borate test strips

[amjohn]

I have found three brands for borate tests strips- LaMotte, Aquacheck, and Proteam Supreme. LaMotte and Aquacheck are about the same price. Proteam Supreme are 3x the price, but if I were to use Proteam Supreme Plus for borates (for the convenience- add one thing, no messing with acid), is there some reason to use their particular strips? Also, I have some Aquacheck 6-way strips (from before the TF-100 kit purchase) that are not dependable. I realize strips are not super accurate, but would their borate strips be decent?

 

[duraleigh]

Waterbear is the guru on testing. He likes the LaMotte strips for borates and tells me they're pretty accurate. In fact, I will have them in stock and on the website over the weekend based on his advice.

I'm sure he'll chime in soon to add more.

 

[JasonLion]

It isn't crucial to get the borate level exactly right, you just want it somewhere around 30 to 50. Test strips are fine in this application, given that we don't need them to be precise. Besides, there isn't any readily available drop test for borates.

All of the different brands of strips are testing the same quantity, the borate level. It doesn't matter if you use Proteam products or not, they are all interchangeable. The LaMotte strips seem to be easier to read than the others, but any of them will work regardless of your source of borates.

 

[Guest]

The Lamotte strips are MUCH easier to read. The Proteam and Aquacheck strips are identical and difficult to read. Get the LaMotte. Borates don't have to be exact so a ballpark figure around 50 ppm is fine.
When the level drops to around 30 ppm bump them back up to around 50.
Remember, it's a swimming pool, not rocket science!