WHY ARE THERE TWO KINDS OF AMMONIA TEST KITS, NESSLER AND SALICYLATE?
Kordon’s original colorimetric test kit used the nessler method, which measures in shades of amber from 0.6 to 3 ppm. Its advantages are that it reads a wide range of ammonia, and the test is fast to perform. The main disadvantages are the difficulties encountered when determining low levels of ammonia and the fact that the steps are farther apart than those in the salicylate method. Most ornamental aquarium and pond fishes can only tolerate a few ppm of ammonia at the very most and they need a test kit mainly reading below 1 ppm. The salicylate method test kits read between 0 and 1 ppm, the ideal range for ornamental pond and aquarium keeping. The colors range from a bright yellow (no ammonia) through various shades of green to blue-green to indicate the presence of ammonia; these colors are much easier to read than similar nessler’s method test kits. Because of the way in which the AmQuels react with organics, salicylate test kits are the only type suitable for use with the Amquels.
