Hanna a reagents are horrible

[Mike N]

I'm in the camp of 'never had an issue'
Sometimes I retest and the results are super-consistent for me in most cases.

 

[Scdell]

Not necessarily. It would depend on how different the two test and if the little difference in water makes an impact. I don’t know. Also how many times did you use the new reagent when you first noticed the discrepancy.

It's been every time the reagent is almost done. I keep getting higher readings and when I switch to a new reagent I get the correct reading. Almost without fail for months now.

 

[flabryth]

It's a pretty simple procedure. Please explain user error. From one reagent to another there's a 1.4 difference? Might be you need to start checking your results with a more reliable test kit.

there are ways this could be messed up ie. not wiping the container after shaking it. using a contaminated water sampler. if there is a way to screw something up someone will find someway to do it.

accurate testing is a skill like much everything else in the hobby. it does take much to throw a reading off at all.

 

[Scdell]

there are ways this could be messed up ie. not wiping the container after shaking it. using a contaminated water sampler. if there is a way to screw something up someone will find someway to do it.

accurate testing is a skill like much everything else in the hobby. it does take much to throw a reading off at all.

Nothing changed but the reagent.

 

[flabryth]

Nothing changed but the reagent.

Hard to say why things are different hell...could be time for a new checker. I have calibrated 120k inch pound hydraulic wrenches, the gauges and the test equipment. Not going to say it's the reagent but you could be right. What you are saying is worth noting. I am going to be ordering some new reagent soon. So I will be on the lookout for abnormal readings.

 

[shred5]

Why not contact Hanna?

 

[Miller535]

It's been every time the reagent is almost done. I keep getting higher readings and when I switch to a new reagent I get the correct reading. Almost without fail for months now.

That was one of the things discussed in my thread. Apparently hanna states that there are only 25 tests even though there is more fluid then 25 test. You are supposed to throw the reagent away after 25. But this is NOT something they have been clear or vocal enough about. If you use the extra tests, it gives your exact problem.

 

[Scdell]

That was one of the things discussed in my thread. Apparently hanna states that there are only 25 tests even though there is more fluid then 25 test. You are supposed to throw the reagent away after 25. But this is NOT something they have been clear or vocal enough about. If you use the extra tests, it gives your exact problem.

Yes, I read that. So....I guess somehow we have to count how many tests we use as we go along?
That makes for a further pain and doesn't quite make sense to me. Why would they do that?

 

[Miller535]

Yes, I read that. So....I guess somehow we have to count how many tests we use as we go along?
That makes for a further pain and doesn't quite make sense to me. Why would they do that?

I don't know. I don't understand that myself.

 

[Cell]

10% overfill is not uncommon with scientific reagents. If the kit says 25 tests, then you have to make sure the user doesn't end up short on test #25. In this case, there seems to be some sort of potential precipitation issue over time.

 

[Scdell]

10% overfill is not uncommon with scientific reagents. If the kit says 25 tests, then you have to make sure the user doesn't end up short on test #25. In this case, there seems to be some sort of potential precipitation issue over time.

Which could account for higher readings towards the end.

 

[Cell]

Normally precipitation would lead to less of a signal, not magnified, but I'm not exactly certain what's going on with this reagent.

 

[Reefcowboy]

Didnt read the past posts, but here's my experience. I've been testing everyday as well because my alk consumption has changed recently due to higher CO2 levels in my house(windows closed, ac on all day).
As my reagent got older I noticed small speckles floating inside the vial after I mix it with the water. I tested and retested and collected clean tank water to make sure it was the reagent. With the old reagent I was getting fluctuating results.
I opened a new reagent bottle and got consistent reads, will keep observing as it ages in case the same thing happens again. Maybe some of us got a bad batch of reagents? The one with issues was good till 12/21

 

[shred5]

Most test kit reagents change over time. Some react with air and some with light etc.
Most hobby test kits are not super accurate..

The worst I have had is with Salifert.

I always test the new kit to the old kit.. If they are way off I know something is up and have had bad test kits.
If they are a little different I just figure it is because the test kit reagents had aged.

 

[reefiniteasy]

Ok, so I keep my tank at 7.9dKH. My AF mixes at 7.9 as well. I mixed up 5 gallons for today’s water change and tested the bucket. I used the last bit in the reagent bottle and it tested 6.6dKH. New bottle and bam 7.9dKH. I can see that maybe something is up by the time we reach the bottom of the bottle. If the result of this is it costs me one extra bottle a year, I’m ok with that. I love my Alk checker.

 

[Scdell]

Ok, so I keep my tank at 7.9dKH. My AF mixes at 7.9 as well. I mixed up 5 gallons for today’s water change and tested the bucket. I used the last bit in the reagent bottle and it tested 6.6dKH. New bottle and bam 7.9dKH. I can see that maybe something is up by the time we reach the bottom of the bottle. If the result of this is it costs me one extra bottle a year, I’m ok with that. I love my Alk checker.

There you go. I like the checker also. I just think people need to be aware of using the reagent as it gets old. In the beginning of this thread everyone was pointing fingers at "user error". Other people are noticing the same thing. I've been using Hanna checkers for years. It's just the last few months I've been noticing this.

 

[reefiniteasy]

I’ll see what happens when I finish the next bottle. I test a lot too, so maybe that’s why I haven’t seen it. I do 8-9 tests a week. So I go through bottles fairly quick.

 

[CindyKz]

I just opened a new bottle 5 days ago. . The prior bottle my tank was consistently around 9, with the new bottle it took a sudden drop to 8.0. A couple of days later I tested at 8.0 again. No other changes.

I'm just going to use 8.0 as my new target, since everything seems happy. We'll see what happens with the next new bottle.

 

[reefiniteasy]

I just opened a new bottle 5 days ago. . The prior bottle my tank was consistently around 9, with the new bottle it took a sudden drop to 8.0. A couple of days later I tested at 8.0 again. No other changes.

I'm just going to use 8.0 as my new target, since everything seems happy. We'll see what happens with the next new bottle.

Do you have another test kit to verify?

 

[Scdell]

Do you have another test kit to verify?

Why own a Hanna tester if you need to verify it? That's the point of owning one