Standard solutions to test my test kits?

[Miami Reef]

Where can I order predetermined solutions for my parameters so I can test the accuracy of my test kits? I'd like to test Alkalinity, phosphate, nitrate and nitrate. Maybe calcium too.

 

[Miami Reef]

I currently have a blend of Hannah, red sea, and salifert. I have both Hannah and red sea for and phosphate and Red sea says 0.01 and Hannah says 0.03. I don't know which one to believe. I think I trust the red sea more because there's less room for error.

 

[BoxKing]

Hanna sells “standards“ solutions to check for calibration.

HI774-11 ULR Phosphate Standards for HI774 Hanna Checker

Ensure the performance of your HI774 Ultra Low Range Phosphate Checker with the HI774-11 ULR Phosphate Standards. Each kit includes two cuvettes, one sealed cuvette that will read at 0ppb of Phosphate, and then another cuvette that is tinted to an equivalent of 100ppb (± 0.10) @ 25°C. Each set...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Two things:
1. .01 to .03… regardless of which is more accurate to your actual parameters, does the slight variance really matter… (no)?
2. I’d trust the digital checker over the faint shade of a readout you got from the Red Sea kit allll day any day.

 

[taricha]

Randy's DIY alk standard here
You can purchase dry compounds like sodium nitrate from loudwolf and similar to make your own stock solutions. This works more than well enough to benchmark the performance of hobby kits.
Seachem ships a bottled standard with most of their kits, that one can use to check the functioning of the test kit.
Hach sells single parameter standards or multiparameter standard, like this one that has ammonia, nitrate, po4 and others all together.

The hanna "calibration" vials are merely colored liquids, they don't help you evaluate the performance of the chemistry, just the optical measurement.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I currently have a blend of Hannah, red sea, and salifert. I have both Hannah and red sea for and phosphate and Red sea says 0.01 and Hannah says 0.03. I don't know which one to believe. I think I trust the red sea more because there's less room for error.

FWIW, those values may both be correct within the uncertainty of the kits.