Best testing kit?

[Muddytyres]

I am loving my tub!! My big problem now is my testing kit (s). I have some dipsticks and a test kit that does pH and Bromine/chlorine levels (blue box- I think it's Taylor). I am never sure about the test water colors. I'm not colorblind or anything like that, but I can never decide which level my test actually resembles .. Is there any dip stick type kit that is better than the others? I can read those without issue.
Thanks!

[Compatico]

I am loving my tub!! My big problem now is my testing kit (s). I have some dipsticks and a test kit that does pH and Bromine/chlorine levels (blue box- I think it's Taylor). I am never sure about the test water colors. I'm not colorblind or anything like that, but I can never decide which level my test actually resembles .. Is there any dip stick type kit that is better than the others? I can read those without issue.
Thanks!

I had a proper liquid test kit but found it time consuming to find out chlorine levels, and not much more accurate than dipsticks for weekly checks. If you have a hot tub store nearby, get a clean sample tube from them and take in a water sample for them to do the full test. Once you know where you're starting for things like Calcium Hardness, Alkalinity, PH, etc., you can adjust those and then just worry about sanitizer levels (chlorine or bromine).

I keep it pretty simple, just use dichlor or trichlor for general sanitizing and Chlorox 6% bleach for shocking (don't use no-name or other brands that have lime in them). I shock after each use (1/8 - 1/5 cup or more depending on usage) and let the tub run for a cycle (15-20mins) to clean up the water. I also clean the filters every weekend, and change out the filters every month. I keep a spare set of filters that have been properly cleaned and dried, ready to drop in each month. This way the filters last about 3x longer than reusing the same filters over and over.

[wmccall]

Glad to hear your enjoying your tub. When this question comes up, the Taylor kit gets most mentioned.  I am very happy with an Aqua check meter that I have. It has special test strips you must buy that are more expensive, but you dip, put it on the meter and get the digital reading.  I can read most test strips enough to see how my tub is doing with the exception of PH.  I like the Aquacheck meter specially for the PH.  It does seem to be very repeatable and when I use it to keep my PH in line, my tub does well.  After 13 years I know my water well enough that if I keep my sanitizer level up and my PH in the proper range everything else stays in line till I change the water.  I have no idea how well this meter works with  Bromine.    I mentioned the strips were expensive, but I have bought them off Amazon cheaper.  I probably only use to two strips a week, so I make them last.

[Chief Kyle]

In my opinion test strips are a waste of money.  The general consensus is that Taylor Test Kits are the Lexus of the water testing kits...but there are definitely other brands that work just as well.  I have the Lamotte CorlorQ Pro-7 I got this kit because I don't have to count reagent drops (other than the 5 drops of each reagent), watch for color changes and do mathematical calculations; the colorimeter actually gives a number value to the specific test being done. 

there are other resources out there to help make sense of water chemistry:  google "nitro's approach to water chemistry" it is a fairly long article but it got my water chemistry dialed in.  If you haven't already download the Pool Calculator app, they also have a desktop version (free).  Input your values and it will tell exactly how much of the particular chemical to add.

If you live fairly close to pool/spa store that does water testing that is a great option too...my dealer is about an hour drive.