Packaging of the NH4 ammonium test refill, showing the three numbered reagent bottles

Table comparing the contents of the refill with those of the full test kit: the accessories are not included with the refill

Chart of charge autonomy: approximately 50 measurements, compared with 42 for a six-week cycling and 56 for eight weeks

Reagent refill for NH4 ammonium test

Name: Reagent refill for NH4 ammonium test
Brand: JBL
Price: 9.9 EUR
Availability: InStock

9,90 €

3,30 € × 3 with no fees Klarna.

Ammonia is the first waste product in an inhabited water system, and the fastest indicator that biological filtration is struggling. These three bottles are the reagents for the ammonia test, in the same volume as those in the original kit.

Approximately 50 tests — enough to monitor a full cycle start-up at one test per day. Your existing glassware, comparator block, and colour chart remain in use.

Reagent refill

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The summary

What it measures: ammonium, the first waste product that water with living occupants produces.
What the box contains: 3 numbered reagent bottles (1, 2 and 3) and the illustrated instructions.
How many tests: around 50, the same count as the original kit.
How often: one test a day during cycling, then only after an incident.
Refill or complete kit: it all comes down to the condition of your colour chart and your glassware.
Shipping: a 0.08 kg parcel, sent by Colissimo or Chronopost to your home.

Three bottles of reagents to continue monitoring ammonium, approximately 50 tests

Ammonium is the first waste product of inhabited water. It appears as soon as droppings, leftover food or a dead plant break down, and bacteria then convert it into nitrite, then into nitrate. On an established system, this passage takes a few hours and the test reads zero. A readable value therefore always means the same thing: the biological filtration is no longer keeping up.

You measure it every day while filling a new tank, then after every incident. In aquaponics, monitoring has a second purpose, since your plants live on the nitrates produced at the end of this chain: as long as ammonium is still readable, those nitrates are not yet there. Our guide to the nitrogen cycle details the stages of this start-up.

🔁 What the refill replaces

These three bottles hold the same volume of reagent as those in the original kit, for around 50 tests. You slip them into your kit and carry on with the glassware, syringe, comparator block and colour chart you already have. Consumption comes in bursts: a 6-week cycling at one test a day takes 42 tests, and an 8-week cycling takes 56. One set of bottles lasts one cycling, not two.

What you keep from the box set

Keep the glassware, the comparator block and the colour chart from your ammonium test, as these are what translate the colour into milligrams per litre. Buy the complete kit again if the colour chart is stained or faded, or if a test tube is broken. During cycling, the nitrite refill runs out at the same rate, so it is worth anticipating this and ordering everything at once rather than in two orders.

Three bottles, two of them classed as hazardous

This refill carries nine hazard statements, spread over two of the three bottles, reagent 1 not being classified. Reagent 3, containing propan-2-ol, carries H225, highly flammable liquid, as well as H315, H319 and H336 for the skin and eye irritation and the drowsiness caused by its vapours. Reagent 2, containing sodium hydroxide and sodium hypochlorite, carries H314 and H318, severe burns and eye damage, H400 and H411 for aquatic toxicity, and EUH031, since it releases a toxic gas on contact with an acid. Store the box up high and away from any flame, and empty the treated test tube down the sink, rinsing thoroughly.

📦 In the package

The box contains three bottles of reagent with child-resistant caps, numbered 1, 2 and 3, along with an illustrated leaflet in French. Store them in the case of your test kit, next to the glassware and the colour chart. Screw the caps back on fully after each reading and keep the box dry, in its original packaging and away from direct light, which allows the reagents to stay usable until the date printed on each bottle.

🧮 When to order it

Order the refill before a period of daily testing rather than when the bottle runs out. Starting up a tank, restarting a pond in spring or the arrival of a batch of fish all mean a run of day-by-day measurements, and a break in monitoring would then fall exactly when the ammonium level can vary from one day to the next. In routine use, on a stable system tested once a week, one set of bottles lasts about a year.

Technical specifications

What the refill contains

Contents: 3 reagent bottlesNH4 1, NH4 2 and NH4 3 reagents, numbered on the label, plus the illustrated instructions
Measurements: Approximately 50The same volume of reagent as in the original kit. The count varies with how consistently you dose
Manufacturer's reference: JBL 2412200, PROAQUATEST rangeEAN code 4014162241221. Not to be confused with 2412100, which is the complete kit
Corresponding test: Ammonium NH4 test, ref. 2412100The refill is used with the glassware, the comparator block and the colour chart of this test

Frequency of use

Recommended frequency: 1 measurement a day at start-upOn a new freshwater tank, plus one more reading after any illness or deaths
Autonomy per cycling: About 1 complete cycling42 measures for 6 weeks, 56 for 8 weeks, compared with a capacity of about 50
Environments covered: Freshwater, pond, seawaterThe chemistry is the same as in the kit. It is the colour chart that carries the three reading bands
Parcel weight: 0.08 kgPackaging included

Safety

Hazard classification: Danger, 2 of the 3 bottles are classifiedReagent 2: H314, H318, H400, H411, EUH031. Reagent 3: H225, H315, H319, H336. Reagent 1 not classified
Declared ingredients: Propan-2-ol, caustic soda, hypochloriteCAS numbers 67-63-0, 1310-73-2 and 7681-52-9

To budget for separately

Glassware and syringe: Those from the ammonium testThe two test tubes screw onto this particular test: they are not interchangeable with just any tube.
Comparator block and colour chart: The ones from the ammonium testThe colour chart is printed: it is what converts the colour into milligrams per litre.

4 further specifications are available in the detailed view.

In the box

3 reagent bottles with child-resistant caps, numbered 1, 2 and 3
1 illustrated multilingual instruction leaflet, French included

Reference, EAN code, contents, recommended testing frequency and hazard statements taken from the official JBL data sheet and its instructions on 5 and 7/09/2026, hazard statements checked on 08/10/2026. The autonomy per cycling is an order of magnitude, calculated for 1 measurement per day.

Reorder the reagents, or reorder the test kit?

The refill and the kit share the same chemistry, the same protocol and the same number of tests. What sets them apart lies entirely in the accessories, and therefore in what you already own.

The refill only replaces what has been used up It supplies three bottles, fifty measures and an instruction leaflet. The colour chart, test tubes and syringe, however, must already be at home and still usable.

	Reagent bottles (bottles)	Possible readings (measurements)	Illustrated instructions	Screw-top glass test tubes	Sampling syringe	Comparison block	Colour comparison chart	Price
Recommended Reagent refill for NH4 ammonium testYour choice	3 bottles	50 measurements	Yes	No	No	No	No	9,90 €
Ammonium NH4 water test in dropsYour choice	3 bottles	50 measurements	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	14,90 €

Reagent refill for NH4 ammonium testRecommended

What gets used up

Reagent bottles (bottles)3 bottles

Possible readings (measurements)50 measurements

Illustrated instructionsYes

What is not consumed

Screw-top glass test tubesNo

Sampling syringeNo

Comparison blockNo

Colour comparison chartNo

Budget

Ammonium NH4 water test in drops

What gets used up

Reagent bottles (bottles)3 bottles

Possible readings (measurements)50 measurements

Illustrated instructionsYes

What is not consumed

Screw-top glass test tubesYes

Sampling syringeYes

Comparison blockYes

Colour comparison chartYes

Budget

Contents of the two columns taken from the official JBL data sheet and its instructions, on 07/09/2026.

Documents & manuals

Official manufacturer's instructions, in French

Six-step procedure, order of the three reagents and number of drops. This is the instructions for the full test: they apply equally to the refill, which contains the same reagents.

PDF · 2,7 Mo

Download

Estimate your
delivery time

0.08 kg parcel, dispatched within 48 hours by Colissimo or Chronopost to your home, as you choose at checkout. The bottles are sent in their original packaging. The exact cost is shown in your basket.

Frequently asked questions

6 questions

6 key questions

How many tests does a refill hold?

A refill pack contains around 50 tests — the same number as the new kit, since the volume of reagent is identical. At the recommended start-up rate of one test per day, that gives a simple reference point:

42tests for a 6-week cycling period

56tests for an 8-week cycling period

One bottle therefore covers a start-up cycle, with a small margin in hand if cycling is short — but it will run out before the end of a longer one.

Refill or complete kit — how do you decide?

There's one single deciding factor, and it has nothing to do with your setup — it depends on the condition of your equipment:

Your situation	What you need
Colour chart, glassware and block all intact	The refill
Colour chart lost or illegible	The complete test
Test tube broken, scratched or frosted	The complete test
Kit stored somewhere warm for years	The complete test, and check the other tests in the kit
You've never had this test	The complete test, without hesitation

Is the colour chart included with the refill?

No. The refill contains only the reagent bottles and the instructions. The colour chart used for reading results is the one from your original kit, and without it no result can be interpreted: the colours produced on their own are meaningless.

It is the piece most often sought by buyers, because it is printed on card and tends to leave with the packaging when the kit is put away in a drawer. If it has gone missing, the only solution is to buy the complete test again.

In what order are the three bottles used?

Add the drops from bottle 1 to the test tube containing the sample — never into the blank.
Add the drops from bottle 2 immediately after, into the same test tube.
Add the drops from bottle 3 last. Its drops are noticeably smaller than those from the first two: this is normal — do not add extra to compensate.
Replace the cap, shake, then allow the colour to develop before reading the result.

The numbers are printed on each label. Adding them in the wrong order produces a false colour, not an approximate one.

Can I start with the refill if I have never used this test before?

How should you store and dispose of these bottles?

Store the box closed, up high, and away from any naked flame: one of the three reagents is a highly flammable liquid.

The caps are child-resistant. An empty or out-of-date bottle should be taken to a household chemical collection point, never placed in ordinary waste, and the used test tube should be emptied down the sink rather than into the drain — two of the warnings on the reagent label relate to toxicity for aquatic organisms.

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Reagent refill for NH4 ammonium test

The summary