DJ-

I've been using Hagen kits exclusively for a couple of years now with some success. However, IMO if your tank has already cycled, I wouldn't recommend buying the whole kit, just the more popular ones that you would use; such as, Calcium,Alk,Nitrates, and maybe Phospates. The reason for only buying the ones you will need is so that you don't waste your money on a reagent that has a very limited shelf life. By the time you might need to use your ammonia kit, for example. It will most likely give a false reading, and in-turn lend you a false sense of security. IMO you would be better off going out and buying one, when the situation warrants it. I find that the best test kit for my aquarium (other than Calcium, and Alk) is to watch it daily, as if I am watching the television. The tank will usually tell me when something is wrong. I also found that the more test kits I have, especially trace element test kits. The more trigger-happy I became when it came to adding those trace elements. It has taken me years, and more money than I would like to admit, to realize that "Less is More" time is the key.......

Hope this will help, ;)


Troy