Do you trust your Hanna Alk Checker?

blaxsun · May 4, 2022

Gtinnel said:
I periodically use a red sea test to verify my results and my Hanna checker has always matched the red sea test.

Trust but verify!

Gtinnel · May 4, 2022

blaxsun said:
Trust but verify!

Absolutely I always verify test kits with one from a different brand.

Waynerock · May 6, 2022

I don’t know exactly what my alk is besides what Hanna tells me BUT I can say that the curve of my testing results are pretty much a flat line. Still test about 2-3 times a week every week since I got it two years ago. Just changed the battery from the one that came with it last month. I would absolutely love an alk tester but they are still stupid expensive. My Hanna and about 60 seconds Is all I need

92Miata · May 9, 2022

I use my Hanna for quick daily checks - but I don't trust it as far as I can throw it. I think the device is fine - but Hanna's reagent consistency is awful. When I get past about 15 tests on a bottle, I expect it to start creeping.

I check at least once a week with a Red Sea Pro test. I trust that one - its a simple titration. I validate the Hanna against it. I've seen changes of more than 1.5dkh bottle-to-bottle - freshly opened. Literally, expecting 8.3 or so, open a bottle - get 9.5 twice. Say hrm, open the next bottle - 7.8. Swap back to the last one, 9.3. Red Sea just rocking along at the 8.3 I expect.

Also - I go through a reagent bottle about every 2 weeks (3 tanks, one tested daily), and log every test - so its not age that does this.

mindme · May 9, 2022

Nhjmc said:
I learned a very hard lesson not to 100% trust hanna alk checker. Apparently had a bottle of "bad" reagent and dosing tank thinking alk was low when SKY HIGH and believe that is why I lost ALOT of coral and fast. Just this past weekend I first "calibrated" my checker using "Marine Alkalinity Checker HC Calibration Check Set" then tested using reagent purchased in August and tested using reagent purchased in Dec. readings were VERY different, 6.5 using older bottle, 9.6 using newer bottle. I contacted Hanna and was told the reagent is good for one year as long as stored properly (cool dry place) which it is. I ordered another reagent should be here any day very curious reading I'll get.

This is also what happened to me. My alk kept coming back lower and lower. It would say it was below 8. I kept dosing more and more. It got to the point where as soon as it hit the water, it would precipitate. But I kept trusting the checker.

My corals were visually unhappy. I had done an ICP test about a month or so previously and it had medium levels of aluminum in the water. I looked online and everyone said the levels weren't harmful even if elevated, but literally all other parameters came back normal.

So I started doing water changes to get the aluminum out. As luck would have it, my reagent ran out and I had to open a new bottle. Readings over 13 DKH. Well, that explained why the coral are unhappy. Turns out, the aluminum was probably not the bad guy as people said after all.

I let things drop back down to 8-8.5 where I like them. I don't care too much if the checker isn't 100% accurate, but I do want it to be consistent. Now I'm constantly wonder if the tests I'm doing are accurate or not and worry about it constantly. I'm still using it, but I will certainly never take it as truth again.

ScubaFish802 · May 9, 2022

I've been thinking of purchasing one, and while researching reviews I actually stumbled onto one of Waterbox's latest Youtube videos. The host mentioned she stopped using the electronic testes due to inconsistencies in testing, and had gone back to manually testing.

Edit: sorry not quite the right timestamp, but somewhere in that video was mentioned.

DE FISH · May 10, 2022

So far 82.9% out of 41 people trust their Hanna alk checker

BanjoBandito · May 10, 2022

I don't trust any testing. I just use it for data and experience and trends. If the Hanna checker reads somewhere in between 8-9 ALK my tank is happy. Is it really between 8 - 9 ALK? No idea. I'm not a scientist, I just play one on TV, but I did stay at a holiday inn express last night.

Dburr1014 · May 10, 2022

Trusting goes hand in hand with knowing your tank also. Knowing the trends, coral reactions, water quality.
I trust my Hanna and my eyes and rely on my thought processes.

Jimbo · May 10, 2022

My Hanna reads consistently .4 dkh higher than my salifert alk kit. IME as the reagent gets old it starts reading lower. I usually throw away the last 1/4 or so of the reagent.

Randy Holmes-Farley · May 10, 2022

It's curious that there seems to be such a systematic difference between salifert and Hanna alk measurements.

I do not know which is correct (if either), but it's not that hard to test with a DIY high accuracy titration using a pH meter and a reasonably large volume of titrant (a scientific company acid standard) and tank fluid, which is, I presume, how both methods were validated in the first place (I hope).

A DIY Alkalinity Test: By Randy Holmes-Farley - REEFEDITION

Alkalinity is one of the most important measurements that a reef aquarist can make. It can become rapidly depleted in many aquaria, requiring frequent measurement in order to maintain stable levels.

www.reefedition.com

Screwgunner · May 10, 2022

My alk fluctuates down so I try to keep it up I started with a 1/8 teaspoon of reef builder and my alk went up a hole point 7.8 to 8.7 now I am at 1/16 teaspoon and it has came down a bit. So I am somewhere in between there for now.

Randy Holmes-Farley · May 10, 2022

DE FISH said:
So far 82.9% out of 41 people trust their Hanna alk checker

Is that good or bad?

Dburr1014 · May 10, 2022

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Is that good or bad?

Yes

DE FISH · May 10, 2022

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Is that good or bad?

Well it seems the majority trust their Hanna alk checkers as for actual accuracy your guess is a good as mine lol

bdouglas119 · May 10, 2022

I trust mine as long as the reagents are fresh. I use a trident for daily testing so I only use the Hanna every month or so. I found after the reagent has been open the value drops drastically. For example prior to sending off an ICP I did a full batch of manual testing. Trident 8.4 Hanna 4.7 verified with a Red Sea and icp test that the trident was in the right range. Opened a fresh reagent bottle, and the test was much more accurate

Dburr1014 · May 10, 2022

bdouglas119 said:
I trust mine as long as the reagents are fresh. I use a trident for daily testing so I only use the Hanna every month or so. I found after the reagent has been open the value drops drastically. For example prior to sending off an ICP I did a full batch of manual testing. Trident 8.4 Hanna 4.7 verified with a Red Sea and icp test that the trident was in the right range. Opened a fresh reagent bottle, and the test was much more accurate

Do you store it in the fridge?

bdouglas119 · May 10, 2022

Dburr1014 said:
Do you store it in the fridge?

Funny enough I recently saw a thread about that in the BRS Facebook group. I am going to start doing that with the next bottle I get. It seems like the reagent losing potency is a common issue and fairly well resolved by refrigerating

Dburr1014 · May 10, 2022

bdouglas119 said:
Funny enough I recently saw a thread about that in the BRS Facebook group. I am going to start doing that with the next bottle I get. It seems like the reagent losing potency is a common issue and fairly well resolved by refrigerating

Yes, Lasse had a thread here a while ago about putting in the fridge.
He said after months it was still good.