API POND MASTER TEST KIT

After a harsh winter here in Connecticut, I found out a few of my koi fish had died. Afraid that it might be more than the cold that did them in, I did some research on water test kits and ended up going with this one after reading the reviews on Amazon. Once I received them I followed the simple instructions. Basically you fill the little glass vials with pond water up to a certain marked level, and then you drop a certain number of the included chemical drops in the vials. After a very short time the water turns a certain color, and you compare it to a supplied water chart. This is how you know if you have too much or too little of a certain chemical or issue in your pond. It's very easy to do. I learned that I had too much of certain water pollutants in my pond, and after doing a quick online search I learned what I had to do to get the readings to be normal again. A week or two later I rechecked the levels and everything was perfect. Since then I've had no more fish deaths and I thank this test kit for that! I've learned things as simple as a rain storm can affect your pond water quality, so this kit is great to do occasional tests to make sure that the water is normal so the fish can thrive. It's very simple to use and there's enough chemical drops to do many, many tests in the future. This kit will last a very long time. I'd highly recommend this to anyone with a pond at their home.

Kit was super fast and easy to use. It comes with everything needed to test your pond water as well as step-by-step instructions on how to test. And that’s not all…. The instructions also tell you what you need to do to get your water to the proper pH, ammonia, nitrate and phosphate levels. Manuel explains how your pond water most likely got to where it is now and what product should help in getting it back to where you want it for color, clarity and the health of your fish. I can’t recommend enough. Made learning about my new pond so easy. Worth the investment.

The kit worked out really good for me. Had everything you need to find out the quality of your pond. My pond was in bad shape, but since this test kit I was able to transform my pond into a very healthy pond for my fish.

Decent instructions

I've had a couple of fish die this summer, so I decided it was time to test the water. I'm so glad I did. Ammonia was normal (yellow), but Nitrites were high, the PH was extremely alkaline, and the Phosphate levels elevated. I was able to fix all of these problems in a few weeks by purchasing some products from Amazon (PH Down, Microbe Lift 1-Pound Spring & Summer Pond Cleaner, Phosphate Remover, and Pond Salt) and replacing 1/4 of the water. Once you take the time to do the tests (20 minutes), the sense of control is reassuring. It's easy and actually fun, when you realize that ignorance is helplessness and knowledge is power. I'm sure my fish will be healthier because of using this kit. My #1 lesson is: Do not overfeed your fish. All sorts of problems result from this (Ammonia and Nitrites, especially). #2: Probiotics will keep your water clean, if you obey rule #1. This test kit is more than worth the very reasonable cost. Cards are included to make color comparisons simple.

Complicated

Great kit!! has everything I need and a great easy read color chart and super little box with molded bottom so everything stays secure and in its place. Would definitely buy again.

The koi in our small pond (with waterfall) have grown to the point that conventional wisdom tells us to thin the herd (uh, school?). My wife and I could not agree on which of the 5 fish to give up, so I came up with a different plan. I decided that I would get a water chemistry kit and decide what to do about the fish after monitoring for a while to see if the pond was safe, at least in terms of chemical balance. This test kit is very well designed and makes it easy to check for pH, ammonia, nitrite, and phosphates. The instruction book was helpful for understanding what you're looking for, and what to do if the numbers are imperfect. The cards showing the color scales have helpful diagrams on the back showing the steps for each test. The reagents have been tweaked so that for the assays requiring addition of two test solutions, the number of test drops required from bottle #1 and bottle #2 are identical. This is a subtle design choice but a good one -- I have yet to screw up a single test because I added too much or too little of a test solution. Note that the test solution bottles are sufficiently well made to make counting off drops about as easy as it can be for this sort of testing. There are also helpful youtube videos showing how to do the tests and I'm particularly fond of this one for it's um, interesting soundtrack https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8RcXLahFxk In any event, to cut to the chase, we're approaching mid season and I am very happy that I know that my pond is chemically balanced. The fish look happy (and are still growing). The kit pointed to a phosphate problem which took a couple of tries to wrestle to the ground, but I've solved it so that the water is now very clear once again. I recommend this kit for any pond owner looking for peace of mind or interested in taking on a more direct role in pond management (as compared with being dependent on "pond people").

Excelente producto y fácil de usar, buenos resultados

works well

Práctico y exacto. No sé si se puedan comprar por separado los reactivos, cuando éstos se acaban

The test kit appears to have been good but I strongly recommend checking the expiry dates (stamped on each bottle) as soon as you receive this - mine expired 18 months after purchase and it was impossible to use all on my testing schedule before expiry. This also means that the perceived better value of buying a kit with 500 tests versus a kit with 200 tests may not be accurate. I didn't notice the expiry (or forgot about it) and I am still using the same kit 3.5 years after it expired. Having just noticed this, I've now decided to order another kit. I haven't decided whether to buy this or the similarly priced kit from NT Labs, or the slightly more expensive JB or Columbia. According to Claude, API, NT Labs and Columbia have tested the most accurate. Assuming the kit hasn't changed in the 5 years since I bought it- I like 1. The packaging, which makes great long term storage, isn't cheap deteriorating plastic, and has space to add at least a few more test kits within it. 2. The pH, Ammonia, Nitrite testing is essential to fish health and the Phosphate is useful for tackling algae. 3. Proper test tubes 4. Include the test tubes. I dislike: 1. Would have been useful to have tests for Oxygen and water hardness. 2. My readings never quite align to the chart and I sometimes have real difficulty telling the colours apart. On my 7-in-1 Tetra test strip kit it has an app that helps with this, but there wasn't anything like that here. I ended up buying pipettes to help put the water in the test tubes.

Novice pond owner, lost a goldfish so decided to test the water. Pleased to report levels are all fine. It was easy to collect and test samples. Then to compare colours to chart. Gave me peace of mind. Confident to continue testing in the future.