Do I need a digital 'Hanna' No3 checker?

[RaymondL]

I am using the Salisfer Nitrate test kit - seeing the colors is very challenging I find, so I'm considering going to an electronic reader such as the Hanna NO3 tester. However, trying to convince myself whether I really need to go that route - I want to keep the Nitrates below below 5 and at least under 10ppm, and the Salisfert test kit can tell me that as the shade of pink color is between 2 and 5ppm, so it's acceptable. So not knowing the exact decimal value probably isn't important as what the Hanna checker offers.

So wondering then is there any point in getting such electronic checkers in the first place. Do we really need to know the exact precise decimal reading for any water tests really, or is a ballpark range 'good enough' such as those color test kits.

Thoughts?

 

[Rmckoy]

Depends how old the system is and what other nutrient levels are . Below 5 ppm n03 is not required .
I like to maintain mine between 5-10 just so I know there is available nutrients.
Phosphates to remain detectable 0.03-0.1

it’s been said before on here . There are some amazing tanks which have excessively high nitrates .

I don’t know if the Hanna checker for nitrates has changed but the one I bough is junk ! You need to know your nitrate levels before testing to choose which process you are doing , one requires new saltwater for a dilution step

the test is expensive and a complete PITA

 

[olonmv]

I have the hanna hr nitrate and love it. Hated color matching.

 

[Rmckoy]

I have the hanna hr nitrate and love it. Hated color matching.

Mine is the low range ..
hate it !!

 

[olonmv]

Mine is the low range ..
hate it !!

Yea. I went hr because it has a broader range. As long as you’re consistent with test procedure it’s great! Color matching was more a PIA for me.

 

[Rmckoy]

Yea. I went hr because it has a broader range. As long as you’re consistent with test procedure it’s great! Color matching was more a PIA for me.

Having lower nitrates And at the time it was the new Hanna tester for nitrates . I don’t believe hr was available yet .

 

[olonmv]

Having lower nitrates And at the time it was the new Hanna tester for nitrates . I don’t believe hr was available yet .

That sucks. I think if you had the HR you’d have a different opinion if it. I test all with hanna now. Just got the magnesium tester with the correct reagent and my arsenal is complete lol.

 

[Rmckoy]

That sucks. I think if you had the HR you’d have a different opinion if it. I test all with hanna now. Just got the magnesium tester with the correct reagent and my arsenal is complete lol.

I’ve read the calcium tester is another pain .
and why I haven’t bought it .
For Hanna , the only ones I use are alk and phosphorus ( ulr phosphates ) and I use Their salinity checker which I like .
Everything else is salifert

 

[olonmv]

I’ve read the calcium tester is another pain .
and why I haven’t bought it .
For Hanna , the only ones I use are alk and phosphorus ( ulr phosphates ) and I use Their salinity checker which I like .
Everything else is salifert

It was a pain at first but I watched a video that helped me with consistency and I get results that are consistent and in range with my alk readings.

 

[Rmckoy]

It was a pain at first but I watched a video that helped me with consistency and I get results that are consistent and in range with my alk readings.

Being the lazy reefer I am . For many years I have tested everything religiously . I could almost guess what the result would be .
as long as salinity is 1.026 and my Alk is 7.5 dkh I can tell you my cal is around 425

I rarely ever check cal or mag .
I never test ph .

 

[shwareefer]

For Hanna , the only ones I use are alk and phosphorus ( ulr phosphates ) and I use Their salinity checker which I like .
Everything else is salifert

Exactly this.

I am using the Salisfer Nitrate test kit - seeing the colors is very challenging

Looking through the side and divide by 10 is way easier than looking down through the top.

 

[olonmv]

Being the lazy reefer I am . For many years I have tested everything religiously . I could almost guess what the result would be .
as long as salinity is 1.026 and my Alk is 7.5 dkh I can tell you my cal is around 425

I rarely ever check cal or mag .
I never test ph .

Same here. Never test ph rarely tested mag and hated doin the Red Sea procedure….it was so tedious and if distracted I’d lose my place. I test NO3 P04 and alk weekly mag n calcium when I feel a need to. I’m a lazy reefer too. That’s why I built a denitrator for a nano. I hate water changes lol.

 

[Rmckoy]

Exactly this.

Looking through the side and divide by 10 is way easier than looking down through the top.

I always test . Identify the colour closest and then look through the side to confirm . As you said it’s darker ( divide by 10 and it should be the same as you got looking from the top

 

[HankstankXXL750 Verified Sponsor]

Mine is the low range ..
hate it !!

Yes I bought the low range and thought it was a pain. However my nitrates were sky high so I ordered the HR tester and love it. And it reads fine in the lower numbers. I think the LR tester is for ULN systems and not necessary for running 5-15 nitrates.

 

[HankstankXXL750 Verified Sponsor]

I also like the definitive answer. I have trouble deciding just exactly which color the test is when I run a Red Sea test. So there I am really only telling myself high and low. I found the digital to be much better for me as I was trying to reduce and balance my nutrients. Better ability for me to determine my homemade NOPOX dose and phopaphate-E dose watching actual numbers trend vs 8 color options on a note card.

That being said, I have a target range that when I reach and balance I will let it hang there. Not chasing numbers to be always at x, but more of between x&y.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

If you can’t tell the color, or have contrast issues with your vision the Hanna hr nitrate, not the ulr, will be a lifesaver (the ulr has several steps that are a pita and the hr goes below 1.00). The Salifert is more dependable as Hanna reagents can vary a little bottle to bottle, and can degrade over time after opening. As long as you use opened reagents within a month or two, only perform the 20 or 25 (I forgot the amount they tell you) tests and toss the extra reagent, remember that the results can be different from one bottle to the next, and maybe check with a Salifert using someone else’s eyes every few months, you’ll be in good shape. I started losing my vision a few years ago and Hanna checkers were a lifesaver. A lot of color blind people rely on them. I also bought an adjustable titrator that I had someone set to 10ml, which is great if you have trouble reading a syringe. Pulls exactly 10ml every time. Not exactly cheap, but mandatory with vision issues. When my vision got worse, I could use voiceover on my iPhone to read the Hanna display to me as I couldn’t read it anymore.

 

[HBtank]

I would recommend the Hanna phosphate, nitrate and alkalinity checkers, in that order of importance (alkalinity last because other traditional kits are pretty solid). They make life easier and give confidence in your results.

 

[rtparty]

Hanna Nitrate HR is 100% worth it. Stop messing around with the color changing nitrate kits. They all suck in comparison

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

If you can’t tell the color, or have contrast issues with your vision the Hanna hr nitrate, not the ulr, will be a lifesaver (the ulr has several steps that are a pita and the hr goes below 1.00). The Salifert is more dependable as Hanna reagents can vary a little bottle to bottle, and can degrade over time after opening. As long as you use opened reagents within a month or two, only perform the 20 or 25 (I forgot the amount they tell you) tests and toss the extra reagent, remember that the results can be different from one bottle to the next, and maybe check with a Salifert using someone else’s eyes every few months, you’ll be in good shape. I started losing my vision a few years ago and Hanna checkers were a lifesaver. A lot of color blind people rely on them. I also bought an adjustable titrator that I had someone set to 10ml, which is great if you have trouble reading a syringe. Pulls exactly 10ml every time. Not exactly cheap, but mandatory with vision issues. When my vision got worse, I could use voiceover on my iPhone to read the Hanna display to me as I couldn’t read it anymore.

Forget most of this……I didn’t drink my coffee and have Monday brain. I intertwined the alkalinity reagent issues with the nitrate, which is powder and rock solid. Moral of the story, drink coffee then post and the hr nitrate test is rock solid.

 

[Andreas' Reef]

I'm sort of on the brink of ditching the color matchers and getting a hanna test kit but they are soooooooooooo expensive