Test the levels of Nitrites in your aquarium before they get too high, causing problems in your fish tank. Nitrite is a substance that is toxic to fish and invertebrates. It is a misconception that once a tank is through its cycle (first 3 or 4 weeks) that nitrite has vanished. Many nitrite test kits suffer from interference by amines (such as naturally occurring and essential amino acids) resulting in a too low measured value especially if the nitrite concentration is relatively low. Nitrite is converted to nitrate in properly cycled aquariums. The thus formed nitrate is transformed into harmless nitrogen gas (=denitrification). This happens in areas deprived of oxygen within live rock and miscellaneous filter materials. Before it can be transformed to nitrogen gas the nitrate is first converted back to nitrite. When for whatever reason this particular cycle can not be completed, toxic nitrite can be present in significant concentration and readily be detected by test kits that do not suffer from amine interference.

Conclusion: Many nitrite test kits have the potency to suffer from amine interference resulting in toxic nitrite not being detected. Salifert Nitrite test kit does not suffer from such an amine interference because very special ingredients are used. These same ingredients also result in a full color development within minutes. The developed color is very intense making detection of even minute traces of nitrite easy. It probably is the most sensitive, accurate and fastest nitrite test kit available. The kit can perform approx. 60 measurements.

How to Use

Salifert’s procedure:

1. Add 1 ml of aquarium water to the test vial, using the syringe.
2. Add 1 level spoon of the NO2 powder. Swirl the vial gently for 20 seconds.
3. Let it stand for 3 minutes.
4. Stand the open vial on top of the colour chart, on a white part of the chart, and compare the colours looking down from above. Read off the nitrite content; a colour between two bars means a value between the two.

High-sensitivity reading. Once the tank has cycled you will want far more resolution than the normal scale gives. Hold the vial with its side against a white part of the colour chart and compare through the side instead of from above, then divide the reading by 10. Salifert say this detects down to 0.01 ppm as nitrite, or 0.003 ppm as nitrite-nitrogen.

If your carbonate hardness is above 14 dKH (an alkalinity of 3 meq/L), Salifert require 2 level spoons of powder at step 2 instead of one. Skipping that on a hard-water or heavily buffered tank is what produces a falsely low reading.

Reading the units. The chart values are ppm nitrite. For ppm nitrite-nitrogen, multiply by 0.3. The kit has two scales: an ultra-low nitrite-nitrogen scale of 0.002 to 0.12 mg/L, and a medium scale of 0.02 to 1.2 mg/L.

Two habits that make the readings repeatable: compare the colour in daylight or under a neutral white lamp rather than over the aquarium, where blue light shifts everything; and rinse the vial with RO water and shake it dry between tests, because reagent left in the vial is the single most common cause of a reading that will not reproduce.

Salifert’s cautions: keep out of the reach of children; for aquarium hobby use only, not for consumption. Salifert recommend protective gloves and eye protection. Read the leaflet in the box before the first test — it is the authoritative version, and it is what the colour chart is calibrated against.

Tests per Kit

Salifert quote two different figures for this kit, and both are theirs. The pack text says sufficient for 50 tests; salifert.com says the kit can perform approximately 60 measurements. Plan on 50 and treat anything beyond that as a bonus.

Either way this is a kit you use hard during a cycle and then only occasionally, so it usually reaches its shelf life before it runs out of reagent. Check the date on the bottle rather than counting tests.

Not just for marine. Despite the listing title, Salifert state this kit can be used for marine water, freshwater and garden pond water alike.

What’s in the Box

Salifert do not publish a packing list. What the procedure uses, all supplied in the kit:

• A syringe, for the 1 ml sample
• The test vial
• The NO2 reagent powder, and the level measuring spoon it is dosed with
• The colour chart — used two ways, from above for the normal scale and through the side for the high-sensitivity scale
• The instruction leaflet

Worth having alongside it: a wash bottle of RO water for rinsing the vial, and somewhere with neutral light to read the chart.

Freshness & Storage

Every batch we dispatch carries a minimum of 6 months’ remaining shelf life. Store this product in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight, with the cap or inner foil closed tightly after each use.

Backorder & Dispatch Timeline

This item is stocked to order. Back-orders are consolidated and placed with our overseas suppliers once a month, on the last day of the month, and all such orders are shipped before the 15th of the following month.

Back-orders cannot be cancelled once they have been placed with the supplier. If you cancel before that, payment-gateway charges of 2% plus GST are deducted and the balance refunded. In the rare case a supplier cannot fulfil the item, we will offer you an alternative first, and refund in full with no deduction if you would rather not take it.

Returns & Replacement

Returns are accepted within 7 days of delivery, provided the item is unused and in its original packaging. Manufacturer-sealed items cannot be returned once the seal is broken, and sale-priced items are not refundable.

If your item arrives defective or damaged, message us on WhatsApp with your order number, or email us if you would rather, and we will replace it. Approved replacements are delivered within 3 to 5 business days. Transit damage is covered by insurance on every shipment. If tracking shows delivered but nothing reached you, tell us within 72 hours, which is the reporting window Indian couriers allow. Damage caused during installation or use is not covered; replacement spares for such cases are chargeable.

Full terms are on our Cancellation & Returns page.