poll: do you agree that liquid test kits are lousy

[rdhanley]

my experience with the test kits is they suck. they don't tell exact readings. always have to guess and check. i bought one recently to check parameters as my old one seemed useless, but it isn't any better.

 

[daayda3]

I cant afford electronic testing stuff.... Id say liquid is OK

 

[viper_930]

IMO it really depends on the brand.
Liquid tests are probably the best thing to use short of spending hundreds on digital meters with probes and/or photometers.

 

[rdhanley]

Originally Posted by daayda3
I cant afford electronic testing stuff.... Id say liquid is OK
i have never had much luck with the liquid test kits. they always seem to be either inbetween 2 colors.
i wish they would make a test kit that changes from yellow to red to blue to orange. where each would show a distinct color and a person would know for sure without guessing.

 

[daayda3]

I think seachem has something like that.. I have a kit from them and I dont really like it.. its really confusing
But its something like that
Normally the water is the same color as the color in the card so I dont have to guess anything

 

[buckster71]

scientific method...
Is that you verify the results. When in doubt I always rinse everything clean with RO/DI water and re-test it.

 

[jonthefishguy]

Liquid test kits are fine if used correctly. The paper strips are the issue. Too many variables that can hinder an accurate test on the strips. Oils,salts, or just plain humidity in an unclosed bottle can react to the strips and cause false readings. I use the Tetra test kits (liquid) and have used others side by side to compare, and the others have compared just fine. Other than the paper ones.

 

[scsinet]

I have a very hard time distinguishing similar colors. I've always suspected that I'm somewhat color blind. I can tell if something is red or blue, but if something is one of 6 similar shades of blue, I'm stuck.
I have to compensate with digital meters and lots of luck. Some things I just can't test for because I can't interpret the results.
I don't think it's the tests fault though.

 

[salty blues]

I think the test kits tend to be more accurate when they give a result we want to see.