death of a test kit

[Forge]

Are test kits known to expire after any length of time? I bought a Salifert nitrate test kit about 1 year ago, but I'm not sure if it is still accurate. First, the NO3-2 reagent has formed a solid block; to use it, I have to chop off what I need. Secondly, it is registering absolutely no nitrates. I find this hard to believe.
My tank is 29 gallons. It has a sandbed of only 1 to 2 inches, 50 lbs of live rock ( the slightly denser Gulf of Mexico stuff), and a Bak-pak skimmer. I'm not sure where the nitrate-eating bacteria would find the oxygen-deprived zones I understand to be necessary.
Should I trust the test kit, or would I be better off buying another one?

Thanks in advance,
Forge

[MEC]

Probably dead, or at least on its way to the old folks home. They tend to go bad after a time. To tell the truth I havn't tested in almost a year. I add buffer every couple weeks, and monitor the apperance of my fish and corals. A DSB will generaly keep the nitrites minimal , but you probably dont have enough with just 2 inches. Add some sand and toss the kits ..Mike

[Rtrn2Sndr]

Any other opinions regarding this issue of expiring test kits??
i have one that's a year old, and is giving me different readings than my LFS.

Thanks,
-Alex

[Ninong]

Any other opinions regarding this issue of expiring test kits??
i have one that's a year old, and is giving me different readings than my LFS.

Thanks,
-Alex

Some reagents are good for several years, others are not. Salifert now prints expiration dates on all of their test kits (according to the president of Salifert). They started doing that more than a year ago.

What brand of test kit do you have and what does it test?

[Rtrn2Sndr]

I think it's made by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. it test pH, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. i have a fish only 55 Gal tank.

thanks,

-Alex

[Ninong]

I think it's made by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. it test pH, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. i have a fish only 55 Gal tank.

thanks,

-Alex

I'm afraid I'm not familiar with their test kits. I can tell you of my personal frustration at ordering a certain test kit from an online vendor and then finding that it was incapable of accurate measurement. Fortunately for me it was so far off that it was obvious that something was terribly wrong. The online vendor claimed they had received it only a couple of months before from that manufacturer's main U.S. distributor. My personal investigation uncovered the fact that that particular version of that test kit had not been produced by the manufacturer in more than 6 years!

The online vendor requested a new supply of fresher test kits to replace the ones that I told them were stale. The replacement test kit turned out to be just as old as the first one. I was never able to get a fresh replacement but I did get a refund. That experience taught me that some distributors have stock on hand that is several years old!!! The manufacturer used the excuse that some test kits are slow movers. And in spite of repeated promises from the manufacturer that they were shipping me a fresh replacement kit, that didn't happen. The best I could do was to get my money back. The online vendor was caught in the middle. The U.S. distributor seemed totally unconcerned and the manufacturer seemed incapable of resolving the situation in spite of trans-Atlantic phone calls to the online vendor promising to deal with the problem.

[Rtrn2Sndr]

Thanks for the reply.
does anyone have any test kit manufacturer they reccomend? is one better than the other?
Since I have a fish only aquarium, i dont think i need to be testing for copper and phosphates..., so I will be needing a basic test kit.

Any suggestions will be appreciated.
thanks,
-Alex

[charlie]

I would recommend Salifert. I've been using these kits for about 5 years now and haven't had any problems. The instruction are easy to understand, as are the charts. The price is a little extra, but the quality is there.

[kevinpo]

I also like the Salifert kits.

HTH,
Kevin