Aquarium Test Strips

[Melfice]

Hello all:

My question is about "Quick Dip" Aquarium Strips (for Nitrate/Nitrite/Ammonia) how accurate are they? Are the liquid test kits more accurate? Any info will help much

 

[methical]

is there strip tests now ?? are they any cheaper ?? i'd be heaps interested in seeing how well they perform and their pricing

 

[Bol]

Most people will say that strip test are less accurate than liquid tests. I'm not sure that I've seen a significant difference, though.

However, liquid tests, in my experience, are generally more precise. For instance, here are my two nitrate tests, and their "points", in ppm:

Mardel strip: 0, 20, 40, 80, 200.
AP liquid : 0, 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, 100.

So, with the strip, I usually find a result of "less than 20, but more than zero". With the liquid kit, I can narrow it down quite a bit more.

 

[modernhamlet]

Strip tests also tend to be substantially more expensive on a per test basis. The price you pay for convenience, I guess.

 

[babsrocks]

I got the test strips $10 for 25 of them, they test for pH, Hardness, Alkalinity, Nitrate, and nitrite, there is another one for Ammonia for $9.00. I used them a few times and had my friend retest with liquids and we got basicly the same results.
I think it's much more convenient.
If you need precise results for sensitive or fragile fish, I'd stick with the liquid.

 

[Sang72]

Liquid tests are more precise, but the strip tests are soo much more convenient. The 5 in 1 quik dip tests cost me 12.99/ 25 strips, and you have the convenience of 5 tests in one dip (so I'm lazy, but it takes me 20 min to do all five tests separately) I use the strips for regular checking and a liquid test kit for any readings that are out of whack on the quik dip.

Also, a lot of the liquid tests use toxic chemicals as reagents, whereas the test strips are relatively harmless (unless you eat them).

 

[Needlerp]

The lady in my LFS just gave me a great bit of cash-saving advice for the test strips - cut them in half, then they'll last twice as long! )

The simple ones are always the best!