Po4 measurent. Hanna checker. Red Sea

[Roberto CRC]

Hi there, I write in this sub forum because I did not know exactly what to do.

I have some doubts about measuring the Po4 with the hanna checker.

This is the checker i buy http://hannainst.com/products/checker-colorimeters/hi713-phosphate-lr.html

Normally I measured the Po4 with Red Sea, but I bought Hanna's for an easier measurement to read. My surprise is that when I did the first measurement whith hanna the rest was 0.00ppm, The next day I did the measurement again with Hanna and the result was the same 0.00 ppm, According to Red Sea it is between 0.04 and 0.08 ppm.

I cut the flow of my GFO reactor since Sunday when I did the second measurement with Hanna, because if the Po4 is at 0.00 ppm it does not affect my corals, but yesterday I went back to measuring with Hanna having the same result Of 0.00 ppm and with Red Sea between 0.04 and 0.08 ppm

As I see in the user manual of Hanna, says that when it is very low the 0.00 ppm will start to blink, same if it was very high that would be in 2.50 ppm. In my case the 0.00 ppm does not blink, so I have the doubt as to whether it will really be that far, but not low enough to blink, or is the checker bad?

From Sunday to Wednesday yesterday with the GFO reactor off should not have raised the parameter a little?

I hope you can help me.

Regards.

 

[Elementalj]

I ran into trouble with the phosphate checker and it ended up being expired titration powder. I swapped the battery's on all of them at the same time, and ordered new reagent and now I get a consistent .02-.03

Hope I've helped ya. They're tricky at first but once you're in the habit of knowing them, they get easier.

 

[Roberto CRC]

Thanks for the answer, it is a criterion to consider.

I bought it and received it last Thursday, the first reading was on Saturday and the second on Sunday.

The tritation it brings and besides the one I bought have an expiration date for 2018 and 2019 respectively, the battery is good or that I assume because it does not give indication of low battery.

I think it was not hard for me to use it, really much simpler than Red Sea, but I still have doubts.

 

[DLHDesign]

The Phosphate checker is a bit funny... Here's what I've found to help:
- Fill the vial with the correct amount of water. The bottom of the "dimple" should align with the line on the vial. I use a syringe to fill mine as I've found it to be easier.
- After capping the vial, be sure to eliminate any/all the bubbles before placing it in and pushing the button.
- Be sure to get all of the powder into the vial. It often sticks in the corner of the package. I cut it along the line (two sides) and then make a little "cup" out of it to pour it into the vial, but a small funnel also helps.
- Make sure that you shake the vial for a full 1min
- After shaking the vial, be sure to get rid of all the bubbles attached to the vial. This can be a pain, but is critical.
- After placing the vial back into the checker, press and hold the button. This will start a 3min countdown; make sure to keep the checker upright and fairly stable during this time (it's not reading anything, but moving it too much could introduce bubbles).
- Read the result at the end of the 3min.

 

[Roberto CRC]

Thanks for the information, you mention "Make sure that you shake the vial for a full 1min", But the test says 2 minutes, you do it only for 1 minute?

 

[Elementalj]

I set a timer per the instructions.

 

[Roberto CRC]

I set a timer per the instructions.

Sure, so I do but @DHLDesign mentions that shake it for 1 minute and the test instructions indicate that it is for 2 minutes. So my question is, does @DHLDesign shake it for 1 minute or do it for 2 minutes?

 

[DLHDesign]

"Make sure that you shake the vial for a full 1min", But the test says 2 minutes, you do it only for 1 minute?

I only read my instructions when I got it and have always remembered it to be 1 minute, but it's more likely that my memory is bad than anything else... :-|
What I've found is that, after shaking, the particles should all be dissolved. If they are not after 1min, I'll usually keep going until they are. I could see this taking 2min sometimes, sure.

 

[Roberto CRC]

Ah ok, I understand. Tomorrow I am going to take another test to see how I take these recommendations.

Thanks.

 

[DLHDesign]

Ah ok, I understand. Tomorrow I am going to take another test to see how I take these recommendations.

Thanks.

Good luck. Even with the above, I find it to be a finicky device. It's not uncommon that I have to do two or even three tests before I get a reading that I trust. I've taken to keeping other test methods on-hand (Red Sea) as a back-up. The Hanna is still my primary test, however.