API 5 in 1 Aquarium Test Strips

I have this along with an API ammonia dropper test kit. I'm a week into cycling my tank so I expected to get some particular readings. The readings from this test strip were the same as the readings that my local fish store gave me when I brought some water in, so they work. Performing the test is dirt simple and reading them isn't too hard (maybe a little if it looks like its in between two colors). Obviously if you don't follow instructions you'll get bad readings and most likely blame the product. Here's a summary of the instructions in case you're wondering how it works.

It's simple. Dip strip in, swirl twice, then pull out with the strip horizontal and face up. Don't shake off the water. Read the GH & KH immediately. Read the pH, NO2, NO3 after 30 seconds.

If you're careless and just pull it out and read it vertically, I imagine the water could run off from the higher test pads down to lower ones on the strip and completely screw up everything, so don't do that.

This is 10 times more quick then doing drops for everything, but you can be more precise with drops. Still, I find this to be perfectly acceptable for monitoring the levels of everything so I'm happy.

I think this test kit works fine (I haven't tested against another to make sure). It is easy to read. The problem is that the instruction sheet is massive and hard to read. It would be nice to have a cheat sheet or something less dense to compare results. But after doing a few I know what to look for.

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Economical, invaluable. Arrived on time and in perfect condition. The test seems to be very accurate as I have compared many samples and the test seems to be spot on.

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I use this for a quick check of my aquarium and it does the job well. I am never a big fan of using the more expensive water test kits with multiple bottles and a test tube to do the job. I'm sure this is not as precise as those test kits, but its ease of use sure makes up the difference. Recommend it.

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Dip, swirl, remove and readit doesn't get much more simple than that. I find that I use these more frequent than the chemical test kit because they're convenient, but I still got back to the test tubes every so often to confirm the results.

I give this product a rating of 3 because the nitrite and nitrate pads turn a subtle shade of off-white/rose and it can sometime be difficult to discern the levels. Fortunately, this is at the lower end of the spectrum, meaning lower levels so it may be a moot point for you. I keep the chemistry of my aquarium at 0 for both nitrites and nitrates so I like to see the variances, even if only by 0.25.

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