20 Best Hard Water Test Kit (2023 Updated)

After trying several different test kits I have decided the API Wide Range pH kit to be the best buy, and potentially the most accurate, of them all. While the test strip type kits are certainly more convenient to use than the reagent type kits, strips are far more likely to degrade in atmospheric conditions and give erroneous results.

I say the API reagent kit is “potentially” the most accurate because its findings will vary depending on how closely you follow the directions. The kit comes with several 5ml test tubes. It is important to fill the tube so that the “meniscus” is exactly on the line.

You will notice that the sample water “climbs” up the sides of the tube slightly but you should disregard this and use the center level, or meniscus, of the sample to provide the correct amount of water for testing.

I have taken several samples of pond water from the same location and tested for each, and noted small variations in the color and density of each sample after adding reagent. This shows that even miniscule differences in sample volumes can lead to varying results.

Hence, I usually test three times from the same location and assume that the “middle” sample – the one between the highest and lowest readings – is the closest to the actual pH of the pond water. It is also important to read the results under identical lighting conditions.

I like to use my sunporch as it is quite bright in the daytime and sunlight provides a much better luminosity than artificial light – but fluorescent lighting is also adequate. I hold the color chart card at eye level and then hold the test tube in front of the white part of the card adjacent to the color bar, with about an inch of space between the tube and the card.

This helps to brighten the color in the tube. Most importantly, whatever steps you take to maximize your ability to see the sample color, make sure each time you test that you do it under identical conditions.

yes this is a great kit for what it tests for, but it DOES NOT test for 2 other key water conditions, KH (Carbonate Hardness) and GH (General Hardness), like the strips do. KH measures the amount of carbonates and bicarbonates in water, which affects the buffering capacity of the water.

This means that KH helps neutralize acids and prevents your pH from changing too rapidly, which is useful because sudden pH crashes can cause health issues in your fish. Low KH means your water has less buffering capacity and the pH swings easily.

High KH means your water has more buffering capacity and the pH level is hard to change. GH measures the amount of calcium and magnesium ions in the water – in other words, how hard or soft your water is.

It’s one of the easiest ways to measure if your aquarium water has enough salts and minerals that are essential for healthy biological functions, such as fish muscle and bone development, shrimp molting, snail shell development, and plant growth.

I was torn over whether to buy this, and remain torn over whether to recommend it. The pros: – Cost effective (esp from Chewy), compared to both strips and individual bottles. – Specific, accurate, consistent – Fairly complete kit The cons: – The booklet answers every “and if it’s outside the right range” with “buy this chemical we sell and dump it into the tank”, rather than teaching about the necessity of frequent water changes.

Newbie fish keepers are going to acquire bad habits and kill a lot of fish, while API profits away. – The specificity is only “in theory”, because two adjacent colors are so similar, you end up knowing the range not a specific number (so it’s not that different from strips) – The high range and low range pH cross about 7.

2-7. 4, so one often must do both tests to confirm pH in that area (IE being the lightest color in the high range means “7. 4 or below”, so you have to test again to find out how far below it might be) – No GH and KH – It’s genuinely a PITA to test this way – Leads to the bad habit of chasing a very specific pH, which could subject fish to rapid pH swings and osmotic stress – Shows total ammonia not free ammonia.

This is good, sort of, for people who don’t understand the difference but could subject fish to more change than they need by suggesting there’s a problem when there is not. I’m a veteran fishkeeper, and used this test kit to cycle and establish my first “real” aquarium ages ago.

But I had to buy a GH and KH test separately, and change to a wide range pH test kit my local fish store recommended (which comes from the gardening industry). Once the tank was established I switched to strips, and Seachem stick-on “alerts”.

Now, I am establishing 2 new tanks and felt that using these tests to get through the fishless cycle was the right thing to do, but now I’m really not sure it was necessary. It’s a widely held belief the strips aren’t accurate but I’ve never found this to be the case (I use Tetra).

Testing the two tanks with this kit is a 30 minute production, and it’s not providing more useful information than just using the strips. If you’re a noob, use your judgement on this kit vs strips. But do not follow the advice to correct problems by adding chemicals.

Educate yourself on the nitrogen cycle, and fish less cycling. Read about why not to chase pH too avidly or freak out over small changes (I recommend the eBook by Boruchowitz on fishkeeping).

I just started to use ICP test and don’t know why I haven’t sooner. The information you get from this test is so useful. It will let you know if you are lacking it major & minor elements. It will also let you need to add to correct anything that needs to be.

Also, if you have any pollutants in your tank. This test will tell you.

I hate to give poor reviews but I expect more from Tetra. The package shows colors that indicate the tank is operating correctly. However, the colors I have do not match the color comparison strip on the package.

I don’t know if the concentrations are too high or too low. Need a total of three comparison color strips: one for excessive concentrations, one for sub-normal concentrations and one for ideal concentrations.

I wouldn’t ever recommend this product to anyone who really wants to keep their fishes safe! The readings were completely different then the colors shown on the side of the bottle. I don’t understand how this product has such positive reviews.

The ammonia strip end piece ended up floating in my tank and was almost eaten by my fish as I was swirling it back and forth for ten seconds. Go for a better quality testing product. This is beyond awful.

My husband has multiple, large fish tanks and testing the tank water regularly is an important part of the “Water Keeping” hobby. The strips are real time savers versus the water testing kits. Tetra has a good product and it’s inexpensive.

A real benefit if you keep a lot of tanks! Thanks again to Chewy for having such a wide variety of products for our pets and the best prices we’ve found anywhere! SB.

I buy these every year. I adjust my pool and spa using these. When I take my water to the pool store for testing they always tell me that my water is right on! I tried others, they just do not work as well or provide the resolution.

I’ve used a bunch of different kinds of pool strips but none of them are more accurate than these. Easy to read and the colors are spot on when determining the readings. Highly recommend

These are the first test strips I have used and they are simple to use and produce reliable results. I compared results with my standard test kit and they were exactly the same.

I am giving this product 3 stars: it’s easily obtainable and is affordable. Also known as the API Saltwater Master Kit, this is a well known product to both experienced and novice hobbyist. This kit lacks any major element testing so this is not for a reef aquarium.

This is only for a FOWLR aquarium or when cycling a saltwater tank. The ammonia test has a really bad reputation, but is fairly reliable at a measurement of. 25ppm and above. There are bound to be errors when you are measuring by “eye sight” the ammonia test is very difficult to read at low concentrations.

Nitrites are the most consistent and easiest to read in the bundle. As for nitrates. look else where. It is incredibly inconsistent and the readings are fairly unreliable. The nitrate test is also difficult to perform when you consider there are easier and more reliable tests.

As for ph, it does a decent job as well. All in all, if you are looking to get a testing kit to help you through the cycling of your aquarium this is the test kit for you.

Very happy that our water tested near perfect with this kit. It’ a good kit, the instructions are clear and easy to follow. However; IMO, it is over priced for a one time set of tests using litmus paper strips and a color chart printed on the back of the package.

I used it to test the water coming from the filter, now I’ll go back and spend $10 more to test the unfiltered water for lead and pesticides. The old piping, circa 1958, was my main concern to begin with.

What wold cost to included 4-5 litmus sticks for each test?.

I purchased this in order to test several different brands of bottled water and our tap water. No place on the package shown or in the description does it say that it only tests one source of water! No way would I buy one of these kits for every source I wanted to test.

There should be an affordable kit available that would test several different sources of water, THIS isn’t it.

It is simple to use and accurate. I had also sent the same water samples to a local lab and the findings were the same. The only difference was the major price difference.

This kit arrived very quickly. This is a DIY Bacteria test that gives you results in a short period of time. We should all be concerned with what is in our water. This is a quick and very inexpensive way to give you peace of mind.

I would recommend this product.

These tests seem to be a way for the company to sell their expensive lab tests. Followed instructions exactly and results came back positive even though municipal results came back negative.

Been using it for years in my reserve tank. When the tank is not in use and on standby I use this kit to test the water condition every six months

I first used this same kit after attending a factory training session at the old Maytag Factory in Newton, Iowa. I’ve had my kit since 1997 and it no longer worked, or seemed to work. So, here on eBay I found this new kit – exactly like the Maytag one I had 21 years ago.

I tried it on known water sources and it performed flawlessly. It works great, just like the old Maytag kit. I think Maytag just put their name on their kit because this one from HACH is EXACTLY the same – same chemicals, spoon, jar.

if you lose the little measure tube, just remember it holds about 6 milliliters. I highly recommend this kit if you want to know the water hardness of your source water. I use it in forensic testing while conducting inspections of homes for floods by appliances.

Straight forward use. Had a few problems keeping the reagent scoop clean (i. e. if it got damp, it was a pain to clean out). I would also suggest a more durable “field” box to store everything in, as the cardboard box got crushed in my backpack when I was hiking.

Other than those two problems, the product worked very well for my application. Used the product in Ecuador, helping conduct water quality inspections on high mountain springs!!.

This is a go to test kit if your looking for a easy and very accurate way to find your water Hardness. It works much better than any test strips you can buy. This kit will do around 100 tests and is very simple to use just follow the instructions and count the drops you add while watching to see when the water turns blue and then you know the total grains per gallon of hardness.

It just doesn’t get any simpler.

you have to pay an additional $40 for test results! That wasn’t in the description. Had I known that I’d have paid am additional $6 for someone else’s product.

PRO-LAB guys are great! Tested a Lead in Water test kits a couple of times and results were consistent. Will continue using your services. Thank you!

What is not made clear is that this is only a water collection tube. You must pay $30 to have it tested.

Excellent price and a very good quality product. I would by this product again when needed.

excellent kit to test for pool water hardness

Simple to use & accurate ..

If you are having issues with your pool this kit is for you. Its extremely accurate and a pleasure to use. Print on instructions are way too small but still very readable. Recommend you read booklet from start to finish as you are taking a chemistry class necessary to understand your pool and how to make necessary adjustments to sanitize effectively.

Excellent kit. Highly recommended.

I learned to use this kit by watching videos and testing the water several times in a row to get the hang if it. I bought it because hiring a pool service was going to cost $50 every time they came out.

I saw that this was the kit they used. The purchase of this kit and doing the testing myself has already paid for itself many times over. I have found that my testing is more accurate than taking samples to the pool supply store.

I’m glad I learned how to do it myself.

Great little kit! I feel really confident having guests over; knowing that the chemicals are well balanced. Easy to follow the instructions in the lid and then the dosing instructions in the booklet.

The only thing I’d say you need in addition to this is 1) phosphate test kit 2) you’ll need some extra cyanuric acid reagent if you plan to test frequently.

Watersafe kit is very compact, easy to use and comes with a set of simple instructions. The results are easy to read and understand. The PH result differed slightly from my own set of ph strip papers however that’s not a big problem.

I was able to confirm the quality of water from this test kit. Shipping was fast and the item was well packed.

Great product, easy to use, and well wrote out directions. This kit has everything you need and the test results are black and white(they are in color), no gray area to leave you guessing.

Test were easy to use. One drawback – I thought you could test more than once with this kit but you cannot. If you mess up a test, you will not be able to retest which ever test you did not conduct properly and will have to buy another test kit to retest.

So, read twice before testing.

I have tested the kit with different source of water. Did work very well. For example, the distilled water = 0 grains ; tap water= 6 grains(hard) : bottled spring water = 5 grains(hard),the water that comes from my water softener = 5 grains( hard, need to replace the water softener).

We canceled our pool chemical service recently and so I ended up having to purchase a brand new chemical test kit because our old one was expired. The only thing I really don’t like about this kit is that, compared to my old kit, testing chlorine is a pain.

The powder reagent, although it’s supposed to be more accurate, is messy. I miss the drops. I also wish they would give you a little notepad to record your results and keep track of what you need to add.

I purchased the K-2006 Taylor test kit from Leslie’s. Shipping was prompt. This kit includes everything I need to check my pool chemical levels. The kit includes a 64 page waterproof Pool & Spa Water Chemistry Treatment guide, with Q & A, and very specific treatment tables to correct the water if needed.

The test kit container is a hard shell waterproof case with a carrying handle. Taylor videos are also helpful to troubleshooting a couple of strange results. I feel very confident testing our pool water now.

These liquid kits give you a much more precise reading than the test strips. Makes it much easier to balance your pool. One con, this particular kit does not contain the Taylor R-0867 Deox Reagent. You will need this if you are using a non-chlorine shock.

Without it, you will not get accurate chorine test results.

This takes the guess work out of keeping your pool water happy. Pool test strips were driving me crazy, trying to guess which color on the container looked closest to what the strip was displaying. Also, you never know how long the test strips have sat on the shelf before you buy them.

I got ahold of one set of strips that was constantly telling me my PH was low, only to find out it was actually high when tested at the pool store. This gives you an accurate read within about 3 minutes.

Sure I wish it were faster, however, I used to spend 3 minutes guessing what color the test strip was closest too. This tool has made managing my pool’s PH and Chlorine level much easier and has eliminated the guesswork and anxiety.

It works well just like it is supposed to. It gives numerical score for each measured category including salt and chlorine which are the most important for saltwater pools. The cheap one I bought off eBay was not accurate.

It registered less than half the salt level causing big problems with my pool pump. An inaccurate tester is worse than worthless. It is counterproductive and costly.

This meter does a great job of keeping an eye on your pool chemistry at home. It is however not a replacement for professional testing. While this meter reads some important parameters theres several things it does not address.

In summary I love my pool meter but I still take a sample to the pool store once a week to make sure everythings in line.

Very easy to use, good instructions and very detailed results. There are multiple versions of this product with different sets of tests that cost different amounts. The more expensive one includes lead while this one doesn’t.

Very easy to use, had my results in one minute.

Sturdier tubes Finer titration

Instructions were simple and provided clear step by step actions to complete each test. Discovered most components were clear except for bacteria which was my main concern. I have now ordered a full house water system to make my water safe for all on my property.

This system will be connected directly to my well.

I got good results on which factors were in and out of range in my well water. The main shortcoming was that the color ranges can be hard to distinguish and are coarse indicators. I was hoping to get clear indication on iron level, to choose an iron removal system.

It’s somewhere between 1ppm and 10ppm, which tells me what I can already taste, but not precise enough to choose equipment.

Buy the Commercial kit aka C kit if you need glasses. The instructions on the inside lid are much bigger on the Commercial Kit and that is the guide to how to use. Also the K-2006C kit does not do bromine and the Chlorine is a little more involved than the K-2005C which only gives you Chlorine/Bromine readings in 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 ( which could be much more than 5 ).

K-2006C did do a. 2 or. 5 resolution Chlorine depending on sample size. And K-2006C was easier for combined chlorine as K-2005C is wait and see if there is a color shift. Also my 2006C kit had the instructions on the lid for salt and a space to put the salt regents and tube.

The K-2005C is a little faster and easier to use with R 0001, 0002, 0003 droppers and mach on color scale but the K-2006C is a little more detailed using R-0870 powder that must remain dry then you bleach it out with R-0871 dropper counting the drops til clear and that is the chlorine X.

2 or X. 5 drops then R0003 and re drop R-0871 til clear for combined chlorine.

I have used the smaller Taylor kit for a few years, but had run out of test solutions several times. I had to replace them. When reordering to get a fresh kit, I decided it was better for me to buy the larger 2 oz size solutions.

Since using this, I can finally have control over my pool. With an online pool information site, I shock correctly using their pool math calculator. I have not had algae bloom for past 2 years by using this test kit.

This test kit will analyze your pool or spa water and give you very precise results as how to proceed. The booklet is waterproof and takes the guess work out of what and how much to add. There are precise instructions on the inside cover of the lid that serves as a quick guide for testing chlorine, pH, total alkalinity, calcium hardness, CYA.

Having used test strips and much smaller test kits in the past, I was VERY impressed with this one. Given the cost of pool chemicals, knowing what to add and precisely how much to affect a parameter is invaluable.