Would be an excellent kit. However, mine did not come with color charts. Called API. Supposed to get in mail. Also, this kit is needed in conjunction with saltwater test kit. Wish it was one complete set.

Ok lets start by saying the description is wrong for this item. These are not the chemicals to measure for the nitrogen cycle (except the nitrate) the others are phosphate, carbonate hardness, and calcium.API test kits are notorious for being inaccurate, though I disagree with that sentiment it's more likely people let their tests expire. Although you get what you pay for. This is a very inexpensive test kit but the tests do work. I do suggest using Red Sea or Saliferts over this test kit though. For phosphates I'd rather get a Hanna Checker Colorometer though much better than trying to distinguish vague color variations.

This is a good kit for a quick check, just keep in mind that some of the result may not always be correct. There are a couple of tests in this kit that are not accurate at all. The mfg. even sent us another kit and we ended up with the same results.It is good and cost efficient for general checks, but best to take your water in to an good aquarium store now and again if you want to ensure accuracy or suspicion something is out of balance in your tank.

I have long used API test kits for my reefs, so I want to point out that they do put quality tests on the shelves at an affordable price. However, this particular kit would be far more useful if it had an ammonia test in place of the KH test. Alkalinity, hardness and PH are all quite closely related, and a PH test is not part of this kit. Therefore, it is my opinion that an ammonia test would be far more useful than the hardness test. Another piece of my rhetoric is that reef keepers who aim to keep high Ca parameters (350-400) generally use RO/DI, or distilled water , and a salt mix they trust to maintain PH and hardness parameters. Ammonia, or even Nitrite is simply a source of greater concern to me than KH. These are my opinions, and I will say again that API pharm makes reliable tests, but I feel this one could be far better if only an Ammonia test were included.

Product arrived as promised, does the job...sorta. I am never sure about these test kits. They have given me false readings.

The tests work but the caps for the test tubes are horrible. Chemical water leaks out everywhere and considering that some of the tests need to be capped and shaken in between each drop, things get really messy really quickly. I think I'll go back to the Red Sea kits after this. I'm glad I held onto the old tubes.