Pat24601
Well-Known Member
That's how I feel about pretty much everything she writes. I don't even bother saying it anymore.
Hanna vs. Red Sea
- Thread starter JJB103
- Start date
That's how I feel about pretty much everything she writes. I don't even bother saying it anymore.
JJB103
Active Member
Thank you for all that info.Another good review that might help to shed some light on this: http://reefgizmo.com/2010/10/the-hanna-hi-755-alkalinity-colorimeter-review/
Here are some troubleshooting suggestions:
Verify that you got the marine Alk (HI755) and not the fresh water Alk (HI775) Hanna tester. Verify Hanna instrument and many additional reagents that you purchased.
Prep Before/After Testing
While Testing
- Always rinse the glassware (vials, etc.), syringes and plungers with tap water and then with RODI water before and after use. Any dust or debris will hinder the Hanna from taking a proper reading.
- Make sure the vial is dry on the outside before taking a reading. Wiping the outside of the vial with a paper towel is all you need to do here.
- And make sure you are wiping fingerprints off the vial prior to each reading taken by the Hanna. Fingerprints can hinder the Hanna from taking a proper reading. There are tissues that come with the test kit for this.
Chemicals
- Make sure you are accurately measuring the chemical in the syringe barrel. If you are not used to using a syringe, the plunger reading can be off and this can affect the overall result of your test reading.
- Do not let the reacted sample sit for too long prior to taking a reading, it will affect accuracy.
- Make sure you don't have any mico-bubbles in the tube after mixing and prior to taking the reading (which for sure would affect the results). To remove bubbles gently tap the vial.
- There is a series of error and warning signs that the instrument gives during the reading, these are outlined in the manual that comes with the instrument, are you getting these from your Hanna?
- After sample is taken immediately discard and rinse the vial. Letting the sample sit can affect the tint of the glass by being permanently stained.
Conversion Calculation
- Make sure that the reagents haven't expired. All chemicals expire.
As with most things that we manufacture, be it cars or anything else, it seems like there is always a lemon made. You hear about this usually with cars, getting a lemon, where everything goes wrong with it no matter what...... if this is a new Hanna (under warranty) I suggest contacting the company and explaining your issue. Perhaps they will be willing to ship you out a new one to replace the possible lemon that you have.
- Make sure you are using the correct calculation to convert units from ppm to dkh. There are many conversion calculators on the web available to use.
Syringe Reading:
If in fact the Hanna tester is providing accurate readings (and thus your readings from other kits have been off) then now you can move forward in getting your tank to the proper levels.
If you haven't had issues with your tank in the past, I wouldn't worry that your readings have been off. If you have had issues with our tank (maybe having issues with keeping sps and some lps corals), then maybe this is the cause of the problem (having really low Alk and possible off balance with the Ca levels).
So my Salifert test kit came out at 8.0dkh.
I have done the Hanna checker as detailed as possible and the results are always the same. I think this checker has some kind of issue. I will call Hanna and ask them.
JJB103
Active Member
I received the new reagent. Problem solved. It now reads very close to both my Red Sea and Salifert test kits. Thank you to everybody for putting in their 2 cents. Also Hanna was awesome to work with. They never even hesitated to help me even though my checker was far out of warranty.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Ceejai777
Active Member
I was researching Hanna vs Red Sea checkers tonight and came across this review on Amazon from a Hanna user. It is in regard to calcium but am wondering if it pertains to alkalinity, too. The following is the review:
"This kit is poorly designed, difficult to use, inaccurate, imprecise, and has no business being sold as a consumer product. It tested in the high-500's for my tank when other traditional kits were testing in the low-400's. I emailed Hanna and they actually admitted that this kit requires lab-grade RO/DI water. That's right, the RO/DI unit you purchased for your tank will not help you here, even if it reads zero TDS. Even if your RO/DI water has just 0.1 ppm of calcium in it, your results could be way off. The test also uses a mere 2 drops of tank water, which makes it extremely sensitive. In other words, if you're off by 1/2 drop, your results are off by 25% (~100ppm).
The bottom line is, after getting results that were off by more than 100 ppm, how could I ever trust this kit again? I couldn't. I returned it. And, I'm not the only one. Countless others are having the same problem with this product.
Let me finish by saying that I like what Hanna does. I think their alkalinity checker is superb and I use it exclusively. I really wanted a way to test calcium easily and accurately, but I suppose I'll have to keep waiting."
"This kit is poorly designed, difficult to use, inaccurate, imprecise, and has no business being sold as a consumer product. It tested in the high-500's for my tank when other traditional kits were testing in the low-400's. I emailed Hanna and they actually admitted that this kit requires lab-grade RO/DI water. That's right, the RO/DI unit you purchased for your tank will not help you here, even if it reads zero TDS. Even if your RO/DI water has just 0.1 ppm of calcium in it, your results could be way off. The test also uses a mere 2 drops of tank water, which makes it extremely sensitive. In other words, if you're off by 1/2 drop, your results are off by 25% (~100ppm).
The bottom line is, after getting results that were off by more than 100 ppm, how could I ever trust this kit again? I couldn't. I returned it. And, I'm not the only one. Countless others are having the same problem with this product.
Let me finish by saying that I like what Hanna does. I think their alkalinity checker is superb and I use it exclusively. I really wanted a way to test calcium easily and accurately, but I suppose I'll have to keep waiting."