Test Kit

my tank is 3 weeks in to its cycling and my test kit I ordered got lost in transit so been using strips until it arrives.
I have decided to order one off Amazon now and have found two both same make but big price difference.
Can someone give any Intel on weather the dearer one is better as to me they both seem to do the same.
Pictures attached.
Thanks

Not certain but I also think the contents of both is the same - the cheaper one is the one that is pictured on their website and so I’m guessing this is the more recent product variant. As such I’d go for this as the contents are likely to be have a longer use by date left on them

Cheaper one it is
Tbanks

Did my first test with kit for:

PH                7.2 or 7.6
High PH      7.4 or below as it seems lighter
Amonia        0
Nitrite           .25

Not done nitrate yet as only 4 tubes

As tank is cycling is this a ok result ?

In order to help you figure out where you are in the cycling process, and to interpret these figures, it would be helpful to know:
* how you're cycling the tank.

If fishless cycling https://forums.thinkfish.co.uk/fishtank-filtration-and-cycling/fishless-cycling-how-to-do-it/:
* what source of ammonia you're using, when you started dosing it, and how often you're dosing it;
* what the results of your past tests were, and where in the process you dosed ammonia and how much.
(Just to clarify, simply running a filter in a tank of water is not cycling.)

If fish-in cycling https://forums.thinkfish.co.uk/fishtank-filtration-and-cycling/fish-in-cycling-with-fish-how-to-do-it/, which we wouldn't advocate but which many folk find themselves in the situation of, then:
* what the results of your past tests were.

Let us know the answers to these and we'll help further.

The two pH testers show that your pH is in the overlap between the two ranges. I usually call that 7.5.

Now that you have the kit, test every day for ammonia and nitrite. Whenever there is a reading above zero for ammonia and/or nitrite you need to do a water change. The plants will help; plants take up ammonia as fertiliser and they don't turn it into nitrite. If there are a lot of plants and they are growing well they can take up all the ammonia, but fewer plants can't manage everything.

Nitrate - there is probably nitrate in your tap water. If you test your tap water and subtract that from the tank reading, you'll know how much nitrate is being made in the tank.
The nitrate reading looks to be around 10 ppm which is good. We should aim to keep nitrate below 20 ppm. The easiest way to stop it going over 20 is to maintain the tank properly and not overfeed the fish. Proper maintenance is weekly water changes of over 50% to remove nitrate and cleaning the bottom of the tank and filter to remove uneaten food, fish poop etc. If you have readings for ammonia or nitrite you will need to do water changes more often, but make sure you clean the bottom of the tank at least once a week.

I need to ask, just in case - with the nitrate tester the instructions say to shake bottle #2 before using it, then shake the tube after adding the drops. Are you doing this shaking? It is actually best to tap the bottle on the worktop first, then shake it more than the instructions say because bottle #2 contains a reagent which settles out on the bottom of the bottle and the tapping and shaking is to get it back into the liquid.

I have just added more sand to my tank which made the water pretty cloudy. I put an extra filter filled with filter wool in the tank and that cleared most of it by the following day; a new batch of filter wool got rid of the rest. So yes, if you can put filter wool in your filter, try it and see.



I always check when someone is new to liquid tester - you'd be surprised how many people don't read the nitrate instructions properly 

I thought that too. A friend of mine has a similar type of rock type substrate and has had Corys of all types with no ill effects.
Strange

I started tank setup 3 weeks ago firstly planting then after watching YouTube videos started cycling tank with fish. Did not know it could be done without them.

I would really encourage you to take a look back through your past threads as they're full of useful advice to remind yourself of - eg Matt had already mentioned fishless cycling with ammonia https://forums.thinkfish.co.uk/new-fishkeepers/stocking-my-tank-4072/msg50033/#msg50033 (although this may have been after you thought you'd finished cycling / had started the fish-in cycle), and there is lots of other useful information from others on all sorts of aspects. I appreciate it's a lot to take in at the time but another or regular read through them might be helpful to you, and, of course, we're more than happy to answer any queries you have and help you reach a decision on suitable stocking for your tank volume and dimensions (which are quite different to your friend's Flex 123L).

I agree with Hampalong about the unreliability of test strips - particularly for PH, GH and KH. I do think they're more accurate for nitrite and nitrates but there is a large gap between each level and so it's difficult to get a precise reading for them. Good choice of test kit now, though, so do use that to guide you through this precarious cycling stage.

Best of luck, and keep us posted on progress or fire away with any questions.