I have been using the coop test strips for about 4 and a half years now. Never registered nitrates in any of my 7 tanks more than 20 ppm. Ph reading on most of the tanks has always been between 6.3 and 6.8. General hardness measuring over 300ppm out of the tap.
I finally used a test kit tonight as well as some tetra test strips for the first time. I come to find out EVERY SINGLE READING HAS BEEN WRONG FOR ALMOST 5 YEARS.
Across the board all of my tanks have nitrates over 100ppm. Some as high as 200.
PH on all of them is 7 or higher with one of the tanks reading 7.6
GH maxes out at 200 in the tanks and almost 0 out of the tap
I’ve added crushed coral to all my tanks to try to bring my ph to 7 or just add some KH buffet. Some of them are almost at 8.
I wonder why my cherry barbs are fighting and bickering with each other, they can’t breathe and the water is burning them
I wonder why I add Apistos to my former community current quarantine tank and they died in less than 48 hours, the water is 10 times more alkaline than what they should be exposed to, and the nitrates are burning them
Aquarium coop was my local fish store but now I will no longer shop there even after they finish their expansion. Which I was very excited about. I won’t purchase their products. And I will dissuade any other hobbyist I know from giving them any business. I feel terrible and ashamed. And I absolutely do not trust aquarium coop.