Seriously what phosphate test is accurate?

[jason2459]

A reference solution is most definitely very handy. I bought one for each of my hanna checkers and seachem came with one. Fairly accurate digital scales are becoming fairly cheap now and can help make your own reference solutions.

That said I believe cross checking with multiple kits is a fine way to see accuracy as most all parameters most people are looking to be in are quite ranging. For those that need more precision with accuracy will probably want to make their own solutions or even possibly reagents. Most kits have issues due to human error or manufacturing error (i.e. bad reagents).

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Really no phospahte test kits is much good because they only test for orthophosphate.

What would you do with a total phosphate number? It would include all the P inside of bacteria in the water sample, for example.

 

[shred5]

What would you do with a total phosphate number? It would include all the P inside of bacteria in the water sample, for example.

That is is more proof on why testing for phosphate is useless. Even ortho will be wrong because we do not know how much is being used up by algae.
You have algae you have a phosphate issue. My eyes can tell me more than a phosphate kit can.

 

[jason2459]

That is is more proof on why testing for phosphate is useless. Even ortho will be wrong because we do not know how much is being used up by algae.
You have algae you have a phosphate issue. My eyes can tell me more than a phosphate kit can.

If you have algae where you want it you don't have an issue.

I agree that watching and observing your tank is valuable and important which can tell you a lot.

I don't believe PO4 kits though are useless. They can help assure your import and export process is working.

 

[Cory]

Most kits that are color based are basically yep its low, or yep its high. There isnt much chance for a number.

Thats why i like Hanna phosphorus checker, it gives you a number.

But i only use that when something gets really bad, like a coral is growing very slowly.

My favorite choice of po4 removal is an ats. Pollution remover and it isn't specific to one thing. Removes ammonia, nitrate, heavy metals, po4, and adds oxygen. Now thats better than gfo. But most tanks with gfo are usually very nice and algae free. Mine not always, but po4 reads 0.

 

[shred5]

If you have algae where you want it you don't have an issue.

I agree that watching and observing your tank is valuable and important which can tell you a lot.

I don't believe PO4 kits though are useless. They can help assure your import and export process is working.

Depends what kind of system you are running, allot of sps growers and UNLS people would disagree. Ulns and if you can grow algae even in a scrubber or fuge your phosphate is too high. With low phosphates algae should grow no where. Again it depends on what you are trying to do.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

That is is more proof on why testing for phosphate is useless. Even ortho will be wrong because we do not know how much is being used up by algae.
You have algae you have a phosphate issue. My eyes can tell me more than a phosphate kit can.

To some extent I agree, and I rarely measured it. But I'm not sure why you think there is a problem with knowing that inorganic phosphate is elevated or not. It may be elevated and yet not have algae if something else is limiting the algae, and if elevated, you may still want to reduce phosphate for other reasons.

 

[shred5]

To some extent I agree, and I rarely measured it. But I'm not sure why you think there is a problem with knowing that inorganic phosphate is elevated or not. It may be elevated and yet not have algae if something else is limiting the algae, and if elevated, you may still want to reduce phosphate for other reasons.

I dont and I never said I did, I said measuring phosphate is pretty much useless because you never really know what you have. If ortho is high you have a issue, if it is low it does not mean you still do not have a issue.

 

[jason2459]

Depends what kind of system you are running, allot of sps growers and UNLS people would disagree. Ulns and if you can grow algae even in a scrubber or fuge your phosphate is too high. With low phosphates algae should grow no where. Again it depends on what you are trying to do.

I certainly don't try to run a ULNS system but my system tends to drift that way depending on how ULNS is defined. If you want algae, which I do and believe a healthy system should have some kind of algae in it, then phosphates are not to high if you can grow it.

It's all about that perspective. Like you said it depends on what you want to grow. I'm not a heavy SPS person.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I dont and I never said I did, I said measuring phosphate is pretty much useless because you never really know what you have. If ortho is high you have a issue, if it is low it does not mean you still do not have a issue.

I don't know that I agree with that for every case. If you do not have an algae problem, knowing the value is useful, and if you do have an algae problem, it helps to know the magnitude of the phosphate problem.

 

[revco33]

The Hanna 736 is the most accurate on the market atm iirc..
They're +/- error rate is parts per billion, n
Accuracy @ 25°C/77°F ±0.02 ppm ±5% of reading
ot parts per million like other tests..

 

[Ponraj A]

Hanna HI736 ULR

 

[Larry L]

Wow, this is an old thread that got resurrected...

FWIW, I have a calculator that lets you enter your Hanna checker readings, and tells you the range of possible actual values based on the advertised accuracy numbers:

http://larryl.emailplus.org/fish/test-kit-calculators.html

 

[JimWelsh]

Wow, this is an old thread that got resurrected...

FWIW, I have a calculator that lets you enter your Hanna checker readings, and tells you the range of possible actual values based on the advertised accuracy numbers:

http://larryl.emailplus.org/fish/test-kit-calculators.html

Nice calculator!

 

[Larry L]

Nice calculator!

Thanks Jim, let me know if there are other testers you think would be useful to have there.