what do i do??

[fishyfamily]

ok, my sis-in-law gave me her tank and all the things she had to go with it including some testing kits. their is some ammonia and pH testing supplies and im not sure if they are any good or even how old they are but it no more then 2 or 3 years and that may be an overshot. i hate to throw them away if they may be good but i need to know how to be sure they are good before i use them. they dont have a date and i asked the people @ my LFS and they said it might be ok but the person ay petsmart said i need new ones. i just dunno.

[Sharon]

I don't think I'd trust the results, if they're past two years old...

[korith]

Sometimes you can figure out how old they are by looking at the Lot numbers stamped on the bottles.

In case of any doubt as to whether they are any good or not, doesn't hurt to be safe and just toss them. For the water testing things like ammonia and ph kits hold onto them for now. Then once your tank is all set up and done cycling, has fish and all that, take a water sample to petsmart. And have them test the water. Get the results from this test, and test the water at home using your test kits. See if the results are comparable.

I think most test kits are only good for about 3 years or so. But really you'd have to look up that info on each of the manufactures websites to be sure.

[robflanker]

If they are strips, i'd throw them away. Strips are inaccurate when bought brand new and probably even more so 2-3 years out.

Best to be safe and get a new kit. Its about $18-23 for a new freshwater API test kit

[fishyfamily]

well ill check on the lot numbers but i never use strips if i can help it. they are the vial tests. if i can get in touch with my sis-in-law, i can get a more accurate age on the products and that water testing thing is a good idea but ill need the ammonia tests in order to cycle my tank.

[Wild Turkey]

I agree with the general consensus, the guy at petsmart was correct, new test kits to be safe. Then, when you have the new test kits you can compare readings with the old tests, and if it turns out they are still good use them first.

[Northernguy]

I do beleive that all test kits only have a 1 year shelf life.
There is a very good chance that they are expired.Toss them out,it doesn't hurt! lol
Have you tried asking your sister when they were purchased?

[fishyfamily]

yeah, i just got in touch and i was off by a little, they are AT LEAST 2 years old and are currently inhabiting my trash can, if they arent bad already, which im sure thay are, they will be very soon but thanks for the help anyways and i guess im going shopping for some new test kits.