Everything a new tank needs, in one box
While a new tank cycles, ammonia rises and falls, then nitrite, and nitrate climbs. These read all three, and pH, so one box answers whether the tank is ready for fish.
| Test | Reads | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| API Freshwater Master Test Kit Liquid drops | ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH | No GH or KH: add API’s GH & KH kit for shrimp, soft-water fish or plants. |
| Tetra EasyStrips Complete Test Strip Kit Dip strips | ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, GH, KH and chlorine | The same two strips Tetra sells separately, in one box. |
If you dose Prime or another ammonia binder
Seachem says salicylate and Nessler ammonia tests can still show the ammonia a binder has made harmless, so the reading looks worse than the water is. Its own ammonia kit reads the free, toxic part apart from the total; its nitrite and nitrate kit makes up the set.
| Test | Reads | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Seachem MultiTest Ammonia Liquid drops | free and total ammonia | Ammonia only, and more steps than a strip. It is the one to use if you dose Prime or another ammonia binder. |
| Seachem MultiTest Nitrite/Nitrate Liquid drops | nitrite and nitrate | No ammonia: pair it with MultiTest Ammonia or another ammonia test. |
Hardness, for shrimp, soft-water fish and plants
GH is the minerals in the water and KH the buffer that keeps pH from swinging. The Master Test Kit reads neither, and shrimp, soft-water fish and planted tanks need both known.
| Test | Reads | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| API GH & KH Test Kit Liquid drops | GH and KH | Hardness only: no pH, ammonia, nitrite or nitrate. It pairs with the Freshwater Master Test Kit, which has those and not these. |
| API 5-in-1 Test Strips Dip strips | nitrite, nitrate, pH, GH and KH | Quick, but no ammonia pad. While a new tank cycles, add API’s ammonia strips or a liquid ammonia test. |
| Tetra EasyStrips 6-in-1 Test Strips Dip strips | nitrite, nitrate, pH, GH, KH and chlorine | No ammonia pad. Tetra sells ammonia strips separately and in its Complete kit. |
| API KH / Carbonate Hardness Test Kit Liquid drops | KH | KH only. If your fish or plants need a set hardness, API’s GH & KH kit tests both. |
One reading at a time
For checking one number often, such as ammonia while a tank cycles or nitrate before a water change, or for refilling a kit that has run out of one test.
| Test | Reads | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| API Ammonia Test Kit Liquid drops | ammonia | Ammonia only. The Freshwater Master Test Kit includes an ammonia test along with pH, nitrite and nitrate. |
| API Ammonia Test Strips Dip strips | ammonia | One reading, ammonia, per strip. A liquid kit reads a wider range, up to 8 ppm in API’s. |
| Tetra EasyStrips Ammonia Test Strips Dip strips | ammonia | Ammonia only. The Complete kit pairs it with the 6-in-1 strips. |
| API Nitrite NO2 Test Kit Liquid drops | nitrite | Nitrite only. The Freshwater Master Test Kit includes it with ammonia, nitrate and pH. |
| API Nitrate NO3 Test Kit Liquid drops | nitrate | Nitrate only. The Freshwater Master Test Kit includes it with ammonia, nitrite and pH. |
Before you choose
Strips are quicker: dip one, wait and match the colors. Liquid drops take a few minutes more and read a wider range: API’s ammonia strips read up to 6 ppm, its liquid ammonia kit up to 8 ppm. Whichever you choose, check the use-by date on the pack: old solutions and strips can read wrong.
How often: API’s instructions say to test ammonia every other day while a new tank cycles, until it reads 0, and weekly once the tank is established.
Test your tap water once as well as the tank. Water treated with chloramine can show ammonia straight from the tap, and Tetra’s chlorine pad shows whether it still needs conditioner before it goes in. Then enter the tank’s numbers in the test reading interpreter to see what each one means today, or keep them in the cycling log while a new tank cycles. Every water test in the catalog · How to test aquarium water.