Features:

  • Contains one (1) API NITRATE 90-Test Freshwater and Saltwater Aquarium Water Test Kit, including 2 bottles of testing solution, 2 color cards and 1 glass test tube with cap
  • Detects high nitrate levels from 0-160 ppm
  • Helps monitor and adjust pH and prevent invisible water problems that can be harmful to fish
  • Prevents algae growth that can be damaging to fish health
  • Use for weekly monitoring and when water or fish problems appear
Great Product.

At first I was a little hesitant to purchase this product because of the reviews, but this is very simple to use. Don't really know whats so difficult about this. Yes the Multi-Language instructions can be a little overwhelming, but just like one of the other reviews said, tear off the language you read and discard the rest. Other then that all you have to do is: *Fill test tube to the white line *squeeze ONE drop (only one drop at a time) *cap and invert several times(Invert several times AFTER EACH drop) Do this until you get a change of color in the water for KH-Blue must change to Yellow for GH-Orange must change to Green After color change you must refer to the conversion chart on the back of the English part of the instructions _______________________________________________________ Example: for me I got a color change for both GH & KH after 5 drops so for me both GH & KH are at 89.5 ppm (parts per million) Based on the GH table below I have Soft water. General Hardness Table 0 to 4 dH 0 to 70 ppm Very Soft 4 to 8 dH 70 to 140 ppm Soft 8 to 12 dH 140 to 210 ppm Medium Hard 12 to 18 dH 210 to 320 ppm Fairly Hard 18 to 30 dH 320 to 530 ppm Hard

Great, affordable product!

I bought this kit because I had a Betta with what appeared to be fin rot. I suspected it was actually fin biting, but decided to monitor the tank's ammonia levels anyway. This kit is by far the most economical - for the amount of tests included for the price. After 2 weeks of 0-.25 readings without fluctuation, I wondered if the tests were even accurate. I decided to test 5ml of pure ammonia instead. Imagine my disappointment when the pure ammonia sample turned the same yellow (0%). Before you go sending hate mail to API, there's a good reason for this. It turns out, the ammonia level was too high and essentially "blew out" the testing liquid. API is assuming your fish isn't living in pure ammonia and, therefore, didn't make this kit to test levels that high. Next, I tested 5ml of water from a 1 gallon jug filled with tap water and 1 drop of pure ammonia. Yes, I apparently have too much time on my hands and a latent mad scientist gene. This test proved accurate. The tube turned dark green almost instantly (picture attached). I feel much more secure using and believing this test now.

A test kit that every aquarium owner should have

I love all of the API products. Their test kits are easy to use and are all calibrated to use the exact same amount of water in their sample tubes. This is super convenient since you do not have to keep track of which tube goes with what test reagent. Some pet stores don't normally stock test kits for Carbonate Hardness, but it is a very important parameter of water quality. Even for fish species that are not particular about water hardness, having enough Carbonate in a tank's water is a major help in preventing the water from becoming to acidic. As debris collects in the sand or gravel of a tank, its decay can cause the water to become more acidic over time. Carbonate not only lowers acidity of the water, but more importantly it acts as a buffer that helps to stabilize the PH of the water. Even fish and plants that can tolerate different acidity levels, are very sensitive to rapid shifts in the PH of the water. Rapid shifts in water parameters are almost always bad for fish and plants. The only exception might be that if your fish are gasping at the top for oxygen, getting more oxygen into the water quickly with aeration and surface turbulence is never too fast. If the ammonia levels in a tank rise, this can also make the water more acidic. The more acidic the water becomes, the more toxic to the fish the ammonia becomes as well. Many things can cause shifts in the PH of the water, and Carbonate helps prevent slow and prevent these shifts that can kill fish and plants. The Carbonate Hardness doesn't normally need to be checked as often as other water parameters. I normally check mine about once per month, so this test kit will last me for a long time even with several fish tanks.

Very Easy to Use

I don't see why people are complaining about not being able to differentiate between the colors. When testing freshwater, if your tested water is yellow after 5 minutes, you're OK. If not, you need to address the problem. Once the color starts heading into the brownish-red colors, you need to fix the problem. The bottom line is, you want to keep it as close to yellow as possible. If the test comes back light brown, brown or red, start doing water changes. Also, I read that fish can be adversely affected by a drastic changes in nitrates. So it should be done gradually.

As Good As It Gets. Verified Accuracy

I found that, at least for freshwater setups, the API test kit is as good as it gets without paying over $100 for sophisticated testing equipment ...which is completely unnecessary for our purposes. Using calibration solutions to verify color accuracy, I found the API test to read 1 ppm, 5 ppm and 10 ppm levels accurately. I also found API's color comparison method easier to read than other test kits, such as the [supposedly] more reliable Salifert kit. You can make your own phosphate calibration solutions - directions can be found at ThePlantedTank website. The API test instructions - up to the point where you read the results - are clear enough. However, they don't tell you the best way to read the colors, which is the most important part of determining your phosphate levels, and this method goes for any such color-reading tests. DON'T lay the test tube against the color chart to compare the colors. Doing so will give you false readings (makes them darker). Instead, hold the test tube parallel to the chart and adjust the distance (about a half-inch away) from the chart until the color is uniform within the tube. Be sure to hold the chart at an angle that shows the colors on the chart best, while comparing the colors. Many reviews complain that this kit doesn't test very low phosphate levels, and they are right. However, there are reasons to want to test for high phosphate levels ranging up to 10 ppm. For those that want to differentiate between fractional phosphate readings below 3 ppm, get the Salifert test kit. I use both, but in a planted tank using the highly regarded Estimative Index approach to fertilizers, you will often find phosphates going much higher than the 3 ppm upper limits. In a planted tank, you should not be concerned about trying to achieve low phosphate levels. You should be concerned about achieving balanced phosphate levels and that means phosphate readings in the 3-10 ppm area can be ok. Algae does not expand simply because of high phosphate levels in a planted tank.

Great Test Kit for the price, it gives you a pretty good estimate of your Nitrates when they are high.

API kits are fairly accurate for the price, I highly recommend them for salt water aquarium owners that need and should have at least 2 kits of every important test type so they can cross reference results if they feel something is wrong with a particular test result. API fills that niche perfectly with pretty accurate easy to use kits that cost a quarter the price of the more accurate ones like Salifert, ELOS and Red Sea Pro. The API Nitrate Kit is as simple as it gets, just fill the vial to the marker or better yet use a syringe and add 5ml as directed. Then add 10 drops of reagent "A". swirl for a bit then shake reagent "B" for 30 seconds very vigorously and add 10 drops of that. Shake the whole thing for one minute vigorously and then wait 5 minutes to get a result. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you forget to shake reagent "B" you might as well throw the whole bottle of reagent out. This solution separates out in the container after a few hours into layers of different chemicals. If you don't shake it, you will be dripping out 10 drops of just one of those chemicals and remaining mixture will be compromised. The end result is that the next time you use it and shake it up properly the typically result is a lower reading than normal. Just remember to always shake reagent B properly for 30 seconds and you wont have any problems. If your Nitrates go down to reading Zero on the API kit, then it's time to move to a more accurate kit that is designed to read very low Nitrate levels. If your keeping a SPS Reef Tank you need the Nitrates to be near Zero and the API kit will not be accurate enough to read the small amounts that may be in your aquarium. For FOWLR Tanks, Nitrate is not as not as big of an issue, so an API kit or two is all you will probably need.

Easy to use test and great for my purposes

This is a great test. It's easy to use and one kit will give you several months of tests. The test itself is very straightforward using a method called titration: add drops from bottle 1, shake, then add drops from bottle 2 until the solution turns from pink to the purple color indicated on the instructions. In-between drops from bottle 2, you invert the tube with the cap securely on. The more drops you need from bottle 2, the more calcium you have. You check the back of the instructions to translate number of drops to ppm. I have been keeping SPS, LPS, softs, and calcium-reliant macro algae in a small (25 gallon) system for some time with this kit and have had no calcium problems. As a quick tip: if you have multiple tests you run in beakers, get a 100cc syringe and attach some airline hose to the end. That way, you can fill the syringe with about 30cc of tank water and squirt it into each beaker to get the perfect amount in each (usually 5cc). No more dipping beakers in your tank and pouring some out, refill, pour out, refill, etc. Just put in 5cc directly and voila! Mine came with instructions and everything I needed. I have had no problems using this. Note that, the higher your calcium levels, the more drops from bottle 2 it will take and, thus, the fewer total tests you will get from this kit.

Works well, not too difficult

This has been really useful in checking out my GH/KH levels. In particular, the GH test was handy when raising my GH a little bit for my snails and mollies. I know some have said the colors are hard to distinguish. I didn't find that to be true. The colors are pretty light, but as long as the tube is up against a white background it is pretty clear if the GH one is pale green or pale orange, or the KH one is blue or yellow. If you are mildly colorblind this might be rather hard. Being a titration test, you basically add one drop, shake it, and look at the color. Repeat until it changes, counting drops. This is fine for me, but if you have very high hardness it might take a while to run the test. My tap is 7dGH and 5dKH, and I raise the GH to 10. 10 drops doesn't take too terribly long.

My Go-To Test Kits

I have been using API test kits for over 14 years and have always found them to be quick, easy, reliable, and reasonably priced. If you're just starting out with a pond or aquarium then you might consider buying the API Master Test Kit API Freshwater Master Test Kit - it's an all-in-one kit which is cheaper than buying the bottles individually. * The Master Test Kit includes *Ammonia, *Nitrite, *Nitrate, *pH, and *High Range pH test kits. You still have to buy the KH, GH test kits seperately. Although these are Not included in the Master Test Kit ( I have always wondered why) the KH / GH tests are equally important to your pond balance and maintenance.

Excellent test for testing Cupramine

Initial review: After following the instructions very specifically, I was unable to get a reading of copper after I dosed Cupramine into my 10 gallon quarantine saltwater tank. However, after letting the test tube sit for a day, I was able to get a copper reading. Read below for the full review and results: EDIT: After letting the test tube sit for an entire day, I can actually distinguish a copper reading that seems to be nearly accurate with the amount of Cupramine I dosed. I tested ANOTHER sample of the same water, and got copper color immediately? Both tests look identical and it is actually reading right about 0.5mg/L. I am not sure if I should trust the readings, although they would be spot on with the amount of Cupramine I dosed. I'll test it with a Seachem test kit tommorow and update this review. Also make sure to follow the directions precisely, you need to remove the cap and look down the test tube with the white background of the color under the tube, but don't let the tube sit directly on top of the card, the color will appear much darker. Hold the test tube above the card an inch or two. EDIT #2 02/19/18: The Seachem Copper Test kit arrived and the results are in: 0.5mg/L. Right at the amount I dosed. Tested again today with also the API Copper Test kit. Results again, are the exact same. 0.5mg/L. This means (in my case) both the API Copper Test Kit and the Seachem Test Kit are both precise measuring tools if you are dosing Cupramine.

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