13 Best Aquarium Test Kits Reviews – 2019 Freshwater & Saltwater Guide

1. API Freshwater Aquarium Master Testing Kit  - Helps Monitor water quality

2. API Freshwater And Saltwater Aquarium 5-In-1 Test Strips  -accurate Ph Tester for fish water

3. Tetra Test Strips - 6-In-1 Strips For Fresh & Saltwater - clean method to check water quality

4. Seachem Ammonia Alert System - ideal For marine and freshwater use

5. Red Sea Aiptasia-X Eliminator Kit  - easy to use

6. Seachem Stability Water Stabilizer - safely establishes bio-filter

7. Instant Ocean Water Test Hydrometer - Great accurate hydrometer test

8. Stript Health 7-In-1 Aquarium Test Strips - fast results

9. JNW Direct 7-In-1 Aquarium Test Strips - great quality tester

10. Salifert Calcium Water Test Kit - provides accurate calcium levels

11. Pinpoint American Marine ORP Monitor - extremely easy to set-up

12. Salifert Magnesium Test Kit - consistent test kit

13. API Saltwater Master Test Kit - Economical

Aquarium Test Kit Types

To properly maintain your freshwater or saltwater aquarium, there are 11 different test kits that you may need to use.

Each of these 11 different types of test kits includes:

1. Alkalinity Testing
2. Ammonia Testing
3. Calcium Testing
4. Chloramine Testing
5. Chlorine Testing
6. Copper Testing
7. Iodine Testing
8. Magnesium Testing
9. Nitrate Testing
10. Nitrite Testing
11. pH Testing

1. alkalinity

   Alkalinity refers to how the pH levels are shifting or remaining stable in your fish tank. If you want to maintain a thriving environment, you need to maintain a pH level of 7 to 12. Measuring your water’s alkalinity helps you determine where your pH levels are sitting and what you may need to do to stabilize them.
   
   

2. ammonia

   An ammonia test kit helps determine how busy your fish have been excreting waste. When a fish eats, they will process the food and leave behind debris and byproducts. This waste can raise your ammonia levels, creating potentially harmful situations. High ammonia levels are one of the most common causes of fish dying. An ideal environment will contain zero ammonia.
   
   

3. calcium

   If you are running a saltwater aquarium, you will be required to maintain healthy calcium levels. If your calcium levels get low (or high), you could be creating a dangerous environment for your fish while also depriving your corals of their required nutrients.
   
   

4. chloramine

Chloramine occurs when the ammonia and chlorine levels are high enough to begin creating chloramine as a byproduct. Chloramine is incredibly toxic to your fish, so testing for it regularly can help save you a ton of frustration down the road.

 You want to use a chloramine test kit to verify that this toxic byproduct is not being produced in your water.



5. chlorine

It doesn’t matter whether you’re keeping a freshwater aquarium or a saltwater aquarium. If you are using tap water to refill and cycle your water, you are going to have chlorine that needs to be removed or cleaned.

 High chlorine levels can be toxic to your fish, plants, corals, and invertebrates. Consistently adding a chlorine test to your regular maintenance schedule is highly advised.



6. Copper

Copper is a nutrient that is not required by anything you can place into your tank. Fish, plants, corals, and invertebrates do not utilize copper, so you want to make sure you are removing it.

 If you have old pipes in your home or you are using water that has been passed through copper pipes, you will notice your water’s copper levels increase. Before adding this water to your tank, you need to measure the copper levels and then remove the metals if found.



7. iodine

Iodine is something that you’re going to commonly experience when you are maintaining a saltwater fish tank. In saltwater tanks with corals or invertebrates, iodine will be a requirement and need to be supplemented if your iodine levels drop too low.

 Iodine is essential in saltwater tanks and must be checked regularly. You do want to avoid adding too much of the nutrient into your water, though. Too much iodine can create a harmful environment. If your levels are too high, you will need to cycle in new water.



8. magnesium

Naturally-occurring magnesium in saltwater environments typically ranges between 1,200 parts-per-million and 1,400 parts-per-million. You should work to maintain these same natural levels inside of your saltwater tank.

 A magnesium test kit will help identify where your magnesium levels are at and whether, or not, you need to supplement the nutrient (if your levels are low) or cycle in new water (if your levels are high).



9. nitrate

The nitrates in your water are nutrients that get converted into nitrites during a naturally-occurring cycling process. While nitrates are not as harmful as ammonia, they can still create toxic environments to your fish when they reach high levels.

 A nitrate test kit will help you maintain ideal levels. In a thriving environment, your nitrate levels will remain below 20 parts-per-million. Once your nitrates go above 20 parts-per-million, you could be dealing with toxic water that needs to either be cycled or wholly replaced.



10. nitrite

Nitrites are a byproduct that occurs when bacteria in your tank begin transferring ammonia into nitrates and then convert those nitrates into nitrites. Nitrites, at nearly any level, are always toxic to your fish. Once they reach higher levels, they will become lethal, and your fish, corals, invertebrates, and plants will die.

Testing for nitrites levels in your water can help you get ahead of potential problems and diagnose why the nitrites began occurring in the first place. When your nitrites levels get too high, you will be required to do a complete water refresh. Cycling isn’t enough.



11. ph

Taking measuring the alkalinity levels in your tank one step further, a pH test gives you a more accurate visual for what you are working with. pH levels in your water will range from 0 to 14. 0 is considered a highly-acidic environment, while seven is deemed to be neutral and 14 is highly-alkaline.

 Your fish, corals, invertebrates, and plants will all require a specific pH level in the water. Maintaining this level is critical to keeping them happy, healthy, and thriving in the aquascape you have created for them.

Aquarium Test Kit Frequently Asked Questions

Maintaining a healthy ecosystem can become a full-time job all on its own. When you understand why you’re doing what you’re doing, the frustrating times move into the past and maintaining your tank becomes more natural to do.

We’ve collected a dozen of the most frequently asked questions that pertain specifically to maintaining your aquarium’s water quality. If you’re wondering why testing is so important, hopefully, the questions below will give you the clarity you need.

What do I need to test in my aquarium?

The elements you will need to test for in your aquarium’s water differs significantly between freshwater and saltwater environments. In both situations, you will need to monitor the water’s chemistry to ensure it is consistently delivering what your livestock, plants, and corals need.

At a fundamental level, you need to measure the hardness, ammonia, nitrates, and pH levels in your tank. Monitoring each of these elements will help you identify and get in front of potential problems before they create a hazardous environment.

How often should I test my water?

Once you understand what you should be looking for while testing, you will quickly realize how important it is to develop a consistent testing schedule. Properly maintaining the water in your tank is always easier than attempting to fix problems because you didn’t test often enough.

We advise testing your water at least once a week, using an all-in-one test kit. Paying attention to the different variables you’re checking for will let you run more in-depth tests if you notice issues. Then, you can move back to testing every two weeks or even once a month.

Can I use reverse osmosis in my tank?

Reverse osmosis water, or RO water, can be the right choice for your aquarium depending on your goals. While reverse osmosis water is more expensive than other types (like distilled, for instance), reverse osmosis can make your life easier.

Using RO water in your tank helps give you a natural baseline to build nutrients from. If you want to promote the healthiest and most natural development of your fish, corals, invertebrates, and plants, the added expense of reverse osmosis water may be worth it.

How do I minimize ammonia buildup?

Ammonia levels, by themselves, aren’t entirely toxic to your fish. However, when ammonia levels get too high, they can create byproducts (such as nitrates and nitrites) that will create toxic (even lethal) situations for your livestock.

If your ammonia level test comes back showing that your levels are climbing (or worse, already out of control), you have a few options to deal with removing the ammonia from your water.

You can start by swapping out half the water in your tank with freshly cycled water. You will also need to make sure that you are cleaning your gravel. Gravel helps contain bacteria that can produce the byproducts that create toxic environments.

You will also need to make sure you are removing anything that has begun to rot. This rotting creates higher levels of ammonia. Then, you will need to remove your filter, free it from any clogs, clean it properly, and determine if it is functioning correctly.

Next, you will want to look at your feeding schedule to make sure you aren’t overfeeding. Overfeeding creates large amounts of waste from your fish, and uneaten food can be broken down into bacteria that helps increase ammonia levels.

Finally, you will want to think about adding ammonia pellets to help absorb free ammonia. Then, remove extra food from your tank when you notice that it has gone uneaten. Fixing an ammonia problem in your tank can be done with the right approach.

What is the best type of water to use?

If you’re like most aquarium owners, you are typically going to revert to using tap water from your public water system. If you do use tap water, you will want to make sure you are leaving it out long enough for the chlorine to evaporate.

Another option is using reverse osmosis water. Reverse osmosis water is more expensive than tap water but is a much healthier option. It is worth noting, though, that reverse osmosis water will require more attention to detail until you have obtained balanced levels of nutrients in your tank. For freshwater tanks, using distilled or tap water is your best bet.

How can I drop my tank’s pH levels?

If the pH levels in your tank have come back out of the range that your fish, corals, invertebrates, or plants require, dropping the levels to a more suitable level is easy to do. You will want to start by swapping out old water for new water.

You can also lower your tank’s pH levels by including balanced water, adding in driftwood, certain types of moss, and plants that can help neutralize the water.

How often do I need to clean my tank?

To maintain a healthy environment for your fish and plants, you will want to develop a consistent cleaning and maintenance schedule. Having a regular schedule that you follow will help ward off most problems you could encounter.

However, if you test the water and see that a specific level is off, you will need to take a more dynamic approach to clean the tank. Cleaning at least twice a month is recommended. This includes vacuuming your gravel, removing your filter, and potentially swapping water.

You also want to make sure that you are staying on top of removing uneaten food and taking care of algae buildup when you notice it beginning to form.

How do I improve my tank’s water quality?

If you notice the quality of the water in your tank is beginning to diminish, clarifying potential problems is easy enough to do. Here are a few pointers to help improve your tank’s water quality.

Make sure that you are using a substrate that your livestock prefers. You also want to ensure you are maintaining a regular cleaning and testing schedule. When you notice problems beginning to happen, getting on top of them before they can get out of control is critical.

You can also consider adding plants to help process some of the harmful bacteria and nutrients in the water while replenishing the helpful bacteria and oxygen your fish require. Finally, you can use biological filter media to help improve your water quality.

How can I check the ammonia level in my tank?

Ammonia is an element that you’ll need to keep an eye on. Once you notice ammonia beginning to be produced, getting on top of it before it becomes a problem can save you a ton of time and money.

Testing with an ammonia kit will help identify where your ammonia levels are at and take precautions when you notice them beginning to climb. The opposite side of this equation is only testing when you start seeing fish and plants die off. That creates a massive problem for everything inside of your tank and should be avoided at all costs.

What level of nitrates is considered “safe”?

Nitrites and nitrates need to be removed from your water as soon as you notice them beginning to build up. High nitrites and nitrates can create toxic, even lethal, environments for your fish, plants, corals, and invertebrates.

While testing your water, if you notice that your nitrates are rising about 0.5 parts-per-million, you know that you have a potential problem on your hands. Once nitrates rise above 0.5 parts-per-million, you are creating a toxic environment for all living organisms in your tank.

What happens if my water is too cold?

For the most part, there are two types of fish: coldwater and tropical. Coldwater fish do not mind cooler temperatures. However, tropical fish can become lethargic and develop sickness or disease when your water levels become too cold.

You can mount a temperature monitor or thermometer to the inside of your tank to maintain a consistent visual on your water’s temperature. If you notice it becoming too cold for your tropical fish, you can purchase an external heater to raise the water’s temperature.

How does reverse osmosis affect pH levels?

Reverse osmosis water allows gases inside of the water to pass through it more effectively than other types of water. This means that RO’s water is typically in the 6.0 and 7.0 range. If you notice that your pH levels are out of sync, you can use reverse osmosis water to bring them closer to neutral more quickly.

Why are my fish starting to die?

If your fish are dying, the chances are high that you have let the levels of specific chemicals or nutrients become out of sync with what your fish require. There are a handful of reasons behind what is killing your fish.

Your water could contain ammonia levels that are too high, or your water’s pH levels have become out of sync. This creates either an acidic or alkaline environment that is out of the normal range for the fish you are keeping.

You could also be neglecting your water’s cycling requirements. Changing old water out with new water is essential in every tank.

Your fish could be stressed out by other tank mates or through being crowded. If you have a smaller aquarium and have included too many fish, your weaker fish will begin to die first.

Or, you could be overfeeding your fish. This creates a situation where they will eat themselves to death, or create too much waste which can pollute the water around them.

What Are The Best Aquarium Test Kits In 2019?

After sorting through dozens of different aquarium test kits and test strip products, we have found that the two best aquarium test kits in 2019 are from API.

The API Saltwater All-In-One Master Test Kit and the API Freshwater All-In-One Master Test Kit are the only two kits you need. Choose the one that meets your specific tank, and you will have everything you need to identify potential problems before they become hazardous.