Test kit ages

[jksteele010]

I just set my tank back up after about 6 months of down time. Now I'm using salifert test kits and getting some inconsistent readings. The kits are about 1-1 1/2 years old. Do they go bad after a certain time?

 

[Billybeau1]

Most test kit manufacturers recommend from 18 months to 36 months.

From my experience, I would not push 18 months.

More to do with contamination issues than anything else.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Kits do go bad. In some cases, you also cannot know how long they have sat around since manufacture. I had a Salifert alkalinity kit which I believe was accurate a few years ago which is clearly reading nearly twice the real value today.