After reading a few posts I realized that many beginners, like myself, are unsure how to perform and read liquid test kits, so I thought I would try to write some simple instructions, a FAQ for test kits so to speak. I would really appreciate any and all input, epically from the experienced members, on how to make the article better.
So first what are liquid test kits? - LTKs are water test kits that use test tubes and liquid reagents to measure different parameters of your tank water. The 4 most important test kits are Ammonia, NitrIte, NitrAte and pH. Depending on your kits brand will come as pH, High Range pH, or Wide Range pH. So which pH version do you need? Well that depends on your pH levels, generally you want either pH and High Range pH or Wide range pH, you basically want a pH kit that covers pH values from roughly 6-9. Other test kits include KH and GH (other wise known as general and carbonate hardness), phosphate and copper. Generally Phosphate and Copper tests are not something you absolutely need to have unless you are keeping live plants or have some other problems in your tank. The Hardness tests (KH and GH) again is not something you need to test for on a regular basis, but good tests to have around when you are first starting out and again down the road if you run into problems.
So what brand should I use? - There are several brands on the market, and generally it comes down to personal choice and budget but the 3 most recommend brands on this forum are API (available individual tests around $10 US each or in a master kit for around $30 US), Hagen/Nutafin (available in a mini master kit for around $25 US, individual kits around $10 US or a master kit for approx $100 US), and finally Salifert (only available as individual tests around $15 US each and hard to find in stores generally needs to be ordered on-line, but much cheaper and more readily available in the UK)
What about Test Strips? - Well some people swear by test strips and have used them for years, however, on this forum they are not recommended as they do tend to be inaccurate and overall are much more expensive (usually around $2/test and the kits are around $0.05/test depending on the brand and test) so you can use test strips if you want, but take it from me, a beginner who learnt the hard way, it is just not worth it both cost wise and headache wise, just use the liquid test kit.
So how do I perform the tests? - Well this is simple read the instructions that came with your kit, there is usually a pamphlet that comes with the kit that has the directions, and/or they (depending on the band) can be found on the back of the colour cards. Every brand is slightly different but generally you put 5 ml of tank water into a test tube and add 3-10 drops reagent(depending on the type of test) into the tube shake and wait 5 minutes before reading. It should be mentioned here that some tests (i.e. ammonia and nitrAte) require 2 or 3 different reagent bottles. Generally for these tests they are labelled bottle 1, bottle 2, bottle 3, and you add the reagents according to the bottle number. As an example, the API ammonia test has 2 bottles, so you add your 5 ml of tank water, add 8 drops from bottle 1, add 8 drops from bottle 2, shake and wait 5 minutes. Also, as a general rule of thumb, the nitrAte tests (regardless of brand) tend to form solids in the bottle (this is usually the last bottle of the chain so usually bottle 2 or bottle 3 which ever is the last you add) and consequently needs to be shaken, especially if not used for a while, very very well before adding in order to get accurate results. Again as an example, API (this is the kit I use) recommends vigorously shaking bottle 2, the last bottle of the nitrAte kit, for 1 minute (or longer if not used for a while, say more then a week) before adding to the tube in order to break up an solids that may have formed. Again, it is important to read the directions for your particular test kit as each brand and each test will have slightly different directions.
OK so I have completed the test, following the directions, now how do I read the test? - LTKs use a colour scale and each Brand uses different colours, so as an example, Ammonia reading of 0 ppm with API is yellow, however, a 0 ppm ammonia reading with Hagen/Nutrafin will most likely be a different colour. So make sure you use the colour cards that came with your kit, don't use API colour charts with a Hagen/Nutrafin test. Again, you want to refer to your manufacturer directions on how to read, but generally, you want to place the tube against the white part of the card and compare colour hues (not necessarily the exact colour)with the colour chart. When I say hue what you are looking for is the present of a tint. Again an example from API with the ammonia test, anything that is not yellow is a positive result, so if you have any hint of a green tint, then you have ammonia present. This can be come problematic when cycling a tank and you need more precise numbers, particularly when doing a fish less cycle. It can be difficult to tell the difference between 3 ppm and 4 ppm of ammonia as they are both dark green, so again look at the hue, it should help you to determine the difference. Also as you become more familiar with testing, and your particular test kit, this will become easier to do. It is also important to note, that you should have a good light source behind you when you read your tests, incandescent light or natural sunlight, try to stay clear from CFB (compact fluorescent bulbs - you know the energy saving bulbs) as they tend to give everything a greenish tint and will skew your reading, if you don't have a good (un-tinted) light source it will be very difficult to read your tests properly.
What do I want my readings to be? - That all depends on weather you are in a cycle phase or a healthy tank. In an established tank you want your readings to be Ammonia 0 ppm, NitrIte 0 ppm, NitrAtes < 40 ppm (this is also what you are striving for at the end of a cycle). If you have anything higher then that during a fish-in cycle or an established tank you want to do water changes, anywhere from 20-90% depending on your readings (post your specific problem for more specific help with what to do). As for pH it really depends on what type of fish you are keeping, you will have to do research on that, but the most important thing is you want a stable pH, if you are having spikes or crashes with pH post your problem for possible solutions as there are different things you could do depending on your specific problem. If you are cycling you want your pH to be higher than 6, at 6 the bacteria go dormant and will not grow/reproduce, check out the link for the "Beginners Resource Centre" where you will find all the information you need on cycling a tank, the nitrogen cycle tank maintenance etc.: http
/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/277264-beginners-resource-center/. It should also be noted that certain things added to your tank can change your pH; here are some examples curiosity of Oldman47:
Any source of calcium carbonate will raise the pH. That includes mineral rocks made of the stuff along with crushed shell and crushed coral. Another way that is used for a quick rise in pH is sodium bicarbonate, common baking soda, however it should be noted that baking soda acts very quickly so not the preferred method especially when fish are in the tank. Dropping pH depends on two main factors. The first is that the buffering capacity of the water must be low for any method to really work well. Once the buffering of the water is low enough you can drop pH with driftwood / bogwood, Indian almond leaves, oak leaves, sphagnum or peat moss or almost any organic material that releases a colour into the water.
What about expiration dates? - Expiration dates should be listed on the bottles of reagents themselves, or somewhere on the kit. One exception is API they don't list expiration dates, so you have to calculate those yourself. It is easy to do if you look at the lot number printed on the bottles. Here is what API told me:
Lot #: Last 4 digits = month/year of manufactured date
Lasts 3 Years from manufactured date
Ammonia
Nitrite
Calcium
High pH
Copper
GH
Phosphate
Lasts 4 Years from manufactured date
NitrIte
KH
Lasts 5 Years from manufactured date
Ph
If your particular brand of test kit does not list the expiration date be sure to contact the company and ask them how you figure out the expiration dates. Out of date kits will give you false readings.
So that is it the 101 of performing and reading test kits. Hope this helped to clear things up a little bit. And remember if you run into any problems, post and the experts on this forum will do their very best to help you through it.
So first what are liquid test kits? - LTKs are water test kits that use test tubes and liquid reagents to measure different parameters of your tank water. The 4 most important test kits are Ammonia, NitrIte, NitrAte and pH. Depending on your kits brand will come as pH, High Range pH, or Wide Range pH. So which pH version do you need? Well that depends on your pH levels, generally you want either pH and High Range pH or Wide range pH, you basically want a pH kit that covers pH values from roughly 6-9. Other test kits include KH and GH (other wise known as general and carbonate hardness), phosphate and copper. Generally Phosphate and Copper tests are not something you absolutely need to have unless you are keeping live plants or have some other problems in your tank. The Hardness tests (KH and GH) again is not something you need to test for on a regular basis, but good tests to have around when you are first starting out and again down the road if you run into problems.
So what brand should I use? - There are several brands on the market, and generally it comes down to personal choice and budget but the 3 most recommend brands on this forum are API (available individual tests around $10 US each or in a master kit for around $30 US), Hagen/Nutafin (available in a mini master kit for around $25 US, individual kits around $10 US or a master kit for approx $100 US), and finally Salifert (only available as individual tests around $15 US each and hard to find in stores generally needs to be ordered on-line, but much cheaper and more readily available in the UK)
What about Test Strips? - Well some people swear by test strips and have used them for years, however, on this forum they are not recommended as they do tend to be inaccurate and overall are much more expensive (usually around $2/test and the kits are around $0.05/test depending on the brand and test) so you can use test strips if you want, but take it from me, a beginner who learnt the hard way, it is just not worth it both cost wise and headache wise, just use the liquid test kit.
So how do I perform the tests? - Well this is simple read the instructions that came with your kit, there is usually a pamphlet that comes with the kit that has the directions, and/or they (depending on the band) can be found on the back of the colour cards. Every brand is slightly different but generally you put 5 ml of tank water into a test tube and add 3-10 drops reagent(depending on the type of test) into the tube shake and wait 5 minutes before reading. It should be mentioned here that some tests (i.e. ammonia and nitrAte) require 2 or 3 different reagent bottles. Generally for these tests they are labelled bottle 1, bottle 2, bottle 3, and you add the reagents according to the bottle number. As an example, the API ammonia test has 2 bottles, so you add your 5 ml of tank water, add 8 drops from bottle 1, add 8 drops from bottle 2, shake and wait 5 minutes. Also, as a general rule of thumb, the nitrAte tests (regardless of brand) tend to form solids in the bottle (this is usually the last bottle of the chain so usually bottle 2 or bottle 3 which ever is the last you add) and consequently needs to be shaken, especially if not used for a while, very very well before adding in order to get accurate results. Again as an example, API (this is the kit I use) recommends vigorously shaking bottle 2, the last bottle of the nitrAte kit, for 1 minute (or longer if not used for a while, say more then a week) before adding to the tube in order to break up an solids that may have formed. Again, it is important to read the directions for your particular test kit as each brand and each test will have slightly different directions.
OK so I have completed the test, following the directions, now how do I read the test? - LTKs use a colour scale and each Brand uses different colours, so as an example, Ammonia reading of 0 ppm with API is yellow, however, a 0 ppm ammonia reading with Hagen/Nutrafin will most likely be a different colour. So make sure you use the colour cards that came with your kit, don't use API colour charts with a Hagen/Nutrafin test. Again, you want to refer to your manufacturer directions on how to read, but generally, you want to place the tube against the white part of the card and compare colour hues (not necessarily the exact colour)with the colour chart. When I say hue what you are looking for is the present of a tint. Again an example from API with the ammonia test, anything that is not yellow is a positive result, so if you have any hint of a green tint, then you have ammonia present. This can be come problematic when cycling a tank and you need more precise numbers, particularly when doing a fish less cycle. It can be difficult to tell the difference between 3 ppm and 4 ppm of ammonia as they are both dark green, so again look at the hue, it should help you to determine the difference. Also as you become more familiar with testing, and your particular test kit, this will become easier to do. It is also important to note, that you should have a good light source behind you when you read your tests, incandescent light or natural sunlight, try to stay clear from CFB (compact fluorescent bulbs - you know the energy saving bulbs) as they tend to give everything a greenish tint and will skew your reading, if you don't have a good (un-tinted) light source it will be very difficult to read your tests properly.
What do I want my readings to be? - That all depends on weather you are in a cycle phase or a healthy tank. In an established tank you want your readings to be Ammonia 0 ppm, NitrIte 0 ppm, NitrAtes < 40 ppm (this is also what you are striving for at the end of a cycle). If you have anything higher then that during a fish-in cycle or an established tank you want to do water changes, anywhere from 20-90% depending on your readings (post your specific problem for more specific help with what to do). As for pH it really depends on what type of fish you are keeping, you will have to do research on that, but the most important thing is you want a stable pH, if you are having spikes or crashes with pH post your problem for possible solutions as there are different things you could do depending on your specific problem. If you are cycling you want your pH to be higher than 6, at 6 the bacteria go dormant and will not grow/reproduce, check out the link for the "Beginners Resource Centre" where you will find all the information you need on cycling a tank, the nitrogen cycle tank maintenance etc.: http
/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/277264-beginners-resource-center/. It should also be noted that certain things added to your tank can change your pH; here are some examples curiosity of Oldman47:Any source of calcium carbonate will raise the pH. That includes mineral rocks made of the stuff along with crushed shell and crushed coral. Another way that is used for a quick rise in pH is sodium bicarbonate, common baking soda, however it should be noted that baking soda acts very quickly so not the preferred method especially when fish are in the tank. Dropping pH depends on two main factors. The first is that the buffering capacity of the water must be low for any method to really work well. Once the buffering of the water is low enough you can drop pH with driftwood / bogwood, Indian almond leaves, oak leaves, sphagnum or peat moss or almost any organic material that releases a colour into the water.
What about expiration dates? - Expiration dates should be listed on the bottles of reagents themselves, or somewhere on the kit. One exception is API they don't list expiration dates, so you have to calculate those yourself. It is easy to do if you look at the lot number printed on the bottles. Here is what API told me:
Lot #: Last 4 digits = month/year of manufactured date
Lasts 3 Years from manufactured date
Ammonia
Nitrite
Calcium
High pH
Copper
GH
Phosphate
Lasts 4 Years from manufactured date
NitrIte
KH
Lasts 5 Years from manufactured date
Ph
If your particular brand of test kit does not list the expiration date be sure to contact the company and ask them how you figure out the expiration dates. Out of date kits will give you false readings.
So that is it the 101 of performing and reading test kits. Hope this helped to clear things up a little bit. And remember if you run into any problems, post and the experts on this forum will do their very best to help you through it.
But good input, maybe someone with more experience can write a separate article about the different things that could effect water stats, my beginner brain could not even begin to tackle that one 
