water test strips

[benno]

Hey guys have seen the test strips that measure ph, gh,kh, nitrites and nitrates and was wondering what were peoples opinions were on these as they seem so much easier than having a heap of test kits around and the ease of just dipping one in your tank and getting all those readings at once just seems a great idea. So yeah im really just wondering if anyone has had experience with these? and how accurate the readings are? and also if you would recomend using them?, thanx in advance. Ben

[DFishkeeper]

Hi Ben,

I use them twice weekly to monitor water parameters in my large african system. I don't believe them to be as accurate as test kits, but after using the test kits to establish accurate parameters initially, the test strips are an easy convenient way to monitor any dramatic changes. If the test strip shows there has been a significant change, I will use the test kit as a double check before addressing the water parameters.

Cheers, Doug

[benfarrow]

I have never found them very good. I would recommend you keep up with your test kits.

[Aquaholic]

they are better than nothing but not as good or accurate as test kits

[chorrylan]

I've been using the Jungle labs muti strips for some years now, tryign them initially because I wanted a quick and cheap way to monitor nitrates with the other measures thrown in for good measure.

I've been pretty happy with them and rarely (umm as in I can't remember when) dig out the old test kits and I imagine they're useless now anyway.

They might not be all that accurate but they're fit-for-purpose and a heck of a lot more accurate than not testing at all and given the time required to run tests on a multitude of tanks using regular kits that's the practical alternative for me.

[mathobes]

I always use normal tests, out of curiosity I got some strips a while ago, and found they are rubbish. If you want proper readings don't use strips as they are not accurate. Some people may disagree but from my personal experience from using differnt brands all have proven no where near as good as proper tests.