Freshwater Aquarium Test Strips FTW?

[Jakezori]

Most people on this site say that the test strips are inaccurate... My opinion is that 1st they are accurate enough (as it were) and 2nd I think they are less accurate because people fail to follow the directions correctly and fail to keep them fresh by keeping them in their container...


Show me where I'm wrong, or just state your opinions =)


(im trying to decide whether or not to buy another test kit)

[jpappy789]

Mine said my ammonia and nitrite were ok, when in fact they weren't. I bought the API kit and found out that my tank was actually going through a mini cycle...I call that inaccurate...

[ChrisK]

I think they are o.k. for ph only. I would not trust them with ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Why use something you have some doubt about when there somthing else you KNOW works.

[Nue]

Mine said my ammonia and nitrite were ok, when in fact they weren't.

Same here, waste of money. They are more expensive to.

[sleepyskater]

Most People here seem to know what they're doing, so I got a liquid test kit.
LISTEN TO THE AC PEOPLE
haha

[leeser28]

As a chemist I will tell you that for testing for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, GH and KH I strongly feel that the water sample kits are the way to go. Use a highly respected maker of the tests and use them faithfully.

[AquaGem]

I have a liquid test kit and it is very accurate. If you think about all of the money you have to spend on multiple strips, it's cheaper to go the liquid way. I tested it with a strip once to see if there was much of a difference. The tank was cycling and my liquid test said my nitrate was getting high. The strip said it was 0.

[The Zigman]

Use the two types and run tests on the same water, and see for yourself..
the strips just arent as accurate as the liquids.

[Lupin]

Test strips-FTL
Liquid tests-FTW

Jake, can you please tell us what makes you think the test strips are accurate? You never elaborated this in your first post and simply jumped to telling us to show you where you are wrong or correct.

[vampie]

Can't really vouch for the test strips, as I've never bothered using them, but I'll stick with liquid tests. They're accurate and cost less.

[Kashta]

Test strips are unreliable. Even if you just want an approximate reading to see if something is vaguely high, low, or not present at all... strips won't give you that. They're not just less precise, they're often totally wrong. What good is that? It's the same as not testing at all.

[Rbishop]

I vote liquid..learned long ago after comparing results using both. We probably won't convince you. Zig is correct..run the tests over a period of time and you will convince yourself.

[infopimp]

I convinced myself - test strips work great for pH... not great for the other measurements. Your milage may vary.

[Jakezori]

:swear:
dang it... i dont wanna spend more $ =p

do you guys have a favorite place or brand to buy liquid test kits?

[dirtydawg10]

I buy the API freshwater master test kits

[sleepyskater]

usually if it's more money, it probably means something.
Cheap products only go so far
:)

[Lupin]

API is always my preferred brand.

[Kashta]

Here... You can get the API Freshwater Master Test Kit for $15.99. You'll pay a lot more for it buying locally from one of the large pet stores. Combine this with a few other things you would buy anyway, and it justifies whatever the shipping cost will be.

http://www.petsolutions.com/default.aspx?ItemId=17101034&EID

[colinsk]

I have the strips, the Tetra Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite and the API Master Kit. I use the strips when I am running out the door and just want and idea of what's going on. They are not as accurate. However they do contain information. If you use them side by side long enough you will find the limits. If the strips test bad I back it up with a liquid test. I have not yet had it read 0 and have a big positive value. The ammonia strips will read 0 when you have .3 ammonia! That can be a concern but by the tiime you get to .5 they are spot on.

At work I have digital titrators for Ca, Mg, Total Hardness, Carbonate and Cl. When I compare the strips for Carbonates and Total Hardness they are close enough for fish. My fish don't care if I am 5GH or 6GH and the strips seem to be that accurate.

If you really want to know pH you have to spend about $1000 on a real meter. The liquid tests and the strips are not as accurate. Again my fish don't care about a .2 pH change and I am not using the reading to dose CO2 so I leave my bench meter at work.

The one thing I will say is I much prefer the API tests to the Tetra. While I find the accuracy to be the same it is easier to preform the API tests and it is also easer to read the results.

[KarlTh]

Interesting you should say that. I've long been of the opinion that pH tests are misleading by implying they can test to a precision of 0.2 pH points when they probably have a variable systemic error much larger than that. If a test reads 6.5 it could be anywhere from 6.0 to 7.0 if you ask me.

[colinsk]

I'll test it against my meter. I test my city supply every day and when I fill my tank for water changes I compare the reading I remembered from the morning. They seem to be pretty close to me. Not really scientific I know. I look at the pH of my strips to see if the water is creeping slowly overtime. That would tell me if I was having an acidification issue. If you have plants it is good to take your reading at the beginning or end of the photo-cycle as the two pH readings are likely very different and if you take it in the middle of the day you don't know how much photosynthesis has taken place that day.

[Jakezori]

Here... You can get the API Freshwater Master Test Kit for $15.99. You'll pay a lot more for it buying locally from one of the large pet stores. Combine this with a few other things you would buy anyway, and it justifies whatever the shipping cost will be.

http://www.petsolutions.com/default.aspx?ItemId=17101034&EID

THANKS!
:dance:

[Bajanfish]

I use my test strips for monitoring and other kits when I suspect a problem or every so often for the hell of it since its easier to get a more precise reading that way. Got to keep them dry tho.

[Jakezori]

get those results yet?