What are you guys using to test for your ammonia levels? I have had 3 tests now, all reading different results. I bought one of those ammonia alert tags that you stick to the inside of your tank - I know this one isn't the most accurate so I had bought another test along with it. However, the alert tag has been reading alert the entire time (supposedly this is ~0.02 ammonia). The other test - I'm forgetting what brand it was now but it's a 2-bottle process, wait five minutes, and then compare colors...this test was horrible because it was never the color of any listed and it was always a guessing game as to which one it most closely matched or which two it was inbetween - my husband and I never came up with the same answer! But we reckoned that it was near 1.0 or over 1.0 every time.
So I replaced that test with a dip-strip test, the only other one available at the LFS. This test reads that the ammonia is well above 1.0.
So here's the deal - I've been doing 30% water changes every morning and night. Either there is a lot of die-off (which...I don't exactly see anything dying - all the snails, hermits, the mantis, etc are all doing fine) or these tests are just crap. And what of the hang-in one that still reads 0.02?
Bottom line - what is a highly reliable accurate ammonia test? I'm sick of fussing with these tests that are all giving me different readings.
So I replaced that test with a dip-strip test, the only other one available at the LFS. This test reads that the ammonia is well above 1.0.
So here's the deal - I've been doing 30% water changes every morning and night. Either there is a lot of die-off (which...I don't exactly see anything dying - all the snails, hermits, the mantis, etc are all doing fine) or these tests are just crap. And what of the hang-in one that still reads 0.02?
Bottom line - what is a highly reliable accurate ammonia test? I'm sick of fussing with these tests that are all giving me different readings.
