Hanna alk checker worth it

[bigroost]

Maybe it's the teacher in me, I can't say much to accuracy, but the precision is pretty spot on. It gives repeatable results very quickly. I much prefer it to titration, but I worry less about the absolute value and more of the trend whether its rising or falling.

 

[Lninwa]

I’ve used my Hannah alk Checker for years. You can get the dkh one which was not available when I got mine but the aquarimate app has the conversion from ppt to dkh so I don’t mind

 

[Lninwa]

I’ve used my Hannah alk Checker for years. You can get the dkh one which was not available when I got mine but the aquarimate app has the conversion from ppt to dkh so I don’t mind

Forgot to say I LOVE my Hannah

 

[Mrx7899]

Absolutely yes takes about a minute to do a test

 

[Toosalty]

yes, very easy to use.

 

[WWIII]

I used to love the hanna checker and I guess it kept my tank going for a couple years just fine. Now that I have the kh director from GHL I've found the hanna to be a little less accurate than I believed before. I actually prefer the Lamotte alkalinity titration kit. I use it to backup my kh director readings now. It feels to me like it's one of the more accurate kits available. It's also simple to use and very consistent (mostly due to the test having little tablets instead of droppers to prepare for titration).

 

[IanMauger]

I’ve used Red Sea, Salifert, and API. I purchased my dKh Hanna 3 months ago and my expierence with it is the results are essentially the same to the others when I did a side by side test. It fell within each tests MOE. I just make sure the vials are clean from any residue, dried salt, etc. Always rinsed with RODI afterwards. Having 3 younger boys who are involved in so many different activities and life in general, the speed of the test really allows me to test more.

Some weeks I would go without testing my alkanity due to time and simply letting it go. Now within 5 mins I can test my Alk weekly and like I said, it’s been very consistent in what my readings are expected to be. Now, I haven’t tried the Calcium Hanna, I have heard it isn’t that good, so for that and Magnesium I still stick to my Salifert test kits. I would like to get the PO4 Hanna just for piece of mind as I rarely test nutrients, essentially using my eye as my nutrient test kit. Which once you really get to know your reef is probably better then any test.

 

[jduong916]

I havent used API, but I feel like the Red Sea test is the fastest. 10 ml of water and just one titrant, no other chemical. I can test and clean up everything in less than two minutes. The hannah checker takes a bit longer after wait time and clean up.

 

[THX1138CY]

Yes, Get the Hanna checker, and say no more, to Titration!

No more Titrations!

No more!

 

[Dragon52]

Love mine, colors to difficult for me match, lol. Can't wait for them to get the Nitrate & others made also.

 

[Ferrell]

Absolutely. I use mine weekly and supplement with the Red Sea test if I test in between. But for dialing in stuff accurately @Hanna Instruments cant be beat

 

[zieg9479]

Maybe it's the teacher in me, I can't say much to accuracy, but the precision is pretty spot on. It gives repeatable results very quickly. I much prefer it to titration, but I worry less about the absolute value and more of the trend whether its rising or falling.

I also find it to be extremely precise. Any time I have gotten an eyebrow raising number, I test a second time and always get the same measurement +/- 0.1 dkh. I then validate against a second test.
Have yet to find any fault but my experience can't rule out that bad batches of reagent may occur as noted by others.

 

[pagoda1958]

in my opinion, that's all hanna checkers are, gadgets. nothing more

 

[Greenstreet.1]

I have been thinking of getting the alk checker for a long time but I know I will end up testing the alk checker with salifert. So does it make sense to get it I may still do it.

 

[zieg9479]

Meant to say I validate against a different brand test kit. Always found agreement

 

[Zazzy]

Hands down.... In my pants YESSS. Takes less that 2 minutes from start to finish

 

[Sleepydoc]

How do you know it is accurate for you?

That's my question. Human nature is to believe that a digital readout to 3 digits is more accurate, but that's not necessarily the case, and without a reference standard, it's hard to say for sure.

For those who say it's faster, what test are you comparing it to? I previously used the Red Sea kit, and that took 2-3 minutes max. Fill up the vial, fill up the syringe, assemble the holder and squeeze until the color changes. Currently, I use the salifert kit with the Red Sea titrator. You have to add 4 drops to the vial first, but otherwise it's just as fast.

Of all the tests, I think the Alk test is the fastest and easiest. I have a hard time believing the Hanna checker could make it that much easier or faster. Copper or phos - well, that's a different story!

 

[Dragon52]

All I can say is I've used the Red Sea & the Hanna among others. I wear glasses & I would much rather go with numbers vs asking my eyes to decide if the color I'm looking at is it close to the good color or is it just a little off & should i add a little more regent & then oops now I overdosed & have to start over. Give me a set amount to add & I'm good to go.

 

[Sleepydoc]

I find the color change to be pretty clear on most kits, but more than that, reading the small gradations on the 1 ml syringe can be a challenge, especially if your eyes aren’t the best (or if you’ve reached the bifocal stage of your life )

One tip for those of us with older eyes - iPhones have a magnifier feature. Go to the settings app and look under accessibility. It lets you open the magnifier app without unlocking the phone by triple clicking the home button.
I don’t know if Android has a similar function, but you could also use the camera app and zoom in.

 

[Lance A. Lot]

For what it is worth I have both options but for regular testing I just use Elos. It may not have the high accuracy of other tests but isn't the ultimate goal to remain consistent? I can test with my Elos kit in under a minute and that is the biggest selling point to me.