Hanna PPM or ppb for Phosphates

[MAXreefer]

Being colorblind those Hanna Checkers come in very handy for me and have been using them for a while now.

So far for testing phosphates I have been using the Phosphate Low Range Colorimeter HI713 which reads in ppm.

My question:
Is the Phosphorus Ultra Low Range Colorimeter HI736 which reads in ppb (and can be converted to ppm) better for getting a more accurate level testing?

Thanks for any suggestions

 

[pdiehm]

Being colorblind those Hanna Checkers come in very handy for me and have been using them for a while now.

So far for testing phosphates I have been using the Phosphate Low Range Colorimeter HI713 which reads in ppm.

My question:
Is the Phosphorus Ultra Low Range Colorimeter HI736 which reads in ppb (and can be converted to ppm) better for getting a more accurate level testing?

Thanks for any suggestions

I had the 713 (still do for that matter). I was advised to switch to the 736 because it has a smaller margin of error, making it more accurate.

Having said that, 0 on either is a pretty good indication that things are ok.

 

[tmz]

The 736 sports an improved accuracy range at the very low levels in particular but gives less functional range overall; you can't measure higher levels with it. I've used the 713 for many years ; it's very atisfactory for low range measures( eg I keep my sytem in the 0.02ppm to 0.04ppm range)

 

[tapio]

The 736 sports an improved accuracy range at the very low levels in particular but gives less functional range overall; you can't measure higher levels with it. I've used the 713 for many years ; it's very atisfactory for low range measures( eg I keep my sytem in the 0.02ppm to 0.04ppm range)

Better to get the ultra low range tester. If you have too much phosphate it is easy enough to dilute the sample as much as you want.

 

[MAXreefer]

Thanks for the input guys. This helped a lot

 

[Crush Coral]

I talked to a hanna tech today and learned that the 736 while marketed for marine water will also work on fresh. Great to know so I now can test my rodi water to see how well my resin is removing phosphates.

 

[tapio]

I talked to a hanna tech today and learned that the 736 while marketed for marine water will also work on fresh. Great to know so I now can test my rodi water to see how well my resin is removing phosphates.

That is good to know although I expected it to work on fresh too. And in general I see no reason not to buy the most sensitive test kit possible provided it is based on a robust method and is reproducible from test to test.

On a side note, Triton gave me a higher phosphate reading than Hanna 736. I would tend to believe Triton more than the Hanna tester. However, the values were close enough for practical reef keeping purposes. Just goes to show that if Hanna tests 0 there are of course still some P in the water.

 

[bertoni]

I'm not sure whether the Triton numbers or the Hanna numbers would be more accurate. I would watch the tank for signs of trouble instead of looking at numbers lower than about 0.03 ppm phosphate.