si_sphinx Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 Do they go old or expire? I have an Aquarium Pharmaceuticals (API) pH test solution kit and I have just tested my main tanks pH, (for the 1st time in ever) for my own curiosity. The pH shows as being around 7.0 and should be above 8.0 I have never worried about pH because I have 40kg of coral rock and 5ltrs of oyster shell grit in my sump, all for buffering the pH in my tank. And my fish are all happy. Tank is 800ltrs Has my test solution gone off? It is going on 2 years old just about and still pretty much full. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 ive read before they expire and shouldnt be used past that date - heres a link that might explain more i think http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f14/api-test-bottle-expiration-date-question-128388.html heres another link http://www.fishlore.com/fishforum/test-kits/6439-important-information-api-freshwater-master-test-kit-users.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
si_sphinx Posted February 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 Thanks for that. Mine has a manufactured date of october 2006 and is suposed to last 3 years max so yes, expired a long time ago, probably before i brought it. I wonder how many shops have expired kits still for sale. I'm going to buy more this weekend and check their dates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 I think that Caryl did a thing at fish club once where they got everyone to dig out the oldest test kits they had and PH was one of the only ones that they got the same (or similar enough) results with regardless of age.. Hopefully she sees this and lets us know what the story is.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 Indeed we did. All our members brought along a container of tap water, one of tank water, and every pH test kit they could find. These varied from test strips, liquid and electronic over a number of brands. Some were new and some were many years old. All gave the same results no matter how old (or new) they were. The pH test stuff I use occasionally, when I get curious as I rarely test my water, is about 15 years old and still appears to be accurate. I do not have access to an electronic tester any more but my results are the same as other, newer, tests used. I have a fancy JBL test lab that Grant won years ago at a conference. The other tests in it are no longer accurate but the pH seems to be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beets82 Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 Ohh man I have had my API test kit for a couple of years but they were probably all expired before I brought them all from 06/07. Grrrr :an!gry why don't they just put the expiry dates on the bottles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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