TetraEasyStrips Complete Aquarium Test Kit, 150 Pack

I was new to fish care when I bought these test strips, having unexpectedly inherited an ailing betta fish earlier this year. I thought for some time that these strips were working well for me. I even repeat-purchased them once. My fish has had his ups and downs in the time that I have had him, with novice-fish-nurse-me never seeming to be able to get him all the way to full health. In troubleshooting a recent sharp downturn, a local fish store recommended using a chemical test kit as opposed to strips, noting that the kits tend to be more reliable. Sure enough, using the kit, I found that my tank parameters were WAY different than these test strips have been telling me. For example, the test strips have consistently been showing the ammonia level at 0, but a comparison test against the chemical kit showed it was actually at 3. (I have since done water changes to truly get back to 0.) The test strips have consistently been showing nitrates at about 3 to 5, but the chemical test showed they were at 0. (I believe the chemical test result, because this reading explains how the ammonia could spike up to a 3 just a few days after a water change, which should not have been able to happen in a properly cycled 5-gallon tank containing one betta fish. A reading of 0 nitrates means that my tank never did successfully cycle, as the test strip readings of at least 3 had led me to believe it had. This is a crucial thing to know in making decisions about tank maintenance and care!) The test strips have been consistently showing around a 6.9 for pH (a good level for my betta, who would thrive at 7.0), but the chemical test showed it to be 7.8 (undesirably alkaline for a betta). Discovering all this, I used a strip to do a test of my totally untreated tap water. The readings matched fairly closely with the strip tests I had done on my fish tank, the most glaring oddity about this being that the chlorine level registered at 0. My town is known for its aggressive chlorination of tap water. My bathroom smells like I’m at a hotel pool when the shower runs. There is absolutely no way that any reliable test of my tap water could return a 0 for chlorine level. (There is no chlorine test in my chemical kit for a comparison, but I will be looking into a possible chemical test for this.) I questioned whether I got a faulty batch of strips, but the expiration dates on both bottles say 2020, and the test results for my newer batch are consistent with those from my first. I now consider these test strips to be useless to the point of dangerous to the health of my fish, who seems to be slowly bouncing back from his time steeping in the harmful ammonia that these strips did not catch. I will never know how much the misleading readings of these test strips have hurt my fish’s overall recovery, but I do know that they played a direct role in his recent decline. I will be throwing out my unused strips and going completely with the liquid tests from now on.

My complaint isn't so much about the product in general as it is about this particular item. The test results were very inaccurate and when I took all the strips for the ammonia tests out I found out why. Many of the test pads had actually fallen off the strips! See pic. I didn't find an expiration date so not sure if I was sold expired strips but I was definitely sold defective ones. Unfortunately by the time I realized that it was outside the return window. Just wanted to warn others, you may want to get these at your local store so you can check the dates before buyingEdited to add pics.

Any serious fish hobbyist will tell you that strips are inferior to real test kits. However, these strips have provided results very close to my test kit in side by side tests, **except for the pH.** These strips read consistently about half a point low compared to my API Master Test Kit. The good news is that the nitrite, and nitrate readings have always been dead-on during done several side-by-side tests.Although some hobbyists will disagree with me, I think that test strips have a place as a supplemental form of testing. Sometimes we all get pressed for time. It takes 45 seconds to get a complete reading off the strips; running a full set of tests with a liquid test kit takes 20 minutes or so from sampling to clean-up. With the strips, I am less likely to put off testing when I am in a hurry. If the results from the strips are unexpected at all, then I know I need to *make time* to re-check using the liquid test kit.Note: It is vitally important that you keep your strips absolutely dry and carefully sealed up at all times. Only handle them with clean, dry hands, and don't touch the test pads at all. If the test pads get damp or get skin oils on them, they may not work properly. For the health of your fish, always throw away any strips that may have gotten damp or been contaminated. Also, you should run comparison tests between every new package of test strips and a good quality liquid test kit; sometimes you can get a bad batch of strips.

I've used strips in the past without any issues. (I can't remember if they were Tetra) I know they aren't as accurate as the API test kits, but they worked for me. This batch of Tetra test strips are horribly inaccurate. I've been cycling a new tank for the last month or so, but I didn't want to add fish because my PH kept coming back as 6.3. (my tap water is 7.0) My LFS recommended 7.0ph buffer from Seachem to get the ph back up. After 3 weeks of heavily dosing the buffer, nothing changed. I tried adding baking soda; nothing. I had an inkling that something was wrong with the strips and picked up an API chemical test kit. WOOOOOOAAAAAAAHHHHHH my PH was actually at 7.6! These strips are straight trash. Pass on them.

This is a very convenient testing kit that seems to test accurately for everything except Nitrates. More specifically, it tests for Nitrites, Chlorine, Hardness, pH and Alkalinity and the results seem accurate when compared to results from another brand testing kit. I became suspicious of the Nitrate results and performed tests of my tap water, Brita filtered water and Aquafina bottled water. The Nitrate results were off the chart for all samples. I tested with the other brand kit and my suspicions were confirmed. All results were similar between kits except for the Nitrate. I am keeping the Tetra kit but will not use it to test Nitrates. I would not recommend this product. My product was received fresh and it will not expire for another eight months.

Two reading patches of the five are not used to test saltwater tanks. Why am I being strips that are wasteful and of no use? This wasn't disclosed in the product information. All the energy and waste to produce reagents which I then throw in the garbage. Disgusting.Also, the pH values are for saltwater tanks, NOT brackish ones. The test area that says dangerously low pH levels are WRONG for Betta fish. If you follow them, you will hurt your fish.I would want a test strip that isn't wasting my money or unnecessarily polluting.Why is there no test strip in this saltwater kit that actually TESTS salinity???Disappointed with this product. Will find one that works properly in future and buy elsewhere.

ok I guess. accuracy is not the point here. Just a quick peek if you could be in trouble or not.kinda dumb taping the chart on the container, folded, and the notification that you have to peel the darn thing off, is not really easy to notice.taped the chart on the side of my canopy right away so it doesn't get wet, or worse, lost.

Hard tell the accuracy. I have three different test kits and all I wanted out of this one was to give me an idea if certain parameters were high.