Hanna Test Kit issues

[Beenalongtime79]

Hey Fellow reefers,

I have a few issues with these new hanna spectrophotometer test kits that I received.

http://premiumaquatics.com/store/me...re_Code=PA&Product_Code=HI-758&Category_Code=

http://premiumaquatics.com/store/me...re_Code=PA&Product_Code=HI-755&Category_Code=

Both test kits don't correlate very well with my salifert kits.

Tank water test:

Calcium: Salifert-480ppm
Hanna-668ppm (based on dilution of tank water by 1 volume)
original reading of 334, so I just multiplied by 2

Alkalinity: Salifert-8 dkh
Hanna-7.3dkh

Fresh saltwater mix (SG-1.021)

Calcium: Salifert-320ppm
Hanna-413ppm

So the alkalinity isn't that far off... it is testing approximately 0.7 below the salifert kit with multiple sample runs so fairly precise, although maybe not accurate. As long as I make the appropriate correction, I think I can use it.

However, the calcium is all over the place! I will probably keep the alkalinity kit, but am thinking of returning the calcium. I just can't trust it. What do you guys think? Any suggestions? Should I have premiumaquatics send me another one or should I just go with my trusty salifert kit.

Cheers,
John

 

[Mules1]

The Alk tester for me works great. The calcium however took lots to figure out. To achieve repeatable and consistent results it is very important on volume as the test sample is only 0.1 ml. To do this I add exactly 1 ml of the first reagent with the provided syringe, then - don't trust the mark on the cuvette, use a pipette to disperse EXACTLY 9 ml of RO/DI (now you will have 10 ml - check a couple cuvettes - the line isn't always right). Then into checker, then packet and EXACTLY 0.1 ml sample then back into checker. This will give consistent results within the meter's parameters.

 

[Spirofucci]

Hanna's meters are all great except for the CA, it is very, very poorly designed, even their engineers agree.

 

[Beenalongtime79]

I think I am going to have to return it then, the values are just too off for me. Too unpredicatable and if I can't trust a test, it is as good as junk to me.

Cheers,
John

 

[newguy88]

i have the alk,cal, and p04, and the only one i trust is the p04, the other two suck. best is to get salifert, and elios test kits.

 

[Beenalongtime79]

The alk is ok, it is very precise, but supposedly not accurate so all I need to do is know the variance from the actual value, make the correction and I can use the value, but the calcium is really not reliable.

The calcium salifert test kit is actually easier to use.

 

[PrangeWay]

I'd be a bit careful trusting the salifert alk kit, who in my experience gives me different numbers per batch, than the hanna. I had a bunch of problems with a few of their kits and only use them rarely when I have a 2nd kit to cross-check with.

Both my hanna and api give the exact same result on correctly run test for alk. It's a handy little tool.

 

[blanden.adam]

The salifert kits are very accurate, and work very well once you get the technique down. The Hanna Phosphate Checker is pretty much the go-to test for phosphate, the Hanna Alk is very consistent, but people usually report it is off (coincidentally, low by about 0.7 ) so to use it you have to correct for that amount (also, coincidentally, people usually use the salifert kit to find the correction value). The Calcium kit is just bad

Because of this, I only use the Hanna Phosphate Kit, and Salifert kits for everything else.

 

[Peter Eichler]

I'd be a bit careful trusting the salifert alk kit, who in my experience gives me different numbers per batch, than the hanna. I had a bunch of problems with a few of their kits and only use them rarely when I have a 2nd kit to cross-check with.

Both my hanna and api give the exact same result on correctly run test for alk. It's a handy little tool.

Agree with this. I actually prefer he API for day to day testing.

 

[Beenalongtime79]

I've always been a big fan of salifert test kits as they have been reliable for me and are generally well regarded since they rely on a titration method vs. colorimetric readings.

I just really wanted the calcium one to work as that takes the most time to set up using the salifert kit, although to be honest the hanna kit isn't really that much faster. Plus, the hanna kit is all over the place for me.

I've decided on keeping the phosphate and alk kit as they both seem to be fairly precise as compared to my salifert kits. Accuracy on the alk kit seems off, but I'll just adjust upwards 0.7 from the value I get from the hanna kit.

Maybe one day they will nail the calcium kit down so that normal hobbyists can use it reliably.

Now, if they only made a reliable nitrate test kit!

Cheers,
John

 

[tmz]

I like and use the hanah alk checker and the phosphate colorimeter. The calium checker and nitrate checker get less than sterling reviews per a mumber of user posts; I haven't used them. I like the Salifert tests for alk, calcium, magnesium, nitrate and ammonia. The alk reads slightly lower with the checker than the salifert test , ime; but I don't really know which is right.

 

[Beenalongtime79]

I like and use the hanah alk checker and the phosphate colorimeter. The calium checker and nitrate checker get less than sterling reviews per a mumber of user posts; I haven't used them. I like the Salifert tests for alk, calcium, magnesium, nitrate and ammonia. The alk reads slightly lower with the checker than the salifert test , ime; but I don't really know which is right.

Haha, yes, which one to trust? .

By the way Tom, very beautiful multi tank system! Sounds like it keeps you busy. A few questions, are you still using the remote DSB and are you still utilizing primarily MH lighting!

Cheers,
John

 

[tmz]

Thankyou,

Yes, primarily halide lighting.

There is a remote dsb,7 inches deep in a bin roughly 36ong by 24 wide. It is now covered with about 5 inches of live rock chunks. it is unlit and severs primarily as an ambient light fuge for pods and such and surface area for bacterial growth. I don't think it contributes very much to nitrate reduction. I originally put it in 6 or 7 years ago to enahnce denitrificatin. It had no measureable effect but I decided to leave it there anyway.

 

[Dave & Monica]

i have the alk,cal, and p04, and the only one i trust is the p04, the other two suck. Best is to get salifert, and elios test kits.

+1

 

[Peter Eichler]

The alk is ok, it is very precise, but supposedly not accurate so all I need to do is know the variance from the actual value, make the correction and I can use the value, but the calcium is really not reliable.

The calcium salifert test kit is actually easier to use.

I would suspect the Salifert to be the inaccurate one. Salifert's results have always been higher than most other test kits and have been tested against high grade lab equipment and been 11% high when that happened. In addition, Salifert has shipped out batches of faulty kits in the past that test even higher than usual (some nearly 3 dKH higher than actual). So, if you're going to doubt a kit, the API kit or the Hanna meter probably aren't the ones to doubt first.

Lastly, the Elos and API use nearly identical reagents of the same strength. So, if you want to pay a lot more for a pretty box and nicer vial, go for it. Otherwise, API has been consistent for years, comes with a lot more reagent, is really easy to use, and costs a fraction of the money. I do suggest getting a wider mouth vial and using a 5 ml syringe though.

 

[Beenalongtime79]

I just can't believe my tank water has 668 ppm of calcium. I think I would have a fair amount of precipitate formation. I guess I will believe whichever value I am more pleased with... Haha.

Cheers,
John

 

[Peter Eichler]

I just can't believe my tank water has 668 ppm of calcium. I think I would have a fair amount of precipitate formation. I guess I will believe whichever value I am more pleased with... Haha.

Cheers,
John

Sorry, my post was in relation to alkalinity only, but I didn't make that very cleap. I highly doubt your calcium is that high as well and would trust either API or Salifert results for calcium.

 

[bertoni]

668 ppm isn't all that high, and it's quite possibly correct, although there's no way to tell which kit is correct.

 

[keithhays]

I commonly see people comparing one kit to another to see which one is more accurate. Since more scientific studies show huge variations in every home kit, mostly because very subtle changes the user is putting into the mix, this type of test doesn't really make a lot of sense. Consistency matters more for the home testing, if you have something that for you and your testing stays consistent, I would go with that. It doesn't however mean that the kit is any more less accurate than another.

 

[Beenalongtime79]

Ahhh, which one to trust... I know that with the calcium hanna kit, even using medical grade syringes for addition of all reagents/samples, the kit would give me results that were 50-60 ppm off from each other for back to back tests so it requires a precision that I guess I just don't possess.

And I am no slouch in the lab!

Cheers,
John