Managing your nitrates using a color chart is a j o k e

zdstrong · Oct 3, 2021

Is the Hanna that much more accurate? I understand it will give consistent reading as there is no human eye. But it’s still a hobbies grade test probably using the same reagents as other test kits.

blaxsun · Oct 3, 2021

mdb_talon said:
Lol you crack me up.

Hey, if you feel your Sailfert test kits are accurate and reliable - don’t let me stand in your way. The Hanna digital tests are significantly more accurate (and less infallible), and I do have several brands of titration kits as well that I periodically use to keep my Hanna “honest”.

Gtinnel · Oct 3, 2021

blaxsun said:
I’ll stack Nyos up against Salifert any day of the week for nitrate and phosphate testing. If you haven’t used both you won’t necessarily appreciate the difference.

I'm not saying that the Nyos isn't a good test kit, I'm just saying that with the ability of the salifert to look through the vial both ways it is a very usable test and much better than the API. You said the problem with salifert is the 25-50 range but for my tank I use it as a 2.5-5 range.

All of this is kinda silly since we are talking about a test that usually doesn't need to be very accurate anyway. I don't personally care if my nitrates are 2 or 5.

blaxsun · Oct 3, 2021

zdstrong said:
Is the Hanna that much more accurate? I understand it will give consistent reading as there is no human eye. But it’s still a hobbies grade test probably using the same reagents as other test kits.

They’re less open to interpretation, so lighting and what one color may look like in different conditions isn’t a factor.

mdb_talon · Oct 3, 2021

Gtinnel said:
I'm not saying that the Nyos isn't a good test kit, I'm just saying that with the ability of the salifert to look through the vial both ways it is a very usable test and much better than the API. You said the problem with salifert is the 25-50 range but for my tank I use it as a 2.5-5 range.

All of this is kinda silly since we are talking about a test that usually doesn't need to be very accurate anyway. I don't personally care if my nitrates are 2 or 5.

Haha exactly!

blaxsun · Oct 3, 2021

Gtinnel said:
I'm not saying that the Nyos isn't a good test kit, I'm just saying that with the ability of the salifert to look through the vial both ways it is a very usable test and much better than the API. You said the problem with salifert is the 25-50 range but for my tank I use it as a 2.5-5 range.

All of this is kinda silly since we are talking about a test that usually doesn't need to be very accurate anyway. I don't personally care if my nitrates are 2 or 5.

Agreed. Anything over 25 is really pointless for most of us, as whether it’s 35, 50 or 100+ doesn’t really matter - it’s still way too high.

mdb_talon · Oct 3, 2021

blaxsun said:
They’re less open to interpretation, so lighting and what one color may look like in different conditions isn’t a factor.

Yet things like placing curvette in same position each time, no fingerprints, no light leaking in through cap, etc are all different conditions relevant to hanna but no most others.

ZoWhat · Oct 3, 2021

Lbrdsoxfan said:
I use the salifert as a backup to the HR Hanna. I discovered API is utter garbage this time around.

Did you know API stands for "A Pretty Inaccurate" test? Lol

blaxsun · Oct 3, 2021

mdb_talon said:
Yet things like placing curvette in same position each time, no fingerprints, no light leaking in through cap, etc are all different conditions relevant to hanna but no most others.

Funny you should mention that. I ran 4 alkalinity tests on my Hanna the other night and did just that, ie: different positions each time for the curvette plus fingerprints, wiped with paper towel, wiped with microfibre cloth and wiped with my shirt...

0.37, 0.35, 0.36 and 0.37 (all in ppm). So while it might have a slight bearing, it’s really negligible.

ZoWhat · Oct 3, 2021

zdstrong said:
Is the Hanna that much more accurate? I understand it will give consistent reading as there is no human eye. But it’s still a hobbies grade test probably using the same reagents as other test kits.

I did a deep dive research on this prior to buying Hanna

Accuracy around +/- 2, 3, 4, 5% if:
* glass vial is unstained by washing it immediately after every use
* the vial is heavily wiped/polished with a microfiber cloth to remove any oils from fingerprints.

Meaning glass vial.is to be crystal clear and probably replaced every year due to staining of the reagents.

zdstrong · Oct 3, 2021

blaxsun said:
They’re less open to interpretation, so lighting and what one color may look like in different conditions isn’t a factor.

That doesn’t make it more accurate though. How is it any different than a salifert test? You still don’t know how much no3 you have. Hard to believe your eye caused you to mistake 50 ppm for 10 ppm.

Gtinnel · Oct 3, 2021

blaxsun said:
Funny you should mention that. I ran 4 alkalinity tests on my Hanna the other night and did just that, ie: different positions each time for the curvette plus fingerprints, wiped with paper towel, wiped with microfibre cloth and wiped with my shirt...

0.37, 0.35, 0.36 and 0.37 (all in ppm). So while it might have a slight bearing, it’s really negligible.

Wait you got a reading for alkalinity of .37 ppm?
I definitely wouldn't trust your Hanna for alkalinity.

GHOSTLY · Oct 3, 2021

First off zoa I love your new profile, secondly I Agree. I want a hanna checker but can’t get one

blaxsun · Oct 3, 2021

zdstrong said:
That doesn’t make it more accurate though. How is it any different than a salifert test? You still don’t know how much no3 you have. Hard to believe your eye caused you to mistake 50 ppm for 10 ppm.

Yes it does. A titration test could still be off by as much as +/-0.5 dKH for alkalinity, even if you do everything perfectly. The Hanna will give you 2 decimals, so we’re talking about +/-0.01 dKH.