Algae Control Multi Test Kit NO3-PO4 — Nitrate and Phosphate Pro Tests - Red Sea

Algae Control Multi Test Kit: measuring NO3 and PO4 properly

The Red Sea Algae Control kit pairs the two high-resolution tests from the nutrient management program: Nitrate Pro and Phosphate Pro. These are the two parameters you have to track when you are driving a reducer like NO3:PO4-X (NoPox) or fighting an algae outbreak.

Red Sea has renamed the program Nutrients Management Program, and this kit also appears as Nutrients Control Pro in its recent documentation. The box contents are the same.

Official specifications

200 tests in total. Readings are taken on a comparator, which gives far finer resolution than a plain colour card — that is what makes this kit usable on a low-nutrient system, where the differences that matter are hundredths of a ppm.

What's in the box

• Nitrate: reagent A 25 ml, reagent B 20 g, reagent C 20 g
• Phosphate: reagent A 50 ml, reagent B 15 ml
• Colour disc
• Colour card
• Pipette
• 10 ml syringe
• 2 measuring spoons

Where it fits in your routine

Red Sea has you dose NO3:PO4-X daily and measure NO3 and PO4 weekly. Without those two readings, the daily dose stops being an adjustment and becomes a guess. The Algae Control kit is the instrument that closes that loop.

For cycling a brand-new tank (ammonia, nitrite, pH, alkalinity), the Marine Care kit is the one you want, not this one.

Our advice

In 35 years in this trade, the question we hear most often is "I have algae, what do I do?" An algae problem is almost always a nutrient management problem: too much import, not enough export. You feed more than the system can process, and it builds up because nothing removes it. An aquarium is a closed vessel — nothing is lost, nothing is created. What you put in stays in.

The skimmer, the filtration, chemical media, phosphate removers, the refugium: all of that is what helps you export. And to know whether your export is keeping up with your import, you need numbers.

Never dose blind, and never stop testing. You adjust based on what the tests say, not on impatience. That is the difference between a tank that settles and a tank that yo-yos.

Who we steer away from it: the customer who doesn't want to look after their tank. A test kit that stays in the cupboard does nothing.

Official Red Sea video

Frequently asked questions

How many tests are in the Red Sea Algae Control kit?

200 in total: 100 nitrate tests and 100 phosphate tests.

How is this different from an ordinary nitrate test?

Accuracy and method. Nitrate Pro reads to 0.125 ppm on a comparator, across a 0 to 64 ppm range. A standard test works off a colour card at much coarser resolution — fine for a fish-only tank, not enough to drive a low-nutrient reef system.

How often should I test while dosing NoPox?

Red Sea has you measure NO3 and PO4 weekly while dosing daily.

Is this kit suitable for cycling a new tank?

No. For biological maturation you need to follow ammonia, nitrite, pH and alkalinity — that's the Marine Care kit's job.

Manufacturer's official page