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I picked one of these up a week a so ago and it works well. The results are right on par with my test kit. I think I paid like $12 for it. I was wondering if anyone has used these for cycling a new tank with any success. If so I think they would certainly make it a little easier. They are very unattractive so don’t think that I will use them again in my main tank but for a Hospital Tank they could work.

http://www.petsmart.com/global/include/inc_product_detail_popup.jsp?PRODUCT<>prd_id=845524441816518&FOLDER<>folder_id=2534374302030152&ASSORTMENT<>ast_id=2534374302023693&bmUID=1176470943092#

"No whammy, No whammy, No whammy, STOP!!"

1984-Michael Larsen On Press Your Luck

Hi,
I think that over time you will find that these things
rate just above "gimmicks" as far as accuracy is concerned.
They also "wear out" over time and cease functioning.

For testing your water, nothing beats an actual test kit.
Liquid test kits, where there is an actual change from
one color to another rather than from one shade to
another, are more accurate than test strips. The test
kits where you use little premeasured "pillows" of
dry powder are among THE most accurate.

The drawback is that you have to keep track of when you
purchased it, care for it (keep it in a cool, dark, dry
place) and replace it when the chemicals grow old.
It means that you, the fish keeper, actually have to do
some work instead of hanging something inside a tank and
forgetting it.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

By no means would I replace my existing kit with this. I just thought that it would be a nice additional resource for a Hospital. This way if you come home and have to take immediate action you can. But if you give it the thumbs down then I am sure that it is a shared sentiment. That just means i can keep my $12 bucks.
thanks


"No whammy, No whammy, No whammy, STOP!!"

1984-Michael Larsen On Press Your Luck

Usually they don't last the month and sometimes they don't make a week before they start losing accuracy. If they were really cheap they might be good for temporary use while you want more frequently testing like during cycling. For $12 though you can buy two new liquid kits or 1 good dry ingredients kit and it will last you many months sometimes a year or 2 depending how often you need or want to use it.

I have a pack of test strips that I got, are they that inaccurate for testing? I know they're vague, but for general community tank purposes are they ok?

Listen! Do you smell that?

but for general community tank purposes are they ok

No. They're garbage, get rid of them

Hi,
Just to elaborate a little more...
The test strips are a litmus paper. They generally
come in an opaque plastic can with a snap on top. Their
handling instructions usually say to store in a cool, dry,
dark, place.

They are very susceptible to moisture and high humidity.
Heat and light can alter their composition so that they do
not give accurate readings. Moistening your fingers to grab
one out of the can, leaving the remainder behind can
actually cause the part you grab to give you a reading,
generally acidic.

There are simply too many ways to compromise them, and,
they age. That also causes the strips to give inaccurate
readings. If you want to know if your solution is basic
or acidic then use a strip. But, if you need to know
if your water is 6.6 or 7.8 or 7.2, and you do - then
you need something that will give you that accuracy.

If you bring home that perfect fish, and it is in water
that is 7.4 and your water is 6.4 you need to know that
ahead of time because that will affect if you buy it, or
how you acclimate it to its new tank.

Some of the liquid test kits have been compared to the
strips in that they yield results by comparing shades of
color. You hold your test sample, in daylight, against
a card that is preprinted with bands of different shades
of a color. Sometimes it is impossible for a person to
tell what the results are, and frequently they will simply
say "My nitrate is so dark it has to be more than xxx."
That's not very accurate.

To me, the better test kits will be the same as your
high school chemistry classes where you titrated a liquid.
You started out with one color, and when you hit just the
right point, the solution changed color or became clear.
With the pH tests of this type the liquid changes from
blue to green with just one more drop, or a blue to a
yellow, and you simply count the number of drops and
then read the result off of a card.
The only time those kits fail us, is if we are color blind
and cannot tell the difference between greens and blues or
some similar combination.

With the liquid test kits, you must pay attention to
the age of the product as they do degrade over time.
So, when you get a result you do not expect as you
test, take a sample to your LFS and ask them
to test it for you. If the results are the same or really
close, then your kit is OK, if they are different, I'd
get rid of my kit.

When you purchase a test kit ALWAYS look at the date
of manufacture or the expiration date.
Don't buy an old kit.

We wern't ganging up on you, we just wanted you to realize
that strips are not really the best way to go, and why.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--