Hannah Checkers for Alk

[lylesobba]

I just transitioned to Hannah checkers for my water tests. I was running Red Sea tests. All parameters line up except for the dkh. What tests out with Red Sea at a 9.1 might only be a 7.5 with the Hannah. Am I doing something wrong? Any suggestions?

 

[Doctorgori]

regardless, I’d check the hanna reagent date 1st, they also make standards, not sure about that particular one..
FWIW I’d trust the Red Sea all things being equal

 

[rtparty]

Make a gallon of new saltwater and test it with both. See which is closer to the advertised specs for your salt. I use Red Sea and Hanna as well but honestly don't trust the Hanna at this point. I always double check it with the Red Sea. The Hanna hasn't been "wrong" thus far so there's that

 

[Adamantium]

I use my Hanna Alk Checker for repeatability, not necessarily accuracy. As long as I can get consistent results, which I do, I don't worry too much about the number (assuming it's within a reasonable range).

I have a similar issue, though. My Salifert reads about 1 dKH higher than my Hanna, but I just factor that in and use the Hanna to make sure things are consistent. That's what hobby grade test kits are for when you get down to it. Making sure you have repeatable results. Not the highest degree of accuracy.

 

[KrisReef]

Not sure, but the most oft-reported issue with Hanna DkH is not correctly reading-filling the syringe plunger to the 1.0ml line. The bottom of the plunger should line up with the last increment indicated on the side of the syringe.

Also, the test reagents have an expiration date and the Hanna can evaporate- expire that has been reported to cause measurement errors.

I love my Checkers, but they do take some time to get comfortable with.

 

[Twoddler]

Hannah used correctly is solid

 

[Ippyroy]

The Hanna reagent for Alk is only good for like a month I think after opening. Once opened it doesn't last long. Like said above, all test kits are about repeatability and building trends.

 

[fade2black]

The Hanna reagent for Alk is only good for like a month I think after opening. Once opened it doesn't last long. Like said above, all test kits are about repeatability and building trends.

A month? That seems a little excessive. I just opened a brand new one and it's says it's good for 15 months. I can't see Hanna being off by a factor of 15.

 

[LeftyReefer]

Anybody else get floating stuff in their Hanna ALK reagents?

 

[ReefRy]

The only issue I have with the Hanna is the reagent isn' t consistent from one to the other. It's usually only a couple tenths, like 8.3 old. 8.1 new, but still.

I'd offer the same advice when switching from one brand to the other - average the results and assume that's more or less where you're at. If you're unhappy with the result, raise or lower it slowly til you are, then try to keep it consistent as possible.

 

[Ippyroy]

A month? That seems a little excessive. I just opened a brand new one and it's says it's good for 15 months. I can't see Hanna being off by a factor of 15.

I mixed up only 31 tests with months. Once opened it does become bad faster than 15 months though.

 

[lylesobba]

UPDATE!!! My Hannah checker tested fresh Red Sea water at 11.2. I expected around 12.5. Red Sea is at the 12.5 dkh expected. From a frag tank, I got tests of 6.8, 7, and 7.5 from the same small cup of water for sampling. Red Sea tested at 9 dkh. I thin while I quarantine in the frag tank I’ll focus on the Red Sea kit but also track through quarantine with the Hannah checker. Data is always good.

 

[Nhjmc]

The Hanna reagent for Alk is only good for like a month I think after opening. Once opened it doesn't last long. Like said above, all test kits are about repeatability and building trends.

wish I'd known that.

 

[Nhjmc]

I must of had a bad or old reagent been using for months as had no idea only good for one month after opening. 11.5 with current reagent was like no way it's that high so luckily had a sealed/new reagent so opened, tested and read 7.9 confirmed closer to that than 11.5 via salifert test kit (dkh) Just another hard lesson learned in this hobby and my own dumb fault for trusting that hanna checker and not confirming against salifert.

 

[CarltonCay]

Every time you test with a Hannah - depending on the air bubbles, the cleanliness of the cuvet, the portion of water you drew from, when you last fed - all of this affects the test.

If you are seeing a small parameter swing over a few days it is likely a routine swing.

The reagent last quite a while - don't spoil your reagent. There's a reason Hannah is used in other professions outside of the Marine hobby.