Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

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.