very low to a very high nitrate concentration (approx. 0.2 - 100 mg/L as total nitrate).

• Sufficient for 50 tests.

This test offers two ranges:
Low range: 0.2 - 10 mg/L (ppm) as nitrate.
Medium range: 2 - 100 mg/L (ppm) as nitrate.

Procedure for both ranges: 

Fill test vial with 1mL of water.

Add 1 level scoop of NO3-1 powder (compress this powder against the inner side of the powder container).

Add 1 level scoop of NO3-2 powder and swirl gently (do NOT shake) for 30 seconds.

Let it stand for 3 minutes.

Color comparison: 

Medium Range:
Place the test vial on the white part of the color chart and compare colors looking from the TOP. Use diffuse daylight when comparing colors.If the color corresponds to a value lower than 10mg/L nitrate then it might be better to compare colors as shown for the low range (see below).