Strip vs Master test?

Hi everyone!

As a fish-keeping newbie I'm obsessed with testing water parameters and as such have addes using the API Master Test kit in addition to strips. I've noticed a big discrepancy in nitrate and nitrate results-when the strip showes the dreaded pink, the master test said both levels were zero. Any thoughts or insight?

Thanks!

 

Liquid tests are far more accurate than strips. If you get some reliable strips, perhaps make those your primary and then test with liquid every week or 2 weeks to confirm.

 

Strips are notoriously inaccurate. I'd stick the the master kit the majority of the time

 

Despite me currently using strips because I can't find a master test kit (thanks, COVID), master test kit is 100000% better.

 

Years ago I started out with the strips, because that's what the person a the LFS handed me to use. I found out about the liquid API Master Test Kit on online forums like this one. I got the kit and never used the strips again. So I never compared the two readings. The Master Test Kit was much easier for me to read the results than the strips.