Water Testing

probably a silly question but I have a testing kit for my reef tank that tests for Ammonia, nitrates and nitrites. Can I presume that I can also use this to test my tropical freshwater? or do you think it is designed specifically to test for these things only in saltwater?

I have a Hagen test kit and the kit does both fresh and saltwater. However, some of the individual tests are slightly different depending on whether you are testing fresh or salt water. But as each test has its own instructions it is easy to identify what needs to be done for freshwater.

I think it depends on who your test kit is made by as to whether it is transferable.

I wish these companies who sell test kits would stop selling the test strips, every forum I've been on people say don't use the strips because they are useless.

So when you go back in work Anna have a word lol.   

Hi Anna - good to "see" you 

I'm intrigued by your last post - you've never had an incorrect result from test strips. So why is there such a wide opinion that they give incorrect results and are hard to read? Ive never used them myself so I cant give a personal opinion but I think you're the first person Ive read to give them a good report.

Love the idea that they get people testing their water though, being quick and easy. I have to admit I get lazy with the liquid tests and dont test the water as often as I should    Maybe I should get some strips for those in-between lazy moments.......

Hi all. Im with anna on this one. My present to my self for christmas was a jbl testlab. I have used lots of different test kits from all makers and just recently i picked up some jbl test strips. This was as anna said as a quick test without having to use reagents, i used them with  half thinking they were going to be out but they always seemed to be accurate.  So i was playing with my test lab and i used a test strip before and the results for hardnes, ph, nitrite nitrate, were spot on. They were definetly useable to quickly diagnose a water problem for more in depth testing.

I'm also quite interested in this aspect as I too purchased the API Test Kit after reading that the strips were not accurate. I am very happy with the liquid test kit but long term I'd like to save as much money as possible.

The only thing that springs to mind is API and other companies rub their hands because first a lot of new keepers will buy the strips then go out after being told not to use them and buy a kit.

Sounds like the basis of a good conspiracy theory but I'm pretty sure that Mars Fishcare have produced the two types of testers to give us fishkeepers more choice depending on our available cash/time/experience. They are after all a commercial entity that will always try to make profit within their given genre. This is the way of business.

It should be noted that any kind of 'review' will tend to attract negative answers rather than good ones, as those people that have had difficulty are louder than those who are happy.  How many times have I seen posts saying that the bottles of filter start "are useless", "impossible" or just plain "do not work". I have used the one that came with my tank and it does work because I never used anything else in my fishless cycle (other than adding diluted ammonia). (I'm a new fiskeeper too)

I think I'm going to satisfy my own curiosity and as today is my day for water maintenance I am going to grab some strips and do a direct comparison. I'll also see if I can get some pictures done too, before the sun fades.

Interesting.

He He, this is good, looks like the strips are coming up trumps so far.

As Tigzfish says about the starter stuff, I got interested in trying a cycle using Dr Timms One and Only, I had to purchase it online as he (Timothy Hovanec) is in Florida USA, Sue knows of this guy and it was reading her post that got me interested so I had a look, any way I got 2 bottles and tried one and so far so good.

Sorry taking this off topic.

Just got back home after a sourcing trip.  I have tried 4 large aquatic/pet shops in my local area and nobody has any API Test Strips.  From the 3 dedicated aquatics shops the response was identical and very negative about API Test Strips in particular. Two said that have had them, with one of those saying "on order for months", the other saying "don't sell, stopped stocking them". Another point blank said "we don't stock test strips at all because they are not accurate".

Not very encouraging when the aquatics shops are singing from the same song-sheet. Generally I would have expected a difference of opinion between different shops, but in this case nope.

Out of the 4 shops I visited, I spotted JBL Test Strips and Tetra Test Strips (both test for: pH, KH, GH, NO2, NO3, Cl2). API Test Strips cover all of the above except Cl2 (Chlorine). Interestingly none of them test Ammonia (as Sue has pointed out).

So, that's a bust I'm afraid.  I'll keep my eye open as I pop into the LFS's on occasion, but based on the responses from them, I don't think I'll be getting goods anytime soon. 

So why is there such a wide opinion that they give incorrect results and are hard to read?

I don't know, but this is something that I've personally only read online. I've never had anyone say this to me in real life. I would assume there will naturally be differences between people in how easy or hard a test is considered to be to read. Some people prefer certain types of liquid tests over others because they find them easier to read.

There are ammonia strip tests available, but they cannot currently be included on the same strip as the rest of the tests, or packaged with them, for technical reasons. Therefore companies sell separate ammonia strip tests.

The liquid tests are more precise, but the strips will meet requirements in many situations. But ideally it's good to have access to both. For example, if my quick strip test showed something unexpected, I'd like to use a liquid test to have a closer look.

Do you have the API gh and KH testers? Those are the ones I have so I know how that brand works.

With API the drops are the total number needed to get the colour to change. That gives the result as german degrees, ie add 6 drops, the GH (or KH) is 6 german degrees. Multiply by 17.9 to convert to ppm

What units do the Tetra strips use? It should say somewhere on the pack. You need to make sure you have the same units when comparing the strips to the liquid tester results.