Top 5 Best PH Meters Reviewed: Best Water Quality Test Kits

If you want to keep your school happy and healthy, and your aquascape thriving, you need to check the pH and nutrient levels regularly.

Failing to keep an eye on the acidity levels could lead to your fish getting sick, algae growing out of control, or bacteria being able to develop -- which requires far more work than monitoring the pH level in your water regularly.

A suitable pH measuring device is going to give you fast, accurate results, and let you compare those results to what you’ve already recorded. Having a stable baseline measurement to base your decisions off of is critical to maintaining a thriving ecosystem.

5 Of The Best pH Meters For Hydroponics In 2019

Now that you know how we’ve compared each of the different pH meters available in 2019, it’s time to start showing you what we think the best are.

Below are 5 of the top-rated pH and water quality testers we’ve been able to find.

Each passed both our tests and the tests of customers who purchased before you and left valuable feedback based on their experiences.

How We Judge The “Best” Digital pH Meters

With so many different meters to choose from, ranging from the low-end cheap aquarium pH tester to the ultra-high-end lab testing equipment, it can be hard to pick one that you know will work for what you need it for -- and won’t bust your budget.

We’ve looked at a wide range of the testers available and ran them through a variety of tests, using factors that we believe are most important.

Below are a small handful of the criteria we kept in mind when making our recommendations.

1. Standard Range vs. Extended Range

   There are two types of pH meters, standard range, and extended range. For most people’s tanks, a standard range tester is going to be more than sufficient. It ranges pH between 0 and 14, while extended ranges (as the name implies) measures outside of the standard 0 to 14.
   
   

Unless you’re operating on a large scale, such as commercial breeding operations, a standard range is more than enough to get you by.

2. Temperature Compensation

When you’re testing the water, the temperature plays a significant role in how effective the test is going to be, and how accurate the results are. We recommend purchasing a meter that has an automatic temperature sensing feature to help avoid potentially misleading results or inaccurate samples altogether.

Without having a temperature compensation feature, the tester may require you to leave the water at room temperature before it’s able to obtain a reading.

3. Accuracy & Consistency

Even though managing your aquarium may not require the same level of accuracy as performing laboratory tests, you still need accurate results every single time you use the meter.

We’ve verified that each of our recommendations is accurate to within .002 units to guarantee you’re not going to potentially upset the ecosystem in your tank by adding too many or offsetting too few nutrients or chemicals.

4. Ease Of Operation

While many of the “fancy” meters do have a ton of extra features, navigating your way through those features (and understanding the readouts) is like getting a college degree, in some cases.

We also wanted to ensure that the meters we recommend come equipped with everything you need to test under a wide variety of conditions.

Some meters expect you to pay extra for different electrodes, for instance, where the “best” will give them all to you with your original purchase.

5. Durability

There’s no point in spending your hard-earned money on a tool that’s going to break down after a few uses, or saving a few bucks to get a “better deal”, only to find out that the tester breaks as soon as you use it and the company is nowhere to be found when it comes time to ask for a replacement.

Each of our recommendations was thoroughly tested in real-world scenarios, used, and abused, to ensure that it won’t let you down when you need it -- or leave you scrambling to find a replacement or get help from the manufacturer months down the road.

6. Budget

Budget is one of the primary factors we’ve considered, weighing it against the features offered by the manufacturer.

Since most aquarists are hobbyists, it doesn’t make sense to spend hundreds of dollars on lab-grade equipment that may only be used a few times a month.

Simple meters that have the features you need, while being priced competitively were immediately ranked higher than more expensive models that were price-padded by added features that may never be used.

7. Added Features

Having additional features, outside of accurate testing capabilities, is an area we reserved for last because, while some may make life easier, they’re not always required.

While it may be convenient to have the ability to connect to a computer or have Bluetooth connectivity, these features usually end up costing more money for and aren’t used nearly as often as you think they would be before you bought the tester in the first place.

So, What Is The Best pH Meter In 2019?

After pouring through hundreds of different water quality testers, we’ve found out that the Apera Instruments is, by far, the best, most accurate pH meter available. While it is slightly more expensive than the rest, the quality shows, and price directly reflects the quality.

Behind that, Dr. Meter pH100-V is our second choice, and slightly less expensive.

It’s hard to go wrong with either one, so you’ll want to base your personal decision on what other customers have said, who have used it similar situations to you. We only recommend what we think are the best, then let you decide based on your own specific needs!