midgiepooh
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2012
- Messages
- 37
Oh my...totally forgot I had another question!
Okay, keeping in mind that I know the test strips are unreliable...
I was "playing" with them earlier today when I did my normal test in the 20 g. I didn't think I "needed" to test the water since I just put him in it several hours ago. But it couldn't hurt and I need to get into the habit of everyday testing....
The ammonia level of the 20 g was the same as the ammonia level reading I got yesterday in the 1.5. (I am using Jungle brand strips, matching the pad color to the color on the bottle). The reading I am getting is 0.5, and reads "stress" underneath. The color-code gives me 5 possible readings, the "stress" being the middle one. A 3-out-of-5, if you will.
So I tested the water in the 1.5 just for fun and got a 0.5 reading again.
I couldn't believe that was true since the fish lived in that water for more than 24 hours! Yes, I did do about a 30% water change earlier, but still!
So I tested just regular 'ol tap water and still got a 0.5 reading. The color on these sticks is identical!
Even though I'm keeping in mind these things aren't reliable, now I'm leaning toward them being completely useless! Either that, or my tap water stinks!
So what does everyone think? Should I still go with my plan of getting a better test kit in 3 days, or should I opt to make an earlier trip to the store?
Okay, keeping in mind that I know the test strips are unreliable...
I was "playing" with them earlier today when I did my normal test in the 20 g. I didn't think I "needed" to test the water since I just put him in it several hours ago. But it couldn't hurt and I need to get into the habit of everyday testing....
The ammonia level of the 20 g was the same as the ammonia level reading I got yesterday in the 1.5. (I am using Jungle brand strips, matching the pad color to the color on the bottle). The reading I am getting is 0.5, and reads "stress" underneath. The color-code gives me 5 possible readings, the "stress" being the middle one. A 3-out-of-5, if you will.
So I tested the water in the 1.5 just for fun and got a 0.5 reading again.
I couldn't believe that was true since the fish lived in that water for more than 24 hours! Yes, I did do about a 30% water change earlier, but still!
So I tested just regular 'ol tap water and still got a 0.5 reading. The color on these sticks is identical!
Even though I'm keeping in mind these things aren't reliable, now I'm leaning toward them being completely useless! Either that, or my tap water stinks!
So what does everyone think? Should I still go with my plan of getting a better test kit in 3 days, or should I opt to make an earlier trip to the store?