In article , JJsPond@noe-
mail.com says...
snip

I've had better luck over the net than locally. I usually write the company
a note in the comments area (if they have one) regarding the lot no. and
not to send me any old test kits. If they don't have a comments area I
write them an E prior to ordering. Nutrafin produced by Hagen out of
Canada.... now those kits don't try to hide their dates in a Lot No. They
have the expiration date right on the box and claim they last longer than 2
years. Last summer I purchased their pH kit with an expiration date of
7/2008 on it. In my case, I go thru pH faster than anything else, using
most to all of it in a season as I compare pH in pond & tanks when moving
fish in or out.

I once lived in an area where the water was very soft and went through
pH kits as it they were going out of fashion. Keeping a stable pH
wasn't impossible but it was a big problem. The biggest problem I had
was after heavy rain and it wasn't due to run off. The pH could change
by .5 to 1.0 within a few hours, this happened twice, I never allowed it
to happen again, it meant large water changes. The water changes were a
pain in summer as I had to regulate the temperature by adding hot and
cold water at the same time. I'd put both through the same hose and
adjust until I could get the same temperature as the pond.

I only got fish originally because I thought you just had to drop them
in water and that was it. I suppose they must me one of the hardest
pets to keep and that's probably what makes keeping them more
interesting.

As far as using them after the date. When we had the KHA class, the older
ones were less accurate when using a standard to test them against. Strips
being the worst, since they're so sensitive to being left in the sun, heat,
cold and they just die after the expiration date (had that happen to me, so
I don't waste the money on them any more).

By the way, the fish eventually died

Sorry to hear about the fish, but nice to know there was a reason that you
couldn't have prevented. ~ jan

The black on the fish didn't help, I was looking for a different
problem.