Thoughts on test water kits (how long they are reliable for)

[sophie68]

Hello everyone,:):)

I am asking this because I panicked yesterday thinking that I had tons of nitrite in my water when it turned out it was my AP test which was was completely off!!! :mad::mad::mad::mad: I had bought it only 4 months ago, so that's not that long, is it?????
Maybe I got a bad one, is that even possible??????
Thanks!
Sophie

[Clyde]

They can go bad over time. Because of this they have a limited shelf life. It is very possible to buy a kit and get erroneous results because it has been on the shelf of the store too long.

[kmuda]

Experation info on the API Test Kits (from an email reply recieved from API)

Wide Range pH - 3 years

Ammonia #1 - 3 years

Ammonia #2 - 3 years

High Range pH - 3 years

Nitrate #1 - 3 years

Nitrate #2 - 3 years

GH - 3 years

KH - 4 years

Nitrite - 4 years

To determine bottling date check the lot # on the reagent bottle. The last 4 digits are the month and year of bottling.

Example: 33A1201 would = a bottling date of December 2001.

[ponderingky]

Very helpful - Thanks

[Green Country Discus]

Really, once you get your tanks cycled and stable, you will hardly test at all. You won't need to with good husbandry. But, always a good back-up when signs go bad. Stay up with the basics and your test kit will !!! Age ;). I can't remember the last time I counted drops :p.