Features:

  • Contains one (1) API FRESHWATER MASTER TEST KIT 800-Test Freshwater Aquarium Water Master Test Kit, including 7 bottles of testing solutions, 1 color card and 4 glass tubes with cap
  • Helps monitor water quality and prevent invisible water problems that can be harmful to fish and cause fish loss
  • Accurately monitors 5 most vital water parameters levels in freshwater aquariums: pH, nitrite, nitrate, carbonate and general water hardness
  • Designed for use in freshwater aquariums only
  • Use for weekly monitoring and when water or fish problems appear
Probably the most popular aquarium test kit

This is a great test kit - I wish API made a smaller one with just ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, though, as that's what I end up testing for the most. Personally, I could use a hardness test in this kit instead of the Ph tests, although that may just be me. The nitrate test gets used up the quickest, as nitrate varies more once your tank is cycled so you're doing it all the time even in an established tank and it uses a relatively large amount of reagent from each of two bottles for each test, but fortunately API sells the reagents separately also. The Tetra test strips are okay, and those test hardness, but they don't do ammonia, and I suspect that they cost more per test. A tip - get a 10ml plastic syringe from your local pharmacy for measuring out the 5ml of water you need for all the tests, as it's annoying trying to get the provided test vials filled exactly to the 5ml line. (My local grocery store pharmacy gave me a couple of syringes for free.)

Economical.

I am new to the world of aquariums, but I learned to use this kit quickly and frequently. You just need to be capable of and willing to follow some basic directions, shake vigorously, set a timer for 5 minutes and check the waterproof color guide sheet. I've already lost one test tube cap, most likely due to my cats playing with them. If you accidentally let the test solution sit overnight in the test tube it can stain the inside, requiring you to scrub it out, so don't be lazy like me.:-/ I use plastic disposable pipettes to collect the water sample and get the level right at the line on the test tube, and I've noticed my results are different depending if I skim water off the top or sample it directly above the sand. My tank requires the high range pH of this kit but I still use the regular pH liquid for checking water I'm adding to the tank. Also it's nice to have the little test tube holder holes in the container, but the tubes do stand on their own due to the flat bottom. The price is great for all these essential tests! (Sorry I'm missing a bottle and 2 test tubes in the pic.)

Fish and idiot pond owner approved

I'm new to the whole pond thing and I of course do things backwards. I bought a house with a pond and a single fish. I vowed that if I kept him alive for a few months, that only then I would dive in so to speak. I haven't killed that guy yet, so I dove in, backwards, buying a pair of fish. They were soon in the pond and I was like yeah, I'm the best pond caretaker alive! Then the fish were all acting weird, like lazy as hell. I quickly ordered this and it came and I was seriously expecting the worst. Like nuclear waste water. I felt terrible that I had thrown two fish into what I imagined to be a cess pool where they would surely die. Plus they cost me a lot of money! Turns out the water was off only slightly, and I believe I have been able to remedy it. I actually plan to test it all again today to verify that it's going the right direction and last night the new fish got off their fish couch and were swimming around. I felt like a right and just ruler of the pond and I'm sure they would give this 5 stars even if they would give me 1 as a pond person.

Love the Kit! Minor complaints.

I really enjoy this kit. It's really accurate and makes me feel like I'm a scientist while doing it. It does take some time though to actually get it done. Takes about 5 minutes to check everything. If you're out for speed, but with less accuracy get the dip tests. 2 minor complaints. The caps do leak a tiny bit on the tubes. Especially while shaking it. While using these weirder chemicals, it worries me a little bit. It was also kinda hard to get exactly 5ml Into the tubes. Not really sure if there is a way to fix that though.

Keeps my water quality in check.

It helps get you in the ballpark with your water perimeters. The nitrate test is a little finicky as most users will agree. No fault of the kit, just the nature of the solution in bottle #2. You really need to shake it extremely well each time or risk fouling up the entire bottle. The rest of the test in the kit are much easier to use. Just read the instructions for each test and be sure to hold the vials against the white background when comparing them to color chart. The color of solution will look a bit more pale when moving the vial away from the card. This is not the right way to use this test, as it took me awhile to realize this. It also helps to be in a well lit room, preferably with "cool" lighting when checking the samples. Besides this kit, I also use the phosphate and KH/GH test kits from API with the same ease of use. While none of them will give you exact levels, they are close enough for a majority of us.

Accurate readings in just Five Minutes!

If you have an aquarium, you probably have an investment in time, equipment and fish or invertebrates. To keep them healthy and know what the water is or is not doing, you must do a water test, particularly for ammonia and nitrites at the very least. This kit is extremely accurate and very well designed for convenient use and storage. Real glass test tubes, chemicals for testing that have expiration dates and instructions clearly stamped on them. Very good instructions and a comparison color chart. In a perfect world, the color comparison chart would be larger and free standing, not part of the booklet. But it is accurate and convenient as is. I also recommend that you purchase a plastic metered syringe that handles 20ml of fluid. That way you just set up the four test tubes in front of each set of test chemicals and collect the aquarium water in one syringe and squirt 5 ml into each test tube and conduct four tests at once. In fact, maybe a syringe will be included in future test kits, it really takes the guess work out of metering the water into the test tubes. The tubes are marked with a very clear white line where the water to be tested should be. The chemical test bottles are much more accurate than the paper test strips, though the paper test strips by comparison are much quicker to use and no clean up afterwords. Do NOT give this kit to a child to use, the chemicals before dilution can be dangerous, adult supervision is definitely required. I definitely recommend this kit that is sure to last for many years of use, even if you test every week. FIVE STARS for sure!

Well designed kit provides peace of mind

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").

Accurate kit at an amazing price!!

Great price, great kit, no real complaints. I recently started up a saltwater tank and was curious as to whether or not I would need a separate Test Kit because of the different tank type. After scouring the internet, I couldn't find a really great response, so I went ahead and purchased this test kit for my Biocube tank. It works exactly as expected. However, I did find out later that the API kits for freshwater and saltwater actually contain the same chemicals for testing, the only thing that varies slightly are what the colors mean. In summary, the color cards are the only difference. So...if you have a freshwater kit already, there's really no need to purchase this kit...just find a scan of the color card online. However, for what it's advertised to do, this kit works great...and...it's WAY cheaper than you could find it for in a retail store :) I actually made a video comparing the freshwater and saltwater test kits to show the differences. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fE77Q8tTTRw&list=UUb18W_ytoNRxi58NmT325Ug

A must have for any freshwater aquarium

They don't call it the "Master Test Kit" for nothing. If you keep freshwater fish, you will need this test kit. It contains all the must know tests to ensure your water quality is up to par for your tropical fish. The importance of a kit like this really shines while you are cycling a tank and it's critical you know how the cycle is progressing. A liquid test kit like this one is far more accurate than using strips, and is cheaper in the long run. A brand new aquarium will experience what is called a cycle. Fish produce waste in the form of Ammonia, which is pretty toxic to the fish and has long term health effects, and possibly death. Bacteria that naturally exists everywhere in the air will enter the tank and feed off the ammonia. The bacteria produce Nitrite as a waste and unfortunately this is even more toxic to fish than the original ammonia was. However, again, there is a natural bacteria in the air that will enter the tank and consume the Nitrite, and in the process produce Nitrate (with an a). Nitrate, again, is toxic to fish but they can tolerate it far better than ammonia or nitrite. A tank is fully cycled when both Ammonia and Nitrite (with an i) are 0 ppm and you have some reading of Nitrate (with an a). And this is why this test kit comes in handy, it contains tests for Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH, and high range pH. You'll likely only use one or the other for pH depending on what your tap water is (acidic or basic). All of the tests are easy to perform, and the kit comes with 4 test tubes allowing you to perform all of the needed tests at once. A word of caution, follow the directions closely for the Nitrate test, it requires you to shake the #2 reagent bottle for a period of time. This is essential for an accurate reading. CAUTION: If you use a water conditioner that will also detoxify ammonia (for example Seachem Prime), this test kit will still show an Ammonia reading. This is because the conditioner converts the Ammonia to Ammonium, a chemical that still contains the Ammonia but in a non-toxic form to fish.

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