Easy to use
Accurate results
Suitable for freshwater use only
Includes 80 liquid test kits, test tube, and colour chart

What is KH?
KH, also known as “total alkalinity” or “carbonate hardness”, is a measure of the buffering capacity of the water in your aquarium. The buffering capacity refers to how well it can resist changes in pH.

What is GH?
General Hardness is a measure of the total amount of minerals dissolved in the water. Water hardness lies on a spectrum between ‘soft water’ or ‘hard water’ depending on the amount of dissolved minerals: the more minerals present, the greater the hardness. Hard water is responsible for the build-up of limescale.

KH in detail:
What is the correct KH level?
This test kit measures KH in dKH (where one dKH = 17.8 ppm as CaCO3). It is essential to maintain a minimum KH level of at least 4 dKH at all times. A KH of between 6 and 8 dKH is more desirable.

What do I do if the KH level is wrong?
Check the KH level of your tap water. If the level is above 6 dKH, then regular water changes should keep the KH value in the aquarium topped up at a reasonable level. If the KH value of your tap water is below 6 dKH, you will need to add a KH buffer such as KH Up – pH Stabiliser to your aquarium/pond.

How to use?

Ensure the test tube is clean.
Take a 5 ml sample of water into the test tube.
Take the KH reagent and add one drop, mix and the water sample should turn pale blue.
Keep adding drops, one by one (remember to count the drops), mixing between drops, until the blue colour turns to yellow. The number of drops, including the first drop, needed to bring about the colour change is equal to the KH value in dKH. Should the first drop of reagent turn the sample yellow then the KH value is below 1 dKH – this is extremely dangerous for fish.

GH in detail:
What is the correct GH level?
This test kit measures GH in dGH (where one degree = 17.8 ppm as CaCO3). The correct GH depends on the type of fish being kept. For soft water species, aim for a GH of around 3 to 6 dGH, while for hard water species, 10 to 15 dGH is the correct range.

What do I do if the GH level is wrong?
Test the GH of your tap water. The GH of tap water is determined by whether you live in a hard or soft water area. If the water is too hard for the fish being kept, alternative waters can be used, such as reverse osmosis water, to lower the GH. To increase the GH for aquarium fish, calcium carbonate rocks (like ocean rock) can be used to provide a continual source of GH minerals.

How to use?

Ensure the test tube is clean.
Take a 5 ml sample of water into the test tube.
Take the GH A reagent and add two drops.
Mix and the water sample should turn dark pink. Adding one drop of reagent GH B at a time, mixing between drops, count the number of drops required for the solution to change from pink to blue.
The number of drops needed to bring about the colour change is equal to the GH value in dGH. Should the first drop of GH B reagent turn the sample blue then the GH value is below 1 dGH and indicates very soft water.

Should you have any further concerns regarding your water quality please visit your most local store with a water sample and our friendly staff members will do their best to help and advise you on further steps.

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Delivery & Returns

Delivery

Delivery costs for your order will be calculated during the checkout process based on your delivery address and the contents of your basket. You will only pay one delivery charge for your order. Express delivery is FREE for online orders OVER £39 unless any of the points below become a factor.

Some large items like aquariums, ponds and pond liners will have an additional charge of £45.00 to help offset the cost of a pallet delivery.
Orders containing a physical gift card will have an additional charge of £2.45 to cover the cost of materials and delivery (digital gift cards are a free alternative).
Orders to highlands, islands and Northern Ireland may incur an additional delivery charge displayed at checkout this is based on the postal code provided. DPD provides a list of postal codes which have additional surcharges. Some of these post codes may also take 2 working days to arrive, even on express. Pallet deliveries cannot be sent to these post codes.

We only ship to the UK and cannot ship internationally.

We aim to dispatch items that are currently in stock on the same working day if they are ordered before 2.45 pm (excluding Bank Holidays). Orders after 3pm will be dispatched the following working day, unless it fits any of the below criteria:

Orders containing live plants will take up to 2 weeks to arrive. We take a week's worth of customer orders and then inform the plant farms of the specific quantities we need to fulfil that week's order to avoid wastage.
Pallet orders containing large items like big aquariums will take additional time to arrive as they are sent by a third party. These orders will NOT be dispatched until we have been in touch to arrange a delivery date, this is to ensure someone is available at your address to sign for the delivery. Deliveries will generally be delivered ‘curb side’ within the terms of the agreement we have with our couriers so you will need to make arrangements to transfer larger items into your home yourself. Unfortunately, our drivers are not insured to transfer the aquarium into your home.
Physical gift cards and items from the gift shop (such as clothes, towels etc) are sent with 1^st Class Royal Mail. Delivery usually takes 1-2 working days, though in rare cases and orders placed closer to public holidays (Christmas, Father’s day, Mother’s day etc.) may be longer.

Returns

If you are not 100% satisfied with your purchase online from our website, you can return the product and get a full refund or exchange the product for another one, for up to 21 days from the date you purchased it.

We strongly suggest signing up for an account with fishkeeper.co.uk as this will allow for some additional returns options like return to your local store.

If you checkout as a guest you will need to return the product to Maidenhead Aquatics, PO Box 619, Egham, Surrey, TW20 2BS, please package the order (along with a packing slip or a note including your name, address and order number).

Large pallet items like aquariums are deemed delivered successfully with no damage once the the driver has left the property. If a report of damage is submitted after the driver has left we may be unable to assist with replacements. We recommend refusing a damaged delivery, this is the fastest resolution.

Our full terms and conditions can be found here. When you place an order with us online you are agreeing to these terms and conditions.