Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi peoples Iam looking into a few different testing units and am just wondering what types you guys are using, Test Box Kits, Pens, strips (5way, 6way or single), Multiparameter, Handheld, Bench, Colourmeters, or Photometers ????

Master test kit here

Master test kit here as well. And those salt testing lightsabers are great also.

Master test kit.... think you'll find that's the one almost everyone uses...

http://www.theaquariumshop.com.au/shope ... Test%20Kit

http://www.thereefshop.com.au/index.php ... cts_id=860

The Master test kit.
It is a standard freshwater test kit like sold in aquarium shops. It uses test tubes and dropper bottles and you compare the colors to charts for the readings.
It tests Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH and High Range pH.
These are the tests most commonly needed for Aquaponics and most of us will tell new people to get one of these kits long before you get any fish.

I used to hate the idea of this sort of testing but I've tried meters and test strips and found the dropper bottle test kits to be far more reliable. Something to keep in mind about meters and such, they usually require calibration supplies or equipment which is an ongoing cost and replacement probes are a cost to keep in mind. Most people don't find they need these things unless they are working on many large commercial systems that need close monitoring to protect the investment.

Once a system gets past cycling and settles in a bit, testing does not need to be done all that often unless there is some change to conditions (like increasing fish load, upping feed, or change in temperature) that might need to be monitored. I think I might test once a month or even less lately.

+1

I use master test kit too

I had the strips, although they are alot easier than the other test kits they just weren't accurate. No I dont test at all.

It might occasionally be useful to be able to measure salt content in the water. Like if you have ich and are treating with salt but also have to do a water change but can't be very precise so don't know how much salt to add to get back to 3 ppt or something. I managed with an old hydroponics EC tester but I had to dilute a sample before taking the reading. Granted the conductivity of the water can be affected by more than table salt but I figured it would be close enough for my purposes.