API PondCare Pond Master Test Kit Liquid Water Conditioner Fast Easy Accurate

It has everything I need to keep an eye on my new pond

Works great for a pond I monitor.

Works great and easy to use.

Helps to properly maintain a healthy pond for my fish. Takes out the guess work

I had an old test kit so it was time to update mine. This new kit no longer tests for salt Level, but it does test for Phosphates. I will have to get a meter tester for the salt. I highly recommend this kit - it has everything you need - glass test tubes w/caps, heavy plastic cards for the with colors for each test ppm level and very detailed instructions on how to do each test and how to correct any problems. I have used my previous kit for years with no problems. Buy the Best !

This Master Kit is good for the pond care beginner. Mine was purchased for an individual who started her own backyard aquaponics ponds, using fish wastewater to fertilize plants. The kit tests for pH, Nitrites (NO2), Ammonia (NH3), and Phosphate (PO4). All tests involve adding 5mL of pond water to a test tube and then adding a few drops of reagent. The water turns a different color and the color is compared to a card that approximates the concentration of that substance in the water in parts per million (ppm) or mg per liter (mg/L) [the measurements are effectively the same], except for pH. pH is instantaneous, the others require you to mix and wait for a few minutes before reading the results. The color is fairly simple to read, assuming that the company's laser printer is printing out colors close to what they have calibrated it to. The instruction book gives brief explanations of what each substance means in the wastewater and where it comes from, but does not do an overly thorough job of explaining how to remedy it, besides telling you to buy more of the company's products to neutralize the substance. Adding chemicals is a quick and easy solution, but having worked in the wastewater industry, I can tell you that if you don't correct the problems then you're just going to get high concentrations again a few weeks later after the chemicals have reacted. For instance, high Ammonia concentrations would indicate that the ammonia your fish are excreting isn't getting oxidized into nitrite and then nitrate. Perhaps the better solution would be to reduce your fish population, add an air pump to raise the dissolved oxygen in the water, and/or switch to a shallower pond. The kit tests for nitrite (NO2), but not nitrate (NO3), which is the final product of ammonia oxidation. I'm not sure I understand the logic of including nitrite but leaving out nitrate, but maybe someone else is more knowledgeable than I am about that subject. Overall, the kit is good and easy to use. But if you want more in-depth solutions to the results you get, you should check out the pond/aquarium/aquaponics forums on the internet. Good luck! Pros: Easy, relatively quick tests, explains origin of tested compounds, inexpensive, pretty colors. Cons: Does not test for nitrates, not thorough about remedying pond problems besides promoting company's own products.