Before trying this system I was constantly testing for ammonia, changing the water and spending a fortune on water treatment because my API test showed total ammonia not just hazardous ammonia etc. These Alerts are very sensitive and you can see at a glance where your water parameters are and if you have any problems. I still do tests, but every few days instead of twice a day, and the alert has never been false. I check for nitrites and nitrates just to make sure they aren't failing, but so far so good. They're supposed to last a year and I can't comment on that as I've only been using them for about a month. Lots of rest and worth the money.