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Knowing how to use them is part of the art?? I just thought you read the inst. & did what it said? The results tell you how your water is & weather those no.'s are in the safe zone or dangerous zone, etc.? As usual............. I guess I'm mistaken. Sooooooo Cali do you have a link on hand to one of your articles that explaines "how" to use these test strips?

Basically, you take your reading, and if it doesn't indicate any problems, you've no need to act further. If your reading suggests that there's a problem to address, however, then you consider a more accurate test. If the more accurate test shows up a problem, act FAST.

Oh, and keep careful tabs on the use by dates. There's a limit to the shelf life of test kits that use strips.

Some test kits, however, use liquid reagents - Tetra make kits of this kind. These tend to be more expensive, but you're paying for increased accuracy into the bargain, because the liquid reagents are prepared to known standards before being packaged. Go here, scroll down, and look for the separate pH, ammonia and nitrite/nitrate tests. Tetra also ships all the liquid tests in one big package (the so-called "Laborett" kit) which is pretty expensive, but likely to be more accurate than test strips. Having said that, Tetra make their own test strips, which usually perform well in accuracy tests run by the fishkeeping magazines, but of course are still less accurate than the liquid reagent kits.

Of course, if you suspect that something is amiss and want comfirmation, you go straight for the liquid kit. If that confirms your suspicions, then it's time to move and act.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Thanks Cali. I did the test strips after my filter had been off for a week & my water was still cloudy after a few days of the filter running again & a partial water change. It showed definate problems, so I changed half the water vacuuming really good & put new filter pads in the filter. I'm thinking now I shouldn't have done both cause I was getting rid of too much bacteria at one time & maybe causing the tank to have to "cycle" again.

Anyway, after a few more partial water changes everyday, the readings looked better. I'm going to give it a few more days of water changing & then test it again. To me the test strips appear to be working ok as they were indicating there is an improvement in my tank water. I just bought these test strips. They are "jungle" brand & the 5 tests in one said it expires 2008/07. The ammoia test strips are also made by "jungle". They expire 2007/10.

If these test strips are only off by one or two colors, I don't think that would make much difference. I'm working on getting the no'.s, down right now. If I can get them down to 0 like my BEFRORE readings from fresh out of the faucet, I'll be happy & work on keeping it that way. Of course my readings on ph & the like will always be high unless I soften the water. And my ammonia will always be what it is out of the faucet. But if I can get it that low then I can just start using that ammolock, whatever it was called.

I checked out your site. The Laborett kit did not contain the ammonia test from what I saw. I also could not find any prices & it is only for in the UK. I'm sure I can get them here though. If we are speaking much over $20.00 it will have to wait anyway. Since my current test kit appears to be working ok for right now, I will stick with it for awhile. If I have reason to suspect it, then I will buy what has been suggested.

In conclusion: How much accuracy do I need? If my strips say there is a problem, I just keep on doing water changes till things come down as low as they can be. I mean, if my strips eventually say I have no more problems.......... then I don't even see a reason for getting a better test kit........... unless I'm missing something here?

Required accuracy is determined by circumstance. If your test strips tell you, for example, that your ammonia levels are heading into low earth orbit, then a more accurate test isn't really needed - all you need to know at that point is that action is required FAST ...

If, however, your values are borderline cases, then it's time to call in a more accurate test.

Additionally, if you're engaged in a project such as Discus breeding, where precise determination of parameters is required in order to ensure that your breeding aquarium is just right for them (because they are demanding fishes), then again, an accurate test kit is required. But if you're splashing out the funds required to launch into Discus breeding, chances are you will have bought the accurate test kit BEFORE buying the fishes

For general aquarium maintenance, test strips are adequate so long as you understand from the outset that there is a margin of error associated with them that could, in some circumstances, require a second opinion. Once you engage in challenging fishkeeping projects (Discus breeding, keeping freshwater rays, fishes from unusual biotopes such as the alkaline Cichlid Alcolapia alcalicus which actually NEEDS a pH of 10!) then you are into the realm of requiring accurate kits. However, as I said above, chances are if you embark upon projects of that kind, you'll pick up accurate test kits first without needing me to tell you.

In my case, a test kit is somewhat redundant because I KNOW (courtesy of regular assays from my water company, who have access to labs with mass spectrometers and other equipment that is way beyond the reach of you or I) that my water is suitable for the fishes I'm keeping, and I know that my nitrates are low because [1] I have Hornwort in the aquarium hoovering nitrates up at a rate of knots, and [2] the aquarium receives a water change and gravel vac twice per week. Under those conditions, nitrates don't get a chance to rise too high.

Basically, if your stocking levels are relatively light, your species choices are wise ones, and your filtration system is of good quality, chances are test kits will be needed only on an occasional basis. After all, a LOT of successful fishkeeping was performed in the days before test kits existed.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

THANK YOU CALI!!!!

That is what I have been wanting to hear! For what I am doing I think these test strips are fine for now. I'm just trying to keep the ordinary fish I have alive & healthy. I don't care about breeding any of them so all they need is decent water & heat within a reasonable range. I bought a heater last week........... it's getting cold here now.
Hang in there Cali.............. you guys will make an aquariust (SP) out of me yet. First........ I might learn how to spell it.

"Once you engage in challenging fishkeeping projects...................." Cali.......... I AM in a challenging fish keeping project! It's challenging to keep these fish alive! Once I get this tank "good" in the sight of you people here........... I am going to sit back & enjoy them for awhile!

VERY INTERESTING DEVELOPMENT!!!

Hubby said to test the jug of distilled water we had in the fridge. I did & everything registered good as it being soft water except the pH said it was high alkalinity.

The thing we couldn't believe was when I did the ammonia test. It came out as dangerous! I was very careful, rinsing the vial out a couple times with the distilled water before adding the final test water. Could those test strips really be that bad!??

Needless to say he is going to get some decent liquid tests next time he is in the big city! I cannot wait to try the new ones out and compare them with the test strips I have! I wouldn't mind a test being one color off, but all the way off to the end of the scale?? This just does not make sense! Is there any way that ammonia could have gotten into the jug, even if someone drank from it, other than the obvious way of someone peeing it?

If I find those test strips are WAY off, I'm going to call that company & give them a piece of my mind! $20 is a chunk of money to waste in this household!

Yes test strips can be that far off. Either things can happen while they are being made, they can be exposed to eliminates that ruin them even after you open them, or they can just be old. They sometimes sit on the shelf for who knows how long. If you get good quality test strips and are experienced then yes you can use them to judge approximately how your tank is doing and act accordingly. If you don't have experience and/or you have bad test strips it can lead to improper information and bad mistakes. You can also accomplish keeping fish without a test kit but again it can lead to mistakes until you have more experience. For the cost of a good liquid kit and how long they last there's no reason for a beginner not to buy it at least once.

You can get faucet adapters to hook up ro units but as I stated my problem is our hardwater cements the aerator onto the faucet. It gets coated in calcium deposits and removing it leads to breaking the faucet. If you don't have large white deposits all over your faucet then all you do is unscrew the aerator, screw on the adaptor, and turn on the water to start filling the ro unit. Makes using that particular sink difficult though depending on how expensive of adaptor you get.

Hmm, VERY interesting indeed!

Right, here's what you do.

Step 1: Dig out a digital camera. Either that or borrow one from a friend for the purpose.

Step 2: Repeat the test with the test strips upon a water sample you KNOW to be free of ammonia - i.e., distilled water. Photograph the test being conducted.

Step 3: Photograph the test result. If the test result is way off, as before, then you know that the test strips are faulty.

Step 4: Check the 'use by' date on the test strips. Don't forget that they have a finite lifetime. If the 'use by' date is still some time in the future, then the strips are DEFINITELY faulty. In which case you should be entitled to a refund. Here in the UK, we have a piece of legislation called the Sale Of Goods Act, which requires all goods sold to the consumer to be, and I quote, "of merchantable quality". This is legal jargon that basically means that the item is fit for the purpose that it was sold for. Items that fail to be of 'merchantable quality' here in the UK qualify for a refund by law. If there are any disputes, we have a small army of Trading Standards officers to enforce the legislation. Make sure that ALL steps in the procedure are photographed with the digital camera and the resulting images stored somewhere safe (e.g., burned to a CD and verified as written properly afterwards).

Step 5: Check whether or not you have similar legislation applicable to you - in the US, there exist "Lemon Laws" that apply to cars that are faulty, and these laws were introduced when people who had paid thousands of dollars for a new car found themselves stuck with a worthless heap of junk that was about as much use for transportation as a collapsed blancmange. It's entirely possible that other consumer legislation of a similar vein applies to other products too. If you have such legislation, take ruthless advantage of it. Remember, it's your money down the drain if you're sold a duff product. The dealer can take the hit better than you can. If push comes to shove, E-Mail the manufacturer with the evidence and demand either a refund or a working replacement. If you receive a snarky reply, threaten them with all kinds of bad publicity courtesy of your local newspapers & TV station. If there's one thing that gets company execs moving off their backsides and switching attention from browsing the Mercedes-Benz website for a shiny new limo, it's the thought that their company is going to be plastered all over the media as a bunch of crooks. On the other hand, if the company coughs up, chalk one up for the little guy.

Oh, and testing your kit against a sample of known quality to make sure that the readings are good is ALWAYS a good idea. Something that chemists do in the lab with their reagents before proceeding.

As for ammonia getting into distilled water, the only routes I know of are as follows:

[1] There is a source of ammonia gas nearby (ammonia spontaneously dissolves in water at a prodigious rate, as a quick look at the fountain experiment in a chemistry lab will demonstrate VERY forcefully);

[2] There is a source of ammonia contamination from another water source with some means of connecting the two.

It's worth checking your fridge by the way. It's possible your fridge uses a small amount of ammonia as a refrigerant medium, and that the fridge has a leak somewhere. Here's a little piece about refrigerants]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrigerant[/link], and a [link=list of refrigerants which includes ammonia if you scroll down far enough (it's listed as R-717). While anhydrous ammonia is usually used in large commercial plants far from inhabited areas, it's possible that there's a mixture of refrigerants in your fridge because of concerns about CFCs and the ozone layer.

If your fridge has a panel at the back listing the refrigerant contents (again I believe this is a legal requirement in the UK - don't know about the States though) and the panel states that the refrigerant is partly or wholly R-717, then you have an ammonia source in your fridge. It's possible that you have a fridge in need of servicing (yes, the expense of servicing it will be painful, but at least you'll know what's happening). If your fridge is at fault, then testing your strips on some RO water from a marine aquarist suppiers should provide the definitive answer as to whether your test strips are truly faulty - if they STILL deliver a duff reading even with RO water (again, photograph the testing taking place!) then you're loking at a refund. Oh, it's all good fun, isn't it?


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

"It's all good fun?" Now you want me to learn about refrigerators?!

Actually.......... despite the frustrations......... this whole thing has struck me as being rather comical. I just wanted to watch some pretty fish & see where it has led me?

Ok......... get a load of this guys! ANOTHER DEVELOPMENT!

First off, the jug of water in the fridge was always capped, so I doubt that any ammonia could have gotten into it from our fridge. But we had a jug that had never been opened. I opened it & tested it. It came out with the same results as the first jug! Soft water, high alkalinity & dangerous level of ammonia! These two jugs of water were not from this state. These two jugs of water were put out by different water companies from two separate states! Hmmmmmm!

Sham- As I stated earlier these strips are not outdated. I have been careful with them since I just purchased them. Nothing here contaminated them. So that leaves your last guess.......... something could have happened while they were being made.

I just did a test on my tank water........... RESULTS:

ammonia 6.0=danger
nitrate 40
nitrite .5
total hardness 300
total alkalinity 300
pH 8.4

Not being too familiar with water chemistry, could these results be from when I cleaned the filter & put in new pads & then vacuumed real good? Like maybe I caused the tank to try to cycle again? I'm not too concerned about the ammonia reading any more........ thinking THOSE strips are faulty. But should I continue to do the 25% water change every day in a effort to bring down the nitrate & nitrite readings? Or am I doing more harm than good?

Hmmmm did everyone fall asleep on me? Since my water changes keep bringing the nitrate & nitrite no's. down, I will assume I should keep doing them. Maybe next week we can get one of those liquid test kits & see more clearly what is going on here.

I'd switch to every other day or every 3rd day water changes. That nitrate level is probably a little off if you've been doing water changes the past few days. Otherwise you would have started with quite a high nitrate level in the first place. The nitrite on the strips seems at least mildly accurate in this case and by no means in the dangerous range for most fish unless it stays that way for awhile. I'd cut the water changes just a little to let it cycle better. My guess would be your tank isn't actually that bad. Your test kits are just off. You overcleaned causing a small mini cycle and it probably won't reach dangerous levels before cycling even if you don't do water changes but for the sake of safety and not having any proper tests I'd do at least 3 water changes during the week. If the nitrite reading suddenly spikes on your strips increase water changes. While the numbers may not be accurate they can at least give you an idea if the nitrites are going up or down.

Thanks Sham! That sounds like a good idea to me too! I would much rather do water changes about every other day rather than every day!