Nemo Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 I purchased this https://www.aquariumcoop.com/collections/water-care/products/aquarium-co-op-ammonia-test-strips But I'm unsure if I'm following the instructions correctly or if my strips are defective. The instructions said to dip the strip in and out of the water, with the test pad completely in and completely out of the water for 30 seconds. But how fast are you supposed to dip the strip in and out- multiple dips a second or a dip in and out once every few seconds? I did multiple tests with the strips, varying the frequency of the dips with each test. However, the results of each tests are the same. The color of the test pad never changes color. The color of the test pad straight out of the tube is pale yellow. After using the strip the color remained the same, it didn't change color at all. It didn't even change to the pale yellow/green color indicating 0 ppm. I even used the strip to test my tap water ( which has ammonia at 1 ppm, tested with API test kit) and still, the test strip didn't change color. It remained the initial pale yellow and didn't change color to any hint of green or blue. So, are my test strips defective or am I not using the test strip the correct way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tlindsey Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 Welcome to the forum. How long has your aquarium been set up? It's just seems odd that non of the colors changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Potterygal Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 On 7/11/2024 at 10:36 PM, Nemo said: So, are my test strips defective or am I not using the test strip the correct way? I have the same AC ammonia strips with the exact same situation you describe. I just went back to using the API two step drops for ammonia. I did not contact AC/ perhaps we will see an explanation or reason. Mine were purchased withIn the past couple months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemo Posted July 12 Author Share Posted July 12 On 7/11/2024 at 9:45 PM, Tlindsey said: Welcome to the forum. How long has your aquarium been set up? It's just seems odd that non of the colors changed. Several months now, at least 3+ months. On 7/11/2024 at 9:51 PM, Potterygal said: I have the same AC ammonia strips with the exact same situation you describe. I just went back to using the API two step drops for ammonia. I did not contact AC/ perhaps we will see an explanation or reason. Mine were purchased withIn the past couple months. yeah, I purchased mine within the past month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tlindsey Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 On 7/11/2024 at 10:57 PM, Nemo said: Several months now, at least 3+ months. Ok yes something should have changed. Try dipping a strip but do a back and forth motion for a minute and hopefully that works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepere Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 I gave up on the co op ammonia test strips as I had no confidence in them. I use the api test for Ammonia. The API test gives me good correlation with expected ammonia readings when I dose test water to an expected, ie with Fritz fishless fuel ammonia drops. If I dose a gallon of water to 2ppm, the API reports 2 ppm. Same with 4 and 6 ppm… I dont get results with the co op strips that built confidence. you might want to check this thread. I am not terribly enamored with the other co op test strips either though some people love them… The beauty of FreeEnterprise capitalism… you have plenty of choices… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wadikus Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 On 7/11/2024 at 11:29 PM, Pepere said: I gave up on the co op ammonia test strips as I had no confidence in them. I use the api test for Ammonia. The API test gives me good correlation with expected ammonia readings when I dose test water to an expected, ie with Fritz fishless fuel ammonia drops. If I dose a gallon of water to 2ppm, the API reports 2 ppm. Same with 4 and 6 ppm… I dont get results with the co op strips that built confidence. you might want to check this thread. I am not terribly enamored with the other co op test strips either though some people love them… The beauty of FreeEnterprise capitalism… you have plenty of choices… I also am not very impressed with the regular test strips either. The PH colours might as well all be the same colour, I don’t feel confident in its ability to do high range PH as my API high range reports 8.0-8.2 but my coop strip might as well be 7.6 every single time. reporting only 1ppm nitrite is also not my favorite as I would like to know if I’ve got .25 or .5 ppm so I can get ahead of the problem. ive basically resorted to them being a nitrate test since the api nitrate test is the most annoying one to do. i don’t really know if the hardness is accurate as i don’t have the kit from API or Fluval for hardness. i was really excited when i got my strips because im in Canada and its been a pain to get stuff from the coop but ill be honest I’ve left quite disappointed. The fert and root tabs are good though.. I love Cory and coop and really like that he brings products to market he thinks are better than the alternative but sometimes it does feel abit like drinking the kool aid. Which is fine, like you said consumer choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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