OhNeil1969
Aquarium Advice Addict
I've read so many times on this site how inaccurate those water test strips can be, but I didn't realize just how bad they really are. I'm performing a fishless cycle on a 60 gallon tank right now and have been testing for a week with the Quick Dip strips. After the first 2 days of what I thought was slow dosing of ammonia I started getting a color reading that I couldn't understand. I had been planning on getting the API Master Kit, but I didn't think it would hurt to start my cycle without it until I could make it to the store. I finally got the master kit as a present today and tested the tank. It was off the scale for ammonia! Remember, I was slow dosing based on the readings I was getting from the strips. What I thought was close to 4 ppm based on the strips was actually over 8 ppm. So I did a 50% PWC thinking I might be able to get close to the 4 or 5 ppm I was looking for. No Joy! It still read close to 8 ppm (my cousin says it more like 6 ppm - close enough).
As a result I decided to write this post for those that are still skeptical about buying the master test kit. DO IT!!! Thank god I haven't killed any fish in my established tank relying of those test strips. I'm about to go a recheck that tank anyway just to be sure. In the end, the master kit is worth the added cost. And remember, the kit tests everything!
As a result I decided to write this post for those that are still skeptical about buying the master test kit. DO IT!!! Thank god I haven't killed any fish in my established tank relying of those test strips. I'm about to go a recheck that tank anyway just to be sure. In the end, the master kit is worth the added cost. And remember, the kit tests everything!