Reef Central Online Community

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community > General Interest Forums > The Reef Chemistry Forum
Blogs FAQ Calendar Mark Forums Read

Notices

User Tag List

Reply
Thread Tools
Unread 02/24/2021, 12:40 PM   #1
Radicaljbr
Registered Member
 
Radicaljbr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Hudson, Ohio
Posts: 1,293
6 in 1 water test strips???

Any recommendations or thoughts on these six and one test strips? They test everything from pH, nitrates, nitrates, ammonia, water hardness. Just curious what everyone’s thoughts are for using them it says it is also recommended for saltwater fish tanks


Radicaljbr is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/24/2021, 01:21 PM   #2
Oldreeferman
Registered Member
 
Oldreeferman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: NW Indiana Valparaiso
Posts: 505
They are better then nothing to get a general idea and ok for most freshwater applications but they are not very accurate for saltwater apps where you want precision and easy to read from one lvl to the next. They are ok on a new setup where you are monitoring the beginning of ammonia and nitrates etc
I did a test using them in the beginning and they work somewhat but not precise when put next to real test kits on anything and they don't read low amounts well just high.
Plus on saltwater one usually has to use RO water anyway (water hardness), and PH is maintained by ALK mainly so test strips end up pretty useless once a tank is mature and needs precise measurements for dosing setup etc.
Id only recommend them for freshwater use if you want success in a Reef tank, if only a FOWLR saltwater tank probably ok since params are lower and simpler.


__________________
Montipora Digitas, Cyphastrea, Blastos, different Leptoseris, Green Stylo, GSP, gorgonions, Ricordea mushrooms, psammocoras, Birdsnest coral, Clownfish, Watchman goby, Royal gamma.

Current Tank Info: Nano Reef tank
Oldreeferman is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/25/2021, 12:26 AM   #3
markovkaa
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2021
Posts: 16
I got a pack of them for free and I tested so many water with them and didn’t learn anything.


markovkaa is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/06/2021, 10:49 PM   #4
clevername
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Manchester, MO
Posts: 1,125
Quote:
Originally Posted by markovkaa View Post
I got a pack of them for free and I tested so many water with them and didn’t learn anything.
would agree with that. Someone said "better than nothing" is like saying if your staving would you want a grain of rice or nothing?


__________________
In process: 210gal, VARIOS-8 return, Kessil Lights, 80 gal sump, mp60's, and REGAL 200EXT 8" RECIRCULATING skimmer
clevername is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/07/2021, 03:13 PM   #5
Oldreeferman
Registered Member
 
Oldreeferman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: NW Indiana Valparaiso
Posts: 505
Yep they are useless for marine, ok for most fresh tho, but trying to be polite....LOL


__________________
Montipora Digitas, Cyphastrea, Blastos, different Leptoseris, Green Stylo, GSP, gorgonions, Ricordea mushrooms, psammocoras, Birdsnest coral, Clownfish, Watchman goby, Royal gamma.

Current Tank Info: Nano Reef tank
Oldreeferman is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/07/2021, 05:15 PM   #6
Sk8r
RC Mod
 
Sk8r's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Spokane WA
Posts: 34,628
Blog Entries: 55
They're good to have on hand for a fast look at a situation, but never rely on them for water-balancing. I have freshwater and a pond, so they come in handy more often, but for maintaining a marine tank, a weekend testing of alkalinity at least (bellwether of other problems) will keep you out of trouble. It's the fastest test (I use Salifert) and if it's off, test magnesium, which is the fussier test) If it's off, first bring magnesium up to snuff, THEN the alk buffer, last of all the calcium. So you don't need to run every test every time if your water is in balance as I have in my sig line.


__________________
Sk8r

Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low.

Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.
Sk8r is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:31 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef CentralTM Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2022
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.