Pat24601
Well-Known Member
That's how I feel about pretty much everything she writes. I don't even bother saying it anymore.
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).