Test Kit Problem - Lost a couple fish

[kdcorliss]

I had some fish die today, so being I just got them from the LFS and they have a three day warranty. I tested my water with my AP freshwater kit and didnt find any out of whack readings. When I went to get my warranty fish the LFS requires a water sample. When they tested the water they said it was way out of whack. They gave me a store credit and said return when I get the water back in line.

I had a second AP test kit that I hadnt opened yet and tested the water with that. When I did my tests I found my NH3 at 8ppm, Nitrites at 2ppm, Nitrates at 5ppm, and PH at 7.2.

I did two 50-60% pwc's over the last 24 hours, and got the current levels are NH3 < 0.25%, Nitrites < 0.25%, Nitrates 0ppm, and PH at 7.0. I retested with the first kit and it appears that the ammonia and nitrite test solutions were bad as I got 0ppm results on the NH3 and Nitrite, the Nitrate test seemed ok as I got the same result as I got with the new solutions.

My question is has anybody had issues with misleading information from test kits ?

Do people keep a second test kit available for redundancy, and check accuracy of the first kit randomly ?

 

[Devilishturtles]

It's not unheard of, unfortanetly. Do you know if the kit is old? I personally don't keep a second around, but it's not a bad idea.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

We replace ours about once a year even if the bottles are half full. Who knows how long it actually sat on the shelf before purchasing.

 

[TomK2]

Mine is a year and a half since I opened it up. Still works well. But I suppose at some time that will change, but interestingly they do not come with expiration dates on them.

 

[Zagz]

I think they should come with expiry dates. Would make things easier. I haven't had any bad readings so far with my test kits. They never last more than a year anyway.

 

[malkore]

Most new test kits do have some kind of expiration date stamped on it, or at least a 'made on' date, so you know that a year from that date, toss it.

I've been pushing an AP pH test kit for over 2 years, and I'm finally getting completely inaccurate readings with it. Time to shell out $20 for a new master kit.

 

[kdcorliss]

The new kit was a sealed box I got from Big Al's. The other was one I got from the LFS and it dont recall it having a plastic wrap around it. The results I am getting from the new package are in line with what the LFS said my water tested at.

Oh well, I am feeling pretty confident at the moment the new test kit is accurate, just wish I didnt have to find out the hard way. The remainder of my fish seem to still be healthy and hopefully I havent reduced there life span too much.