Hanna Checkers - it's all about the glass

[ZoWhat]

180g DT with 240 total water.

I tested Alk this morning with my Hanna. it came in at 14.5 !!!!! yikes! I tested TWICE

I started with a 25g water change today to lower the # in panic mode

"Wait a minute!!" I said, "my high # doesn't make sense....I havent dosed any Carbonate since my last test"

so i called a friend who worked as a bio scientist for a reef product company.

I explained things and he laughed. He said my glass vial was either:

1) not crystal clear clean .....and to clean it with vinegar and/or 99% rubbing alchohol then THOROUGHLY rinse it with rodi

or

2) the glass vial has been scratched up using paper towels to wipe & clean. when the colorimeter sends a beam of light and hits the micro scratches, the light get refracted, giving false readings

he went onto say that Hannas work great out of the box but over time as the glass gets discolored or scratched, it will give false reading. they've used Hanna in lab situations and were told by experts the cleaning cloth is the ONLY ACCEPTABLE cleaning tool to use on the vials.

I soaked my vials in vinegar then cleaned with 99% rubbing alcohol. Thoroughly rinsed, dried. I put a strong light behind and inspected for any caking, smudges, scratches etc...

RETESTED = 7.9 after cleaning the vial and a 25g WC ... where it was 14.5 when I started this hot mess.

theres no way my Alk dropped from 14.5 to 7.9 just bc of a small WC... It had to have been a dirty vial (even though it looked crystal clear to me when I ran the 14.5.... and like a dumbie used a paper towel to wipe down the vial and got 14.5)

I think I might go back to Sailfert where I can drip test and not have as much chance that the colorimeter is reading wrong false bc the vial is funky

 

[road_runner]

180g DT with 240 total water.

I tested Alk this morning with my Hanna. it came in at 14.5 !!!!! yikes! I tested TWICE

I started with a 25g water change today to lower the # in panic mode

Wait a minute!! I said, "my high # doesn't make sense....I havent dosed Carbonate since my last test"

so i called a friend who worked as a bio scientist for a reef product company.

I explained things and he laughed. He said my glass vial was either:

1) not crystal clear clean .....and to clean it with vinegar and/or 99% rubbing alchohol

or

2) the glass vial has been scratched up using paper towels. when the colorimeter send a beam of light and hits the scratches, the light get refracted, giving false readings

he went onto say that Hannas work great out of the box but over time as the glass gets discolored or scratched, it will give false reading.

I soaked my vials in vinegar then cleaned with 99% rubbing alcohol. Thoroughly rinsed, dried.

RETESTED = 7.9 after cleaning the vial and a 25g WC ... where it was 14.5 when I started this hot mess.

I thimk.im going back to Sailfert where I can drip test and not have as much chance that the color meter is reading wrong

That's one of the issues hannah have with reefers. People do not pay attention to these small details hannah actually really good tester. But to get good results you need to have these vilea clear, smuch free and when wash them use rodi or distilled water cause tap water leave smudges.
I use a solution hannah sell to clean the files its anti static that deter smudges and impurities to stay on the vile glass.
I also use a cloth they sell that is anti static and clean the vile really well.

This is especially important with the po4. Thw light interaction with the solution color is so important, if glass is not clear it will throw off your readings.
The way I see it, it's not hannah fault. It's our fault not following right testing procedures.

I like salifert, my problem with it is once you open the reagent it's like a ticking clock. At a month or 2 months mark it start giving drift. I think reason for that is the same....us... The more you use it the more we contaminate the reagent when we put needle in and out and start changing the chemichal characteristics of the solution....

 

[Scorpius]

More lab grade like test kits require lab grade testing, cleaning, and care procedures. It's only logical.

 

[PeterG]

So glad I checked R2R before hooking up my GFO reactor. Got a PO4 reading of 56ppb (.172ppm) this AM and was a bit concerned. After cleaning the vials of my Hanna Phosphorus checker in a vinegar/water solution and then into an alcohol bath my reading went down to a more livable level 25ppb (.077ppm).
Thanks skimjim and Ohashimz

 

[LBReefer]

I had my hanna reagent go bad on my all checker. As soon as I switched to a new bottle, my score jumped by 6 points. It was frustrating to say the least.

 

[Bob Weigant]

That’s good info. Once I clean the glass tube I let it set to air dry. I’ll start checking it better

 

[fcmatt]

I thought this was common sense that the vials have to be taken care of when the whole test relies on shooting light through it.

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

Ummm I thought this was common knowledge ?
I only use microfiber cloth to clean it. With rodi water . I also use rubbing alcohol to clean the vials. Lastly I have brand new vials to replace the bad ones

 

[muzikalmatt]

I had my hanna reagent go bad on my all checker. As soon as I switched to a new bottle, my score jumped by 6 points. It was frustrating to say the least.

I had this issue recently as well. Hanna checker was reading my tank at 6.5ish. I tested a fresh batch of Reef Crystals saltwater and it read at 6.8. At that point, I knew something was wrong as it was highly unlikely the fresh saltwater would be mixing that low. I opened a new bottle of reagent and retested the RC water at 8.8 and my tank at 10.5! Definitely something to keep an eye on.

 

[TheOne]

 

[X-37B]

I have salifert and elos as backup.
Procedure is the key.
I rinse in tap water then di and let dry.
I fill up the vial with tank water dump out and the fill to line.
If I dont rinse with di water it leaves hard water scales behind and it alters the test.
I have used paper towels for over 2 years with no issues.

 

[hart24601]

I rinse all my Hanna vials well with tap, cap them and store until next use. I don’t dry them out as I don’t want dust or anything else in there that might stick to the sides and be hard to remove. I also don’t put anything inside them to clean as I don’t want to leave residue inside. I also gently wipe the outside with paper towels when I use them. Been doing this for over 5 years on the same vials. I do fill and dump the vials once with tank water before testing. For fun after reading this thought would see the results (phosphorus and alk) with the vials I have never used. Had no variation between the two vials. Ime you don't have to go crazy with them, just use some care.