"Freshwater" Test Kit ?

I have an Aquarium Pharm. test kit but I don't know if it's the same as yours. It's at my dad's house so I can't look. But it came with 4 kits, pH... Ammonia... Nitrate... Nitrite... And I think it works for both fresh and salt water.

If the PH kit in yours can test in the high range, from 7 to 10 pH I would guess the whole kit is fine for saltwater.

I know other kits work for both, and still others only work for fresh or saltwater but not both. The Aquarium Pharm. kit isn't the greatest (mine isn't) but I like the pH test in it better than my Hagen pH test.

You could and probably should invest in a good saltwater kit (I've heard really good things about Salifert kits). I say could and probably should... But personally I hardly ever test my water other than calcium and dKh (alkalinity). For Calcium I use a Red Sea and for dKH I use another Aquarium Pharm.

Also...

Most people will probably jump on you for saying your cycling your tank with Damsels and the Cycle Product... Ideally you can do it without using fish, by putting a raw cocktail shrimp or two in the water and it will rot, causing an ammonia spike, and your cycle begins.

I on the otherhand am not going to tell you that using Damsels is wrong, just that there are other ways There is a good chance the Damsels will die from toxicity in the water, which I'm sure your aware of. If your so inclinded you can remove them from the tank now that your ammonia is up or keep 'em and hope they pull through. I will also add that the Cycle products and Turbo Start Products don't seem to work very good, if at all. I started a Tank with Turbo Start and some Filter Material and Live Rock from another well established tank and I still got a small Ammonia spike. I used enough of the Turbo Start, and should have not had one at all, but I still did. Oh well money down the drain in my opinion but we learn as we go.

Guy

No problem on the response, I try to respond to everything I can, albeit I'm not always correct

But your correct there is definatly more than 1 way to do things. Just offering up some suggestions and ideas for the future.

To validate your kits I would just test your water with them and then test them with a friends kit or at a LFS and see if the results come out the same. Cheaper than buying a new kit... Unless someone else here can verify that they work for both.

take care,
Guy

Some test kits can be used for fresh and salt water, while other can not. The information packet and use directions should indicate if the test will work for both.

I don't know what ol' doc wellfish uses in his freshwater NH3 kits, but there are some FW kits that won't in saltwater. They are cheap enough that it's probably worth getting a new one. Plus, the chemicals tend to go bad over time, so a new one is always a good idea. From experience, I know that SW kits almost always work in FW.

Yeah there are many ways to cycle a tank. I've never done it fishless, and have never had much of a problem. I hope you want to keep your damsels, because they are a bear to extract.

BTW, welcome to AC!