Digital PH Meter, PH Meter 0.01 PH High Accuracy Water Quality Tester with 0-14 PH Measurement Range for Household Drinking, Pool and Aquarium Water PH Tester Design with ATC https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08197LX6H/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_E3K6EJ9W2FX2QJKMS3FB?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
You can also just order a digital ph tester on amazon. I use one that's cheap and reliable: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08197LX6H/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_sb47EbETFJ7XA
It's very easy to use. And you won't have to keep buying the strips and you won't have to be guessing if the color matches.
Soil meters are pretty useless even in soil I've found. Litmus paper as difficult to use with soup is a better choice or a liquid meter on Amazon can be had under $15. Here's a link that seems to have decent ratings. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08197LX6H/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_-kx5EbJQVD6MD
I use this one .. I have two now, and will usually check pH with both just to make sure the reading is somewhat more accurate than just using one meter, they’re usually on point or 0.1-0.2pH off from each other. As I mentioned I just got that fancy pH controller so will test the readings of that to my cheap amazon pH pens... I’ll let you know?
For a small pool the test strips are fine. The most important factor in a small pool would be ph. You can get a digital ph meter like this one - https://www.amazon.com/Accuracy-Measurement-Household-Drinking-Aquarium/dp/B08197LX6H
This one worked well for me. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08197LX6H/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_api_glt_i_YQ5MEC3KC7A9YM8TWP7Y?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1