best test kit to purchase

[smoothie7]

I am brand new to the saltwater scene and hope to have my tank set up in the next couple of weeks. Do they make a great test kit or what all do I need to have as far as tools?

[Wall_Tank]

Yes, they do sell master test kits that will test for most chemicals that are important......but I prefer individual kits.   I prefer salifert brand.

What do you plan to keep in your tank... Fish Only, or Corals?   If you are doing corals, you will need more testing.

[smoothie7]

I am planning on doing both fish and live coral. I notice they sell saltwater fish test kits and also reef specific kits. Do I need both?

[bbtm64]

Salifert, Red Sea, SeaChem and Elios are the best kits.
I use Salifert and SeaChem also

[Steve]

I like API for Alk/KH, Calcium and Nitrates, they are cheap (price) and I have found them to be dependable. For Mag I use Sailfert. Don't test for anything else, yet.

[Wall_Tank]

The reef kit will include more than just the fish kit, no need to do both. 

Most like individual kits.....I test for Alk/Ca/MG/NO3   and when I run a QT for fish, I test NH3 and NO2

I use mostly Salifert, although I like the Elos kit for MG.   And I use Seachem for NH3

[Boonjob]

I prefer Salifert myself but have used API with good results aswell.

[lazylivin]

Salifert is typically the benchmark for test kits but most any kind will be fine. If you have a cycled reef tank you can get away with Alk, calcium and nitrate initially. Those are 3 most important in order; magnesium can be added later once tank is stocked usually not needed for first year in most tanks if usung a reef grade salt mix. If you need to cycle a tank you will need ammonia and nitrite but once it is cycled you won't need them again.