Nutrafin Iron 0.0 to 1.0 Mg/L for Fresh and Saltwater, 50 -Tests

Thank goodness I tracked this product down. Algae has been over taking my tanks and I didn’t know why. Now I can get things on track! Product is easy to use and easy to read.

There's a lot of skepticism about iron tests written online, so I wasn't sure whether to try this test kit. I'm happy to say though that I'm very pleased by my experience with it. You do have to be realistic about your expectations and understand that these colorimetric tests that you read by eye aren't going to give you great precision. In the case of this test, you realistically can read with a precision of about 0.25 ppm and perhaps get a sense of whether the reading is somewhere in between. In my opinion, that's good enough for this purpose. One thing to note is that the test for free iron is fast (~1 minute) but the test for chelated iron (which you often see in aquarium iron supplements) takes 30 minutes. That's just a consequence of the chemistry though, not a mark against the test kit. When I first tested my tank, it measured very near 0ppm for both free and chelated iron. Then I added enough Seachem Iron to raise the level to 0.25 ppm. I measured the iron level 10 minutes later and sure enough it was about 0.25 ppm. The Seachem iron is in a form that tests rapidly as free iron, so that was quick to measure and verify.One thing I really like about this Nutrifin kit compared to a couple Seachem kits that I own is that they use glass test tubes for mixing and visualizing the colorimetric test instead of the shallow plastic wells that Seachem uses. The glass vials both don't stain (vs. plastic) and help accentuate the color change because you are looking through a longer depth of the colored solution (chemist's 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 are used up.

Pretty much all the iron test kits on the market right now are 4 stars or below for various reasons. I went with this one because a few aquarium websites recommended it and the price was reasonable.Unfortunately they don't send the measuring spoon in the kit anymore, which is essential to getting an accurate reading for chelated iron testing. This seems like a good choice for unchelated tests (if you're using Seachem Iron then you should be fine using this kit) but otherwise don't bother. I have scoured the internet AND tried asking the seller how much the measurement spoon can hold, but there is no information about it.I think there's something to be said about the fact that the little holding tray for the tube (which can't stand independently) is the flimsiest plastic you could imagine.Research is definitely recommended for iron testing, there really isn't an easy way to do it that I have found. I would recommend this kit over the Seachem one as that one seems to have accuracy problems, but this is far from perfect unfortunately...

Chelated iron test works fine in lower range, but sometimes I get a color that matches 0.25 in *hue* if you hold the tube a half inch out from the white background, but the intensity is too bright for the "bonafide" 0.25 I often see. Yet, if you hold the tube flat against the chart (as directed) it doesn't match *anything* in hue. I really need to know if it is 0.5 or 1.0 since the higher level would require a water change.

Maybe this works for saltwater but its worthless for my freshwater tank. The instructions "add a spoonful of reagent 2" is ambiguous, and if this means a teaspoon the test is only good for about five chelated iron tests. I suggest reading your municipal water supply's iron concentration, dose accordingly, and save your money avoiding this test kit.

It's an easy to use test kit. Seems to be giving me reasonable readings. Takes 30 minutes for chelated Iron testing, but three drops from a bottle and a scoop from a vial and you just sit back and wait 30 minutes. It's hard to tell the difference in the scale colors, but it's easy enough to get into the ballpark.

Great test kit! Very easy to use! I don't know how accurate because it says I have no iron in my planted freshwater tank but I dose daily! Maybe all my plants are eating it up!

easy way to test iron