Nitrate test kits

[gonzo620]

So I know I’ve had this test kit for a little over 1 year. I noticed the a while back that the expiration date was in June. I went to test today and remembered it was expired. Does the Red Sea nitrate pro test kit expire faster that others, or did I get a mostly older kit when I purchased? Also is accuracy going to be compromised for being past the date? Still have enough to perform a bunch of test. Really hoping I can continue to use it. Has anyone used their testing equipment past the date without issues?

 

[P-Dub]

That is an intriguing question. The only real way to see is to get a new one and compare the results with the expired one. Hopefully, someone here has done just that. Likely, the variances with your test methodology and the accuracy of the test products itself, from batch to batch, might end up resulting in negligible result differences. @Randy Holmes-Farley

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Nitrate kits are notorious for giving inaccurate answers. I've never seen any data on whether degraded reagents is part of that issue or not, but it doesn't inspire confidence to use an expired kit. :D

 

[gonzo620]

So I’ve cross checked against a salifert nitrate test kit. Results are very comparable. 10ppm +- with salifert and 8ppm +- with the expired Red Sea kit. I’m going to continue using it till I notice anything strange about the results. Thanks for the input guys. I’ll let you guys know what comes of it.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Sounds reasonable.

Happy reefing. :)