Hobby test kits cover the handful of parameters most reef keepers track day to day, but they can't tell you what's happening with the dozens of trace elements a coral-dense tank actually depends on - an ICP test fills that gap.
Why ICP Testing Goes Further
Standard test kits measure a small set of parameters - calcium, alkalinity, magnesium, nitrate, phosphate - using color-change chemistry. ICP-OES lab analysis breaks a water sample down element by element, catching trace element depletions or contaminants that no hobby test kit is built to detect.
What Tropic Marin ICP Water Analysis Plus Offers
- Full breakdown of dissolved elements via professional ICP-OES lab analysis, well beyond what a home test kit chemistry can measure.
- Detection of contaminants that might otherwise go unnoticed until they cause a visible problem.
- A periodic deep-dive to complement, not replace, regular at-home testing for day-to-day parameters.
How to Use It
- Follow sample collection instructions precisely, since contamination during sampling affects lab results.
- Test periodically rather than constantly - ICP testing is a deeper diagnostic tool, not a replacement for routine weekly test kit checks.
- Use results to guide targeted dosing of specific trace elements found to be depleted.
Tropic Marin ICP Water Analysis Plus is available at Marine Concept Supply - order online or pick up at our shop in Wheeling, IL. Shop ICP Water Analysis Plus, and browse more aquarium testing.
