Water testing equipment

[GregJames]

I am new to the hobby, so please bear with me.
I'm looking for a good digital water tester that'll give me good read outs for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, ect. I've come to learn the hard way that water chemistry is the most important part of tank setup, and I just don't feel that my test strips are giving me the adequate information. I catch myself comparing the colors and arguing with myself as to which one it more closely resembles.
Also, what are some good brands of supplements to get the tank started?

(29gal tank, live sand, 30lbs of live rock arriving next week)

 

[lmforbis]

I use salifert test kits. Not digital but reliable. Hanna checkers are digital but expensive. I have heard some are really good and others are not.
Test strips are useless.

 

[flower]

Ammonia test strips are okay to use because any reading at all means do a water change, exact numbers are not needed.

Digital tests are super easy to use, I have a PH one... but they are very expensive.

Master kits are cheaper than purchasing kits individually. People seem to like Salifert kits. I personally like the SeaChem brand, each comes with a regent to be able to double check for accuracy, they also require just a few drops of test water.

Stay away from API kits, they read high, and people then think there is a problem when there isn't. I don't know why, but Red Sea has a bum name too, I personally never had any problems with them. Instant Ocean are the easiest tests to read, instead of a cardboard printed color card for comparison, it has a colored plastic block that sits right next to the test tube, it's really easy to see the color to compare to the test water results.

 

[flower]

I am new to the hobby, so please bear with me.
I'm looking for a good digital water tester that'll give me good read outs for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, ect. I've come to learn the hard way that water chemistry is the most important part of tank setup, and I just don't feel that my test strips are giving me the adequate information. I catch myself comparing the colors and arguing with myself as to which one it more closely resembles.
Also, what are some good brands of supplements to get the tank started?

(29gal tank, live sand, 30lbs of live rock arriving next week)

Never ever add any supplement to your tank until you have tested to know if you even need to use it.

 

[GregJames]

Awesome, thank you. I bought the strips first, and quickly realized that they're junk and not reliable.