Hanna a reagents are horrible

[reefiniteasy]

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

There is no such thing as 100% accuracy with any test kit and the name of the game in this hobby is redundancy. If you have nothing to verify your Hanna checker how do you know it’s accurate? The reason for owning a Hanna checker is the digital readout and not having to look for a color change. Other than that, it’s the same as any other test kit. Do you have multiple ways of checking salinity? Redundancy minimizes error. In this case, it minimizes the chance of me overdosing or underdosing.

 

[reefiniteasy]

When I got that 6.6dKH I know my tank is off and something must be up. The new bottle confirmed that my tank is fine, but I have that Salifert kit right there to confirm. I have too much invested, between time and money, to trust a $50 piece of plastic as the be all end all.

 

[Scdell]

There is no such thing as 100% accuracy with any test kit and the name of the game in this hobby is redundancy. If you have nothing to verify your Hanna checker how do you know it’s accurate? The reason for owning a Hanna checker is the digital readout and not having to look for a color change. Other than that, it’s the same as any other test kit. Do you have multiple ways of checking salinity? Redundancy minimizes error. In this case, it minimizes the chance of me overdosing or underdosing.

Yes, I do have Red Sea tests kits that I have used to verify that the Hanna tester was off. IMO Hanna has been touted as the most reliable tester out there. And there are too many variables in test kits. Proper amount of water sample, proper amount of reagent you put in the sample, etc, etc.
This is why I put my money into the ION Director. Now I just have to wait for it to get here.

 

[DancingWind]

what changed is reagent + syringe + pipete. My guss is i you are using new syringe and new pipette not only new reagent.
I'm also i nthe camp of - very consistent results. And I'm not that thorough with cleaning (though my tap water is quite good). What I do is thoroughly rinse pipette and all the vials after use (alk and po4 vials get mixed up).

 

[homer1475]

Whether they supply 30ML of reagent and only claim 25 tests is a moot point(look at the trident fiasco with reagents, or any test kit that claims a certain amount of tests, but give you more then the stated tests. It's called making sure there is 25ml of reagents for the 25 tests. Every try to get every last drop out of a bottle? Nearly impossible).

Anyways.....

Since I started marking my bottles for each test, and only using 25 tests, my bottle to bottle test are certainly way more consistent.

 

[DancingWind]

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

At first they bothered me also .. but I cross checked with a new reagent and IIRC it was identical... so my only worry now - don't let the particles float in the vial and obscure the laser though if they do you will probably get a nicely identifiable nonsence reading

 

[X-37B]

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.

Mine is over 3 years old now.
Around 2 years I was getting odd numbers.
Went back and checked my logs.
Changed the battery and no issues.
I now change it every 6 months just to be sure and use the standard to check accuracy for what its worth.

 

[CindyKz]

Do you have another test kit to verify?

No. I never understood the point of checking one brand or test kit type against another. Different methods and tests are going to give slightly different results, they aren't going to match up anyway. I have the alkalinity standard, which I use from time to time. I haven't used it since i opened the new reagent, not a bad idea. I'm not all that worried in any case. Everything looks good.

 

[Scdell]

So...... Did my ALK test this AM. I'm halfway through a new bottle. I put the reagent in the vial and there's a ton of floaty stringy things in the vial from the reagent. Of course the numbers were way off. Anyone that says this reagent is quality is half baked. Something has gone downhill with Hanna ALK reagents in the last 6 months or so. Enough that I no longer trust Hanna ALK tester anymore.

 

[kenchilada]

Stop guessing. You need a “standard“ to check your kit/method. If you have a bottle of a reference solution known to be exactly 14dKH, then you can use this to 1) determine the variance of each bottle of reagent, and 2) verify your test procedure is repeatable and free of user error between tests.

Dig around, there are recipes to make a standard (RHF has discussed this) and also several for sale.

 

[Scdell]

Stop guessing. You need a “standard“ to check your kit/method. If you have a bottle of a reference solution known to be exactly 14dKH, then you can use this to 1) determine the variance of each bottle of reagent, and 2) verify your test procedure is repeatable and free of user error between tests.

Dig around, there are recipes to make a standard (RHF has discussed this) and also several for sale.

Whatever, the tester isn't the problem here. Nor is the procedure. The reagent IS the issue and it shouldn't be!

 

[X-37B]

I buy/use 2 bottles of this once a month.
Never had an issue.
Sometimes I see the floaters near the end of the bottle.
As long as you let them settle still no issues.
Not to say their may have been some bad batches but its still my go to with salifert and elos as cross references.

 

[Dondante]

I have a bottle reading about 5dkh lower than my old bottle and against my friends salifert test

 

[BReefer13]

So...... Did my ALK test this AM. I'm halfway through a new bottle. I put the reagent in the vial and there's a ton of floaty stringy things in the vial from the reagent. Of course the numbers were way off. Anyone that says this reagent is quality is half baked. Something has gone downhill with Hanna ALK reagents in the last 6 months or so. Enough that I no longer trust Hanna ALK tester anymore.

Maybe the source where you getting the reagents isn't good? I use the Hanna Alk (and PO4 and No3 too), and only had problems with the reagent once I tried to use an expired one.
Now, I think you are going too far on saying this is a Hanna issue, when every other person in the hobby will vouch for it, so is everyone BUT you half-baked? Come on...

I would call it user error, like everyone else did.

 

[Scdell]

Maybe the source where you getting the reagents isn't good? I use the Hanna Alk (and PO4 and No3 too), and only had problems with the reagent once I tried to use an expired one.
Now, I think you are going too far on saying this is a Hanna issue, when every other person in the hobby will vouch for it, so is everyone BUT you half-baked? Come on...

I would call it user error, like everyone else did.

Yep, user error is correct. That's what there's threads about the stringy stuff in the reagents on here.
If you bothered to read through the thread you'd see I'm not the only one having issues with the reagents. You'll can drink out of the same Hanna Kool Aid bottle if you want. When my ION director gets here these checkers will be sold asap.

 

[robbyg]

I have been using most of the Hanna tester Lineup since each one was released.
I have seen the Problem the OP is having on two occasions. The first time was because I did not shake the Reagent the first time I used it. If you do that you seriously compromise the solution as there is a chemical that settles at the bottom and you will syringe out most of that on the first test.
Leaving the remaining fluid totally out of balance.

The second time it happened was when I opened a new bottle and did not pull off the whole of the seal, but instead I punched a hole in the middle of the foil that allowed me to get the syringe in. At the time I thought this was a good plan as the seal was still intact along the rim and should seal back against the caps seal. I found out the hard way that it does not and the result is a measurement that drops week by week. Over a 3 month period the Dkh went from 9.0 down to 3.2! I had stopped using that bottle when it was reading 7.5 and bought a new bottle and went back to ripping the foil off completely and exposing the smooth plastic rim. BTW I did that 3.2Dkh test just before throwing it out and I noticed that if I screwed on the cap tightly and inverted the bottle and squeezed it that a small amount of liquid would come out of it. So I chalk this one up to evaporation due to me not removing the internal seal properly.


Overall I have had zero non user related problems with the Hanna Test kits. I know people curse the Calcium kit but I have had no issues with it and I get very precise reading with it. You just have to follow the enhanced video instructions in detail.

 

[Scdell]

So.. people say shake the bottle before using. Some people say let it settle. In my opinion there shouldn't be any discrepancy here. I don't have any problem with the calcium or phosphate checker. Only the Alk. 4 pages here, how come Hanna hasn't chimed in?

 

[Kfactor]

The most I have had switching to new bottle is .4 I always save a little from the old one and just adjust to the new

 

[robbyg]

So.. people say shake the bottle before using. Some people say let it settle. In my opinion there shouldn't be any discrepancy here. I don't have any problem with the calcium or phosphate checker. Only the Alk. 4 pages here, how come Hanna hasn't chimed in?

Hanna is a huge company and these testers are their low budget hobby models. They chime in when they think there is a legitimate problem but I don't think they are going to jump in every time a single individual has a problem. I suggest you open up a ticket with them. At the very least they will typically send you a new bottle of reagent.

 

[Scdell]

Hanna is a huge company and these testers are their low budget hobby models.

And there we have it. Issues resolved.