dip tests

[ekclark]

I was just reading another post on here about red sea tests and how difficult they can be to read...they also take forever to do them all. Does anyone use any kind of those dip test strips? I always assumed they were too good to be true and avoided them. Does anyone stand behind them and which brand? Thanks.

 

[dukenay]

bump

 

[ekclark]

Anyone ever try these?

 

[lesleybird]

Hi, I started using these about 6 months ago and I love them. I use the ones called Quick Dip by Jungle. You can test your nitrate and nitrite with one strip, amonia with another, hardness with another, and ph with another. Just make sure that you don't reach into the bottle with damp fingers to get them out as moisture will damage the strips. I love them because I can find out in seconds everything that I need to know. I used to dread testing the water with the liquid vials where you had to add and count drops, try to match the color, and spend a lot of time. I think these are about as accurate for me as with the vials because I was always having to guess what color the liquid in the vial matched anyway. I guess they cost a little more.....only down side for me. Lesley

 

[aarone]

dip tests are far more innacurate than the more complicated tests. I prefer the more complicated types. IMO complicated means good.
aaron

 

[aquaworld75]

I have used these dip tests also. I use Dip & Read by Aquamarine. I used them for their simplicity. But as far as accuracy .... Well I dont know. They are sometimes a little difficult to match up with the color chart. Also if you let them go past their "Use By" Date, you will start getting all wrong results.
I continue to use the Nitrate dips but I am moving over to other types of tests, like Seachem for Calcium....
Mainly bc I would trust something that is more complex for keeping corals etc..

 

[jimmyn]

The dip stick test are inaccurate. There are many factors which lead to this. Age of the strips -- not to say that reagents of the drops can not expire. As noted above, any moisture that gets in the vial will start to change the readings. They might be good for quick "early warnings" but I would say that given the amount of money and time most of us have put into our tanks, the time and money it takes to use a top test kits is well worth the investment. I have tried multiple test kits and have now stayed with salifert. They are, IMO, the most accurate you can get.
Good Luck

 

[aarone]

amen!
aaron

 

[thomas712]

I got some of those dip test strips for alkalinity when I purchased my refractometer, I think they are a joke, easy? yes, accurate?, NO.
Thomas

 

[fshhub]

easy to use? yes
easy to read? no always
accurate? slightly(at best)
easy to corrupt? VERY, VERY
time saving? not really, you still have to wait 30 or 60 seconds for some tests(and not shake, but hold steady)
worth it? NOT AT ALL
too good to be true? BY FAR
would I ever use thim? NO, have I? not for my home tank, but on a professional level dealing with many types of water chemistry/ In which cae, I threw them out and bought better kits (out of my own pocket for work).

 

[ekclark]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts...I guess an hour a week (or two) for all the money I have spent is no big deal. Some things are just too good to be true.

 

[ekclark]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts...I guess an hour a week (or two) for all the money I have spent is no big deal. Some things are just too good to be true.