Are my Hanna checkers broken or am i dumb?

ileas

Non-member
Been doing my daily testing in preparation to begin dosing and yesterday alk was 7.1 calcium was 396 today alk is 7.45 and calcium is 533. What is happening?
 
Hanna Checkers are tricky to use. The glass container must be clean, with no bubbles or smudges on the outside of the glass. They are accurate, but only if performed correctly. If the glass is dirty or there a bubble they can read incorrectly.
 
Hanna Checkers are tricky to use. The glass container must be clean, with no bubbles or smudges on the outside of the glass. They are accurate, but only if performed correctly. If the glass is dirty or there a bubble they can read incorrectly.
Should I be cleaning them with DI water?
 
Alk result from hanna alkalinity checker at 7.1 and 7.45 are basically the same as the technology behind this checker is less accurate than titration method which used by all other major rest kit manufacturers, including all automated alk testers

The calcium result is out of wack.
 
In reviews i have seen and read the alk hana tester is very accurate BUT the calcium one is not accurate.
 
Alk result from hanna alkalinity checker at 7.1 and 7.45 are basically the same as the technology behind this checker is less accurate than titration method which used by all other major rest kit manufacturers, including all automated alk testers

The calcium result is out of wack.
I know this isn't a great option but I do have an API kit laying around, do you think I could get a decent reading from that to compare with?
 
Use gloves or hold then tube up high when doing the Hanna test, don’t get the outside of the beakers dirty or wet. Look at the test tube and make sure there are no marks, or interior clouding that they are completely clean. When pouring in the tank water make sure there aren’t any bubbles on the sides of the container and pour it in with a syringe sideways up to the line. A lot of things throw off the tests. Also it’s a light test so you want to do it in the same spot with the same amount of lighting around it. Maybe a little thing threw off the results?

I’ve heard of a few people having good results with those. I only use the alk one.
 
I get very consistent readings with the Hanna Alk checker. Just do the same thing every time you use it. Likewise with any other tests.

This sounds like a lot, but I wear gloves, fill to the same spot on the line each time, and always insert the vial so the 10 ml letters face me. Afterwards, I thoroughly rinse with tap water, gently scrub the vial with a test tube cleaner brush, rinse again with tap water, rinse with RODI water, and finally air dry the vial on a drying rack.

Ever since purchasing a magnetic stirrer for the rest of the tests, I find cleaning the vials and syringes is the worst part of parameter testing.
 
API test kits can be used as a rough estimate.
For dosing, you need something like a salifert or redsea alk test kit.
 
I find mine accurate. Before and after testing though I find that rinsing the equipment would give me a more accurate result.
 
There are two concepts, consistency and accuracy.

If you are getting similar readings after multiple test, it means the test kit is consistent.

Accuracy is how close the reading from a test kit vs the actual value of the sea water.
 
The good thing about this hobby is that there is no real difference if you keep your tank at 8 or 9 dkh. As long as your Alk is within the window from 7.5 to 10, you don’t have to chase the number.

Even if your Hanna test kit is off by 1 dkh, as long as you keep your test reading around 8.5 dkh, you should be fine because your actual Alk value is still within the good range. But if your reading from Hanna tester is closer to 7 or 10, I would get the water tested with a titration test kit such as Salifert or Redsea.
 
The good thing about this hobby is that there is no real difference if you keep your tank at 8 or 9 dkh. As long as your Alk is within the window from 7.5 to 10, you don’t have to chase the number.

Even if your Hanna test kit is off by 1 dkh, as long as you keep your test reading around 8.5 dkh, you should be fine because your actual Alk value is still within the good range. But if your reading from Hanna tester is closer to 7 or 10, I would get the water tested with a titration test kit such as Salifert or Redsea.
will do. thank you for all the advice dong
 
Upcoming Events

April 21, 2024
Paul B
Club Meeting

Back
Top