Who uses Hanna Calcuim Checker

[reeffreak]

Who uses one and has had issues with them ? I was going to pick up the phosphate , alklinity and calcuim checkers but I would like some input on them first , anyone ? Thanks

 

[Petercar (RIP Dec 2017)]

I have all 4 ..the only problem with calcium  is yu have to be fast with the last test ..cuz if yu don't hurry the tester will shut down

 

[reeffreak]

how often do you use them peter ?

 

[pulpfiction1]

i use the 3 your gonna get,have no issues once i got used to them

 

[Neopimp]

I had issues with the calcium tests I got withe the checker.  The refill seems to be a lot more repeatable.  Or I got better at it. For the most part it's good.  I expect a variance if plus or minus 25 because of my sloppy lab techniques and a lot of other variable.  Sometimes I get a real off the wall reading and just re run the test.

 

[Salty Cracker]

I have all 3 as well.  We ran the phosphate over at Teebone's this week, got a reading of .00 which is all I've been getting at home lately, so I ran a batch with a single drop of dishwashing detergent, and it read the phosphates in it right away.  The alk tester is almost always the same results on multiple tests, it's the easiest of the bunch.  My complaint to hanna was that the kits weren't sealed, one of the ones I got from a LFS was missing some of the reagent and the battery. 

Now the calcium...they only give you something like 3 or 6 tests in the kit.  So buy a refill.  If you don't use ABSOLUTELY 0 TDS water to test, and I mean ZERO, you will get a skewed result.  I actually did the test yesterday, I have 2 salifert calcium testers and the hanna, so I ran 2 tests of all 3.  Results were as follows:
Salifert #1:  320/300/330
Saliftert#2:  400/350/340
Hanna:  325/320/300

So it's all over the chart.  The salifert ones are tough to read, as you're  counting 'drops' and lots of swirling, but if I had just been using the salifert one, I wouldn't have realized that the tank has started using a crapload of calcium lately, and that even the water changes and dosing aren't keeping up.  Anyway, the calcium test is the most difficult, but seems to be accurate if you don't contaminate in any way at all, and again, the test water has to be perfectly clean DI water (it doesn't really tell you that until you have it).  So it's only good for people with a fully functioning RO/DI system. 

 

[Royal Aquariums]

The Hanna checkers are nice, but a lot pricier than a conventional test kit. I feel I get the same accurate results with my red sea test kits.

 

[teebone110]

i'm starting to think that any test isn't 100 percent accurate to reflect actual values.

What matters is to utilize the same test kit correctly and use it consistently the same time of day.
This way, if there are any significant changes in values, it will be noticed and corrected.

 

[pulpfiction1]

Re: Re: Who uses Hanna Calcuim Checker

i'm starting to think that any test isn't 100 percent accurate to reflect actual values.

What matters is to utilize the same test kit correctly and use it consistently the same time of day.
This way, if there are any significant changes in values, it will be noticed and corrected.

agreed totally ,stick with the 1 kit and be consistent with what you're doing 

Sent from my HTC Incredible S

 

[Salty Cracker]

This would work if you had a correct baseline test.  If you're consistently running your tank at 300 calcium because the one test says your at 420...
It's too bad calcium is so hard to test for (supposedly)

 

[Petercar (RIP Dec 2017)]

With the Hanna tester yur to get some rodi water for the first test.  ..but how do yu know that water is the same as the water in yur tank if yu have not did a waterchange in weeks ?

 

[Neopimp]

The first thing with rodi is to set a baseline reference for no calcium. Then add your tank water and stuff to change color. The meter measures the change in absorbance of light I think .  Kim tech wipes are great for finger prints