Legit shortcut for Hanna phosphate tester?

glb · Mar 31, 2015

I'm trying to like my Hanna phosphate tester but it's a struggle. It's very difficult to mix the reagent for two minutes and get it back in the tester before the tester times out and shuts off, which is driving me batty. What I've been doing is using two vials, one of only tank water and another I mix with reagent before I even start testing. It makes testing a lot easier. If both vials are clean and the water drawn at the same time, is there a downside to doing it this way?

Defective_Weeble · Mar 31, 2015

That's how I've always done it. It never made sense to me to use a single vial.

pdiehm · Mar 31, 2015

I set a timer for 75 seconds. I shake, and most of the time the reagent is dissolved. Toss it in, and get a reading.

Dave3112 · Mar 31, 2015

Defective_Weeble said:
That's how I've always done it. It never made sense to me to use a single vial.

+1 Here...

Mike in CT · Mar 31, 2015

Getting the reagent packet opened up and ready to go helps also. The only thing you have to worry about using 2 vials is that it figures out the reading by change in color, so if for some reason one of the vials is a bit stained it could give a false reading.
I have some GHA going on so mine always reads zero anyway

pickupman66 · Mar 31, 2015

I rarely have this issue.

1. Cut packet with scissors on dotted line.
2. Fill tube to 10ml of tank water and cap it
3. turn on meter
4. run pre-calibrate funciton
5. remove tube and cap and pour the powder in.
6. put cap back on and shake the tube. flipping it back and forth end over end. I do this pretty fast but slow down as I see it dissolving. usually mine is dissolved within a minute.
7. wipe the glass down and put back in the mater
8. hold button for the 3 min clock.
9. Profit or cry at my readings.

Now, I have found that some batches of powder are more fine than others. these seems to dissolve much better. I happen to have a batch of those currently and they dissolve quickly.

MikeyB · Mar 31, 2015

pickupman66 said:
I rarely have this issue.

1. Cut packet with scissors on dotted line.
2. Fill tube to 10ml of tank water and cap it
3. turn on meter
4. run pre-calibrate funciton
5. remove tube and cap and pour the powder in.
6. put cap back on and shake the tube. flipping it back and forth end over end. I do this pretty fast but slow down as I see it dissolving. usually mine is dissolved within a minute.
7. wipe the glass down and put back in the mater
8. hold button for the 3 min clock.
9. Profit or cry at my readings.

Now, I have found that some batches of powder are more fine than others. these seems to dissolve much better. I happen to have a batch of those currently and they dissolve quickly.

This is exactly what i do as well, but i have a little funnel that fits right into the tube so i just pour the powder into the funnel, never have to worry about missing any or making a mess

dss190 · Mar 31, 2015

I think you have like three minutes until it turns off, but I'm not really sure. I cut the packet open ahead of time. Once the checker reads C2 I start the timer on my phone. I use a funnel to pour the reagent in, which takes about 30 seconds from the time I open vial until I start mixing. Once I start mixing I see where my timer is, again normally around 30 seconds. I mix the vial for 2 minutes like it says to do. After the two minutes I put it in and hold the button. This process always works for me. I don't know if there is a downside to doing it your way, but I would think your sample could be less accurate as your using two separate samples.

redfishbluefish · Mar 31, 2015

I too suffer from the Hanna timing out while mixing the reagent in the vial....and that's with the packet opened and ready to go.

I believe this is a valid method of testing your two cuvettes (vials) to see that they are optically the same so that you could use one to "zero" the Hanna, and the other to mix the reagent and have it ready to go.

Fill both your cuvettes with tank water. Wipe the outside to dry them. Mentally mark one as "A" and the other "B." Start the Hanna. Put "A" in and "zero" the Hanna. Put "B" in and hold the button to start the three minutes. Wait for the result....hoping it will be 0.00. Repeat the above test starting with "B." If both the results are 0.00, the two cuvettes are optically the same. I repeated the testing flipping the cuvettes just to assure the first test didn't produce a negative number (which you wouldn't see...would come up at 0.00)

Did I explain that clearly enough?

FYI, both my cuvettes tested to 0.00

reefndude · Mar 31, 2015

I use both vials. Could never get the mix to completely dissolved before checker shut off

glb · Mar 31, 2015

Thanks everyone. I feel better that it's not just me! I just got a phosban reactor so hopefully I'll keep getting those zeros!

MikeyB · Mar 31, 2015

Guys who couldn't get it to dissolve how are you shaking it up? When I do it I switch up shaking up and down and swirling both pretty quickly.

Never really takes that long for it to mix up for me. I'll usually tap it on something to to make sure any bubbles go to the top before it reads

glb · Mar 31, 2015

MikeyB said:
Guys who couldn't get it to dissolve how are you shaking it up? When I do it I switch up shaking up and down and swirling both pretty quickly.

Never really takes that long for it to mix up for me. I'll usually tap it on something to to make sure any bubbles go to the top before it reads

I shake it gently because the instructions say you don't want to get bubbles. Mine always dissolves in two minutes but the tester seems to turn off quicker than the 3 minutes they claim.