PHOSPHATE LOW OR HIGH RANGE TESTING ?
- Thread starter 427HISS
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cracker
5000 Club Member
They have both one is for fresh & saltwater. The Hanna ultra low checker is a lot more accurate & for salt only " I think" . They are 50 bucks brand new .
I liked the getting older, me too ! LOL
OP
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427HISS
2500 Club Member
So, now I'm confused 
I've only heard of checking for phosphate, but then I read this.
Lean me people....
Phosphate or Phosphorus Testing with Hanna Checkers?
The Hanna HI736 Ultra Low Range Phosphorus Checker is more accurate at low ranges than the HI713 Low Range Phosphate meter. Many reefers argue that the phosphorus checker is a better.
I've only heard of checking for phosphate, but then I read this.
Lean me people....
Phosphate or Phosphorus Testing with Hanna Checkers?
The Hanna HI736 Ultra Low Range Phosphorus Checker is more accurate at low ranges than the HI713 Low Range Phosphate meter. Many reefers argue that the phosphorus checker is a better.
Hanna used to not have an ultra low range for Phosphate. The only way to get the ultra low numbers were to use an ultra low phosphorus checker, do some calculations, and then you'd have your low phosphate number. They now have an ultra low range phosphate checker.
It depends on the levels and accuracy you're looking for. I used a cheaper color test kit to get my numbers down to around 1.0 and then used the ultra low to track now that my numbers are always down around 0.10 and I want greater accuracy. It looks like the regular low range has an accuracy of plus or minus 0.04 and the ultra low range is 0.02 I'm sure the regular low range is a great tool and for $35 you may just want to stick with that but if you want greater accuracy and you plan on keeping your phosphates below 0.90 you may want to go with the ultra low.
Low Range
0.00 to 2.50 ppm
Accuracy: ±0.04 ppm (mg/L)
Ultra Low Range
0.00 to 0.90 ppm
Accuracy: ±.02 ppm
Low Range
0.00 to 2.50 ppm
Accuracy: ±0.04 ppm (mg/L)
Ultra Low Range
0.00 to 0.90 ppm
Accuracy: ±.02 ppm
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427HISS
2500 Club Member
That's my thoughts. At what range do I want to test. I don't plan on keeping this tank at ultra low nutrients.
If it were a SPS dominant, then yes, but this one is LPS, softies. leathers etc. so some nutrients are actually good, even nitrates.
If it were a SPS dominant, then yes, but this one is LPS, softies. leathers etc. so some nutrients are actually good, even nitrates.
I had a softy tank for years, never tested my water parameters, and only did 2-3 water changes a year but it was completely filled with mushrooms and they did amazingly well. I'm sure my phosphates were well above 2.0 After a temp crash I've re-done the tank and plan on LPS and softies. Most research I've done recently say to keep phosphates low especially in the beginning (I've seen everything from .03-.19). I had mine up around .40 and had a brown algae outbreak but I didn't have any corals in the tank yet. I think once you have a lot of corals in the tank that can take up the phosphate before the algae does then it's ok (and maybe better for softies/LPS) to have higher numbers. I've seen numbers from fully stocked tanks that are at 1.5 and are doing really well without any algae issues. I was actually just watching this talk on phosphate earlier today. It's four years old but still interesting.
I guess if I get to the point where I have a lot of corals in the tank, my phosphates are ultra low, and the corals aren't doing well, then I'll probably start letting the phosphate rise.
I guess if I get to the point where I have a lot of corals in the tank, my phosphates are ultra low, and the corals aren't doing well, then I'll probably start letting the phosphate rise.
biophilia
Well-Known Member
The phosphate video above is a good one! I think that what gets lost a lot in the phosphate/nitrate level discussions on reefing forums is both the direct relationship between number of herbivores in tank and the total mass of algae that is grown/seen/and/or/consumed per day and -- perhaps even more importantly -- the discussion of limiting nutrients.
Tank "A" might have 40ppm NO3 and 1ppm PO4 and be virtually algae free, but may be have near undetectable levels of another inorganic nutrient like silica or iron. Tank "B" might be choked out with diatoms at 4ppm NO3 and 0.04ppm PO4 because it has a regular source of silica that exceeds what the sponges in the rock can consume and incorporate into the spicules that give them structure or what the snails can consume as diatoms and export via waste/protein skimming. It's all a balancing act and hard to point to some specific number of some specific inorganic nutrient for that reason.
As for testing, I like to keep my PO4 under 0.1ppm so like the low range tests. I use the Elos low range PO4 kit, but Hanna's is good too!
Tank "A" might have 40ppm NO3 and 1ppm PO4 and be virtually algae free, but may be have near undetectable levels of another inorganic nutrient like silica or iron. Tank "B" might be choked out with diatoms at 4ppm NO3 and 0.04ppm PO4 because it has a regular source of silica that exceeds what the sponges in the rock can consume and incorporate into the spicules that give them structure or what the snails can consume as diatoms and export via waste/protein skimming. It's all a balancing act and hard to point to some specific number of some specific inorganic nutrient for that reason.
As for testing, I like to keep my PO4 under 0.1ppm so like the low range tests. I use the Elos low range PO4 kit, but Hanna's is good too!
It's a little long and gets a little slow. Basically he talks about how if your nitrate to phosphate is in the correct ratio both numbers can be high. So if you have phosphate of 3.0 and nitrate of 48 you're ok. His tank was maxed out with corals though which I still think is the key to keeping higher numbers.
