How do "Dip"-Type Test Strips work vs Chemical Tes

[TheChad]

Hey all,

As all of us do, I test my water constantly. But I find that somtimes I don't test my water as often as I maybe should because it is such as hassel to use the Chemical test kit..

Do the "Dip" Type test strips work just as good? Are they accurate?

I know they are more expensive, but would be worth the difference for me, and will allow me to do my water test as often as I should.

Thanks,

-TheChad

[TCTFish]

The thing that dip tests lack are numbers. You want to know the numbers.

[stainless_wm]

Ive never tried them, All I know is what I read on here,,,,, Most Common thought,,,,,They are not recommended.

[robertfah]

I've heard from several people (including those who work at DrsFosterSmith.com) that they are not accurate. Like TCTFish said, you want numbers and the strips don't provide them. Now they're probably good if you test 2x or more a week and your water quality seems good, then you can get a 'rough' reading from the strips, but that's probably all.

[DragonForce]

The dip tests are fine for everyday testing IMO. I have 3 tanks so it is not practical for me to sit there with salifert test kits everyday and drop 1 drop at a time into a vial till I get my readings.

For my mantis tanks I like using dip test kits and just change some water every week. With my LPS reef I need more exact readings to keep everything nice, especially since I just added a BTA. For a SPS reef I would probably not use anything other than salifert test kits.