Api Test Kit Way Off?

[techen]

 
Left Salifert ammonia test, Right API ammonia test.
 
Left : 0 Ammonia
Right : 0.50 to 1.00 ppm of ammonia
 
No gasping in fish, Normal, No signs of ammonia in the tank based on fish reactions.
 
So what would you trust? Bearing in mind Salifert is know for being spot on for pretty much everything in the marine world.

 

[starlitsunrise]

I'm beginning to think something is off with my API test kit as well. When I first got it (early this summer) 0 ammonia in the test tube looked like 0 ammonia on the chart, but now when I test the lowest result I seem to get is .25ppm. I feel like the Salifert test is probably closer to the truth, if like you said, your fish are acting normal. 

 

[Mamashack]

Not always the case with Salifert I'm afraid - I could never get a positive ammonia reading even when I knew I'd just added enough ammonia to show 3 ppm during a fishless cycle! I know of at least one other person who had the same problem with 2 different ammonia tests and abandoned them. 
I use salifert for nitrate as it's much easier than the API one however I've gone back to API for pH, ammonia and nitrite.
Try the API one again and rinse the test-tube with some of the water you are wanting to test then discard that and test fresh water from the tank. It may have been a sightly contaminated test-tube that gave the spurious result. Or it may not be spurious and your fish are not showing any signs yet.
My bet is on contamination.

 

[blw0489]

This bothers me because I just bought an API test kit : / No complaints with mine yet or that I know of. Just curious, why don't you repeat ammonia tests with your API and Salifert kits but with regular tap water. They should both say zero, (assuming your local health dept has everything under control) so maybe using a control method will help justify your decision. Im interested! 

 

[daizeUK]

I wouldn't trust either of them.
 
My API kit reads about half the actual ammonia value and my Salifert kit wouldn't give any kind of meaningful reading at all.  After testing with known concentrations of ammonia, Seachem was the only one that worked properly for me.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Cant say anything of the Salifert test as never used them, but have used API and always in back of mind i think, "is this right or is it a false reading?" type of thing.
 
I also have used Nutrafin Master Test kit, almost the same as API, so when i am in doubt i use both as a guide more than anything rather than a 100% fully trustworthy test as many variables can be a factor in test readings.
 
My real indicator with ammonia and nitrite is with the tank stocking itself, especially with shrimps, if anything is amiss, the shrimps will tell me by their actions in the tank.

 

[simonero]

For my API, my ammonia and nitrite levels seem to be reasonable and consistent, and consistent with the LFS when I lived in a city that had a decent tropical fish LFS...  but for the life of me I cannot seem to get any differences in nitrate levels.  It's always crazy high.  Regardless of which tank I test, whether or not my ammonia or nitrite has been stable for months, the bioload appears low, filtration is in full swing, etc...  I don't trust it at all.