Q-tipping your hanna po4 checker.

Cory · Apr 13, 2021

A little tip! After you mix your hanna po4 checker powder, set it for 3 mins as usual, then when it reads the result take the sample out, open it and clean the inside of the vial with a q-tip getting off all dust and microbubbles. Use the other vial to make the test again. Then put your sample in and have it read it instantly (dont do 3 mins this time). The results will be lower if your vial had bubbles or dust stuck to it.

My reults whent from .24ppm to .11ppm!

Pete_the_Puma · Apr 13, 2021

The million dollar question is: is your phosphate actually .24 or .11?

just making the tester give you a lower number is easily achievable 100 different ways, I would stick with the method as intended by Hanna.

Cory · Apr 13, 2021

Pete_the_Puma said:
The million dollar question is: is your phosphate actually .24 or .11?

just making the tester give you a lower number is easily achievable 100 different ways, I would stick with the method as intended by Hanna.

I thought the same however the color of blue seen by my eyes clearly wasnt .24ppm but much lower. Theres a big difference between a faint blue and darker blue. My reason for this was the color didn't match up to the number.

Dan_P · Apr 13, 2021

Cory said:
A little tip! After you mix your hanna po4 checker powder, set it for 3 mins as usual, then when it reads the result take the sample out, open it and clean the inside of the vial with a q-tip getting off all dust and microbubbles. Use the other vial to make the test again. Then put your sample in and have it read it instantly (dont do 3 mins this time). The results will be lower if your vial had bubbles or dust stuck to it.

My reults whent from .24ppm to .11ppm!

Interesting! You would need to test a standard PO4 solution to really know if the Q-tip was a good idea.