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Aquanox-16 Water Test Strips

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Aquanox-16 Water Test Strips

Read your result

What your result might look like.

Dip the strip, hold it flat, and compare every pad to the chart. The values below 
are EPA reference points, not pass marks.

  • Lead (Pb)

    Lead (Pb)

    EPA action level 0.015 ppm (15 ppb)

    What it means

    Lead has no taste, colour or smell, so a strip is the only way to spot it at home. It usually enters water from old pipes and solder rather than from the supply itself.

    What it doesn't mean

    A screening strip isn't a laboratory measurement. It tells you whether lead is worth investigating, not how much is there.

    What to do next

    A reading at or above the action level should be confirmed by a certified lab before you act on it.
  • Copper (Cu)

    Copper (Cu)

    EPA action level 1.3 ppm

    What it means

    Copper generally comes from household plumbing. Water that's been sitting in pipes overnight picks up more of it.

    What it doesn't mean

    One high reading from a first-draw sample isn't the same as your supply being affected.

    What to do next

    Run the tap for a minute and retest. If it stays high, have a certified lab confirm it.
  • Nitrate (NO₃⁻)

    Nitrate (NO₃⁻)

    EPA limit 10 ppm

    What it means

    Nitrate usually comes from fertiliser run-off or septic systems, which makes it more common in well water than in treated supplies.

    What it doesn't mean

    The strip screens. It doesn't measure precisely enough to make decisions about infant feeding on its own.

    What to do next

    A reading at or above the limit needs a certified lab test, particularly if there's a baby in the house.
  • Nitrite (NO₂⁻)

    Nitrite (NO₂⁻)

    EPA limit 1 ppm

    What it means

    Nitrite comes from the same sources as nitrate, and the EPA limit is ten times tighter.

    What it doesn't mean

    A negative on this pad doesn't mean nitrate is clear too. They're separate readings.

    What to do next

    Read it alongside nitrate, and confirm anything at or above the limit with a lab.
  • Free chlorine (Cl₂)

    Free chlorine (Cl₂)

    EPA limit 4.0 ppm

    What it means

    Chlorine is added deliberately to keep treated water safe, so finding some is expected rather than alarming.

    What it doesn't mean

    A low or zero reading isn't automatically good news — on a treated supply it can mean the disinfectant has dissipated.

    What to do next

    If it reads above the limit, contact your water authority rather than a lab.
  • Total hardness (GH)

    Total hardness (GH)

    No federal limit · under 150 ppm recommended

    What it means

    Dissolved calcium and magnesium. Hard water leaves scale on kettles and taps and can make soap harder to rinse.

    What it doesn't mean

    Hardness isn't a health hazard. It affects plumbing and how water feels, not whether it's safe.

    What to do next

    Nothing health-related to do. A high reading is useful if you're deciding about a softener.
  • Total alkalinity

    Total alkalinity

    No federal limit · 75 – 150 ppm recommended

    What it means

    How well your water resists changes in pH. Adequate alkalinity helps keep water from turning corrosive to pipes.

    What it doesn't mean

    This isn't a contaminant reading. It describes the water's chemistry rather than anything in it.

    What to do next

    Read it next to pH. Low alkalinity with low pH is the combination worth looking at.
  • Mercury (Hg)

    Mercury (Hg)

    EPA guideline 0.002 ppm

    What it means

    Mercury in drinking water is uncommon and usually traces back to industrial discharge or natural deposits near the source.

    What it doesn't mean

    A screening strip at this concentration is a rough instrument. Treat any positive as a prompt, not a measurement.

    What to do next

    Any reading at or above the guideline should go straight to a certified lab.
  • Zinc (Zn)

    Zinc (Zn)

    EPA guideline 5.0 ppm

    What it means

    Zinc usually comes from galvanised plumbing. The guideline is about taste rather than safety.

    What it doesn't mean

    A reading above the guideline isn't a health limit — it's the point where water starts tasting metallic.

    What to do next

    If taste is the issue, running the tap before drawing water often helps.
  • Fluoride (F⁻)

    Fluoride (F⁻)

    EPA 4.0 ppm limit · 2.0 ppm secondary recommendation

    What it means

    Fluoride occurs naturally in some groundwater and is added deliberately to many treated supplies. This parameter has two reference points rather than one.

    What it doesn't mean

    Finding fluoride isn't a fault. On a treated supply it's expected.

    What to do next

    If it reads above 4.0 ppm, contact your water authority.
  • pH

    pH

    EPA guideline 6.5 – 8.5

    What it means

    How acidic or alkaline your water is, on a scale where 7 sits in the middle. Local geology sets it, and so do the chemicals a treatment plant adds.

    What it doesn't mean

    pH isn't a contaminant reading. It describes the water itself rather than anything dissolved in it.

    What to do next

    Low pH corrodes pipes and pulls metals into the water. High pH causes scaling and a bitter taste. Read it next to total alkalinity — low on both is the combination that matters.
  • Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S)

    Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S)

    No formal limit · 0 ppm recommended

    What it means

    The rotten-egg smell. It's a gas dissolved in the water, usually from underground deposits or from organic matter breaking down.

    What it doesn't mean

    At low levels it isn't typically harmful. This one is unpleasant rather than dangerous.

    What to do next

    It corrodes plumbing over time, so it's worth dealing with even though there's no health limit behind it. A water treatment specialist is the right call.

This strip reports a level in saliva. Nitric oxide moves quickly with what you've eaten and when, so one reading is a moment rather than a baseline. Testing the same way at the same time of day is what makes two readings worth comparing. The strip does not diagnose any condition.

Send us a photo

Sixteen pads at once.

Reading them all against one chart in kitchen light is harder than it sounds, and the pads that matter most are often the subtlest. Send a photo of the whole strip against the chart and someone on our team will work through it with you.

01

Lay the strip flat along the colour chart so every pad lines up with its own row.

02

Take the photo within a minute of the 30-second mark.

03

Daylight if you can, phone straight above, no shadow falling across the strip.

How this works

Your photo is reviewed by a member of our support team. They are not healthcare professionals and cannot diagnose a condition or advise on treatment. What they can do is help you read what your test is showing.

Nothing here is automated. Your photo stays confidential and is used only to answer you.

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Taking the test

A few things worth knowing first.

The sample matters more than the strip does.

  1. Use a clean container. The test tube in the kit is sized so the whole strip goes under. Anything left in a glass from last time can change a reading.
  2. Don't touch the pads, and open the pouch only when you're ready. Use the strip promptly once it's out.
  3. Do the test in good light. Sixteen pads against one chart is hard enough without a dim kitchen.
  4. Nothing in the kit goes near your mouth, eyes or food, and the whole thing stays out of reach of children and pets.
  5. Store the strips dry between 2 and 30°C, away from sunlight, heat and humidity.
  6. In the box: ten individually wrapped strips, the colour chart, an EPA guidelines sheet, a record chart for tracking results, and the reference guide.

Directions for use

How to take it.

About a minute.

  • STEP 01

    Collect your water

    Fill the test tube provided, or a clean container. The tube is sized so the whole strip can go under.

  • STEP 02

    Dip and shake off

    Dip the strip fully for one to two seconds. Draw it along the rim, shake off any remaining drops, and hold it flat.

  • STEP 03

    Compare at 30 seconds

    Wait 30 seconds for the colours to develop, then match each pad against the chart in good light.

All sixteen pads read at 30 seconds. Unlike most multi-pad strips, this one has a single reading time rather than a different one per pad. Read within a minute of that mark for the best match, and ignore anything that changes after two minutes.

WATCH IT DONE

The whole thing, start to finish.

Documents

Everything in writing.

Questions

The ones we hear most often.

No, and no test strip is — the EPA sets drinking water standards, it doesn't certify consumer test products. What this kit does is compare your readings against EPA reference values, which is why we say EPA-referenced rather than EPA approved. The distinction matters: the numbers on the chart are the agency's, the test is ours, and a result at or above a limit is a prompt to get a certified laboratory measurement rather than a finding in itself.

Don't drink the water until you've taken it further, then retest with a fresh strip — one reading on a screening test isn't a finding. If it holds, a certified laboratory can measure what's actually there, which this strip can't. For a parameter on a treated municipal supply, such as chlorine, your water authority will usually answer faster than a lab.

It depends what you're asking. Water that's been sitting in your pipes overnight picks up more of whatever those pipes are made of, so a first-draw sample is the one that shows what your plumbing is contributing — relevant for lead and copper. A sample taken after running the tap for a minute tells you more about the supply coming in. The instructions don't specify which to use. If lead or copper is your reason for testing, it's worth doing both and noting which was which.

Nitrate and nitrite are the ones to pay attention to — they come from fertiliser run-off and septic systems, so they turn up in wells far more than in treated supplies. Chlorine works the other way round: there's no reason to expect it in well water, and finding none isn't a problem. Wells also aren't tested by anyone but you, which is the argument for testing on a schedule rather than only when something tastes off.

That's what the chart says: read results at 30 seconds, within a minute for the best match. Most multi-pad strips stagger their reading times, so this one is unusual, but we're not going to invent timings the manufacturer hasn't given. Read the whole strip in one pass at 30 seconds and disregard anything that shifts after two minutes.

This kit is written for drinking water, and the reference values on the chart are drinking water standards. Pools and aquariums have their own target ranges that look nothing like these, so a reading here would be hard to interpret and easy to misread. We'd rather you used something built for the job.

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  • Running low

    Aquanox-16 Water Test Strips

    Ten individually wrapped strips per kit

  • Often used alongside

    Urinox-10 Urinalysis Test Strips

    Ten markers from one strip, including specific gravity

    Learn more

Urinox-10 Urinalysis Reagent Strips are for in vitro diagnostic use and give qualitative and semi-quantitative readings for ten markers in urine. Results are intended to be used alongside other diagnostic information, not on their own, and this test does not diagnose any condition. False results are possible. Talk to your healthcare provider before making any decision based on a result.