ammonia meter reader-any good?

[euglossa]

I'm nearly out of liquid ammonia test and will order new, but in the meantime I was wondering if those ammonia meters that you keep mounting in the tank are at all reliable? That would be a nifty thing to have in the quarantine tank.

And the quarantine tank will be occupied soon. I did order the chocolate ranchu, wahoo!

[reptileguy2727]

They are supposed to be pretty accurate, according to the company. I have not used them nor have I talked to almost anyone who has. Give one a shot, double check it with the liquid kit, and let us know.

[jpappy789]

I agree. I personally wouldn't trust them unless I could check with a liquid test.

[Blueiz]

If you are speaking of an ammo alert, they work great and are very reliable. They only read the ammonia that is harmful to fish. Example, if you have ammonia in your tank and use a conditioner that detoxifies ammonia, the alert will read negative for ammonia, but the liquid test kit will read positive for it.

[reptileguy2727]

I think that depends on the liquid test kit and/or the type of ammonia remover you use.

[Blueiz]

I think that depends on the liquid test kit and/or the type of ammonia remover you use.

See this link. http://www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/AmmoniaAlert.html

Quote from link:

Q: I have another test kit that showed positive for ammonia but the Ammonia Alert™never changed color. Is it still good?
A: Most likely the other test kit was testing for total ammonia. Total ammonia includes both free (NH3) and ionic (NH4+) ammonia. The Ammonia Alert™only measure free ammonia because that is the harmful form. Ionic ammonia cannot harm your fish. However, as pH rises, a greater and greater percentage of the total ammonia will be converted from ionic ammonia to free ammonia, so knowledge of total ammonia is also important.

[sed03f]

so, if we were to buy one of these, what would be the best brand?

[Blueiz]

As far as I know, seachem is the only one that makes them.

[euglossa]

It turns out the Psmart here doesn't carry the meter and only has test strips. I'm going to have to order liquid test and I may just stick with that and test often.

[Flaringshutter]

I haven't had very good luck with those meters. I bought the one for pH when I still had snails in the tank, and it wore out very quickly. It's difficult to say whether the pH is low or the meter is worn out. I suspect the ammonia meter might be a similar situation.

[SchizotypalVamp]

Mardel meters do not work. Both my fiance and I bought one, and neither did.