I hate, I hate, I hate - Hanna PO4 checker

[Sunny]

So I have been seeing some cyano in my tank since I added fish back. No big deal, I feed the fish and my system was without the fish for months so now with fish and food I need to attain the balance again.

That said, I bumped into Mike and Nikki at AO yesterday and had a chat about rowaphos. I had no idea then that such a thing existed . I did some reading last night and also Mike highly recommended it so I went back today and bought some. I also got a hanna checker and a nextreef reactor and the awesome - Hanna checker.

I have all the stuff to start the process and I take out the hanna to check my PO4 levels and guess what?? The thing hates me .

I tried 5 times and I never got a reading. Sometimes it shuts off after displaying C2 and sometimes it gives me a reading of 5,lo.

Wait, or is it S,lo ?? WTF?? The small paper with even smaller font that came with the checker does not even have the code listed!

OK - so I am fuming - really fuming. My kids have never heard some words I said tonight.

Frustrated beyond belief, I call Ethan. Luckily he picks up. We do some troubleshooting and decide that the checker is broken.

If I do not know what my PO4 is how the h??l do I setup the reactor??

Well what did we learn today. I never tested PO4 in 2 years. Now I decide to do that and guess what, my BP is through the roof.

So is PO4 at 1.5 better than a BP of 160?

Man this hobby tests my patience at times.

Sorry for the rant ...

Sunny

 

[Chrisgarrick]

Lol. Just lol!

 

[TanksNStuff]

Sunny, the phosphate checker doesn't work like the alk checker. You may not be using it correctly, as I discovered when I first got it and used it.

The issue I was having was when I put the vial mixed with the reagant back in (C2) and pressed the button to proceed... I didn't "hold it in until you see the timer" as the instructions say. You have to hold it in and not let it out until you see the timer start. Then you wait for the 3:00 minute timer to wind down to get your reading.

Also, note that once the timer ends, you only have like 10 or 15 seconds to get the reading before it automatically just turns off. So, make sure you keep an eye on it for the last 30 seconds of the timer so you don't miss the reading.

Hope that helps!

 

[lefkonj]

I have the Hanna checker for PO4 and have not experienced this at all, but mine is only a few months old. My complaint is that if I take the same sample and test it 4 times in a row, I get 4 different readings. Sometimes they are close (.01 differences) but other times they are all over the place. So I take an average. Annoying but not like you were saying.

 

[grink]

Besides holding down the button for the three minute timer, Lo sometimes means low battery. So even though out of the box you may want to put in fresh batteries.

 

[greybolt03]

Sunny, the phosphate checker doesn't work like the alk checker. You may not be using it correctly, as I discovered when I first got it and used it.

The issue I was having was when I put the vial mixed with the reagant back in (C2) and pressed the button to proceed... I didn't "hold it in until you see the timer" as the instructions say. You have to hold it in and not let it out until you see the timer start. Then you wait for the 3:00 minute timer to wind down to get your reading.

Also, note that once the timer ends, you only have like 10 or 15 seconds to get the reading before it automatically just turns off. So, make sure you keep an eye on it for the last 30 seconds of the timer so you don't miss the reading.

Hope that helps!

+1 I was doing the same thing not holding the button down for the 3 min timer. If you want I could swing by with mine and we can do a side by side comparison to see if they are the same..

 

[jgraz]

I know the words that came out of you mouth. I've said them many times doing this test also. Luckily I have medicine that takes care of the BP. LOL. I've wasted many reagents when not holding that button. But my biggest people's is the 90sec you have to completely dissolve the reagent before you do push it.

 

[ecam]

Guys what I do is use the vials. One will be the unreacted water and the other will be the water with the reagent. When I'm done dissolving the reagent in the second vial. I start checker with the first vial. No waiting and no racing against the clock.

 

[TanksNStuff]

Guys what I do is use the vials. One will be the unreacted water and the other will be the water with the reagent. When I'm done dissolving the reagent in the second vial. I start checker with the first vial. No waiting and no racing against the clock.

I do this too. I think that's why they provide you with 2 vials. One for the baseline check, one to mix in the reagent.

 

[spotter]

Sunny.....I would have given you mine as I am ready to throw it out because it is so frustrating. If you go to the Hanna forum on RC you will see many people are sharing the same experiences. I can run 5 tests in a row and get completely different readings. Hanna hides behind the margin of error and have not been too responsive to posts about this checker. I have even run tests comparing results from using one vial to another and the results have been significantly different. Here are a couple of videos that demonstrate the process.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzdjXENgbps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e_EOWAkLTc

Good luck!!!!

 

[Ryeguyy84]

I do this too. I think that's why they provide you with 2 vials. One for the baseline check, one to mix in the reagent.

I thought you weren't supposed to do that. doesn't the little light inside measure different because if one glass has a scratch in it and the other doesn't you'll get a bad reading.

 

[Sunny]

OK - I read all the comments. Thanks for all the inputs. However, there are two vials. You fill one with saltwater and other with saltwater and mix the reagent. When you have it mixed, you start the test.

The 3 minute times is just to give you time to mix the reagent. If it is premixed you do not need to hold the button and activate timer. You just have to make sure that you activate the timer (if using only on vial) within 90 seconds of seeing C2.

It is a $50 paper weight at this time and is going back to AO tomorrow.

Sunny

 

[spotter]

buy a new fish with the $50! I am using salifert right now but only reads anything higher than .03. I am thinking about trying the red sea kit or making a leap to buy this....

http://www.aquacave.com/Martini-MI-412-Phosphate-Colorimeter-Low-Range-P792C176.aspx

I know a few guys on manhattan reefs that use this and swear by the accuracy of it.

 

[howze01]

My understanding when I used to use the Hanna checker was that the timer was to give a more accurate reading. Just pressing it was a "quick test" holding it down and activating the timer was a longer, more accurate test. I always used the 2 vial method since I always lost the race to mix the reagent.

 

[TanksNStuff]

OK - I read all the comments. Thanks for all the inputs. However, there are two vials. You fill one with saltwater and other with saltwater and mix the reagent. When you have it mixed, you start the test.

The 3 minute times is just to give you time to mix the reagent. If it is premixed you do not need to hold the button and activate timer. You just have to make sure that you activate the timer (if using only on vial) within 90 seconds of seeing C2.

It is a $50 paper weight at this time and is going back to AO tomorrow.

Sunny

Sunny, that part in red is incorrect. When you see the C2 display, you have a few minutes to mix the reagent in the vial before you press the button... but even if you use 2 vials and have it ready... you still need to hold the button in until the 3 minute timer starts (and then wait the full 3 minutes to get the reading.) If you just press it, it doesn't read the sample long enough to give an accurate measurement. If you're pressing the button to start the timer, and then mixing... you're doing it wrong. The checker works by measuring light going through the sample. If you open the cap and take out/replace the vial during the counter... you're messing it up by letting a lot of light in (not to mention having it start testing with no vial there to be tested.)

There are a couple other things I forgot to mention. Bubbles and fingerprints. If there are bubbles in the reagent mixed vial, it can affect the reading. I usually hold the vial horizontally and roll it side to side (spinning it a few times) to get all the air bubbles to float to the top. I then wipe the entire vial down with a clean soft cloth while holding the vial by the cap to ensure there are no fingerprints on the glass.

Here's the manual if you need more details. http://www.hannachecker.com.au/manuals/hi713.pdf

 

[lefkonj]

Sounds defective. Mine works perfectly without issues.

 

[Sunny]

George

I tested 5 - 6 times pressing the button and without. I also tested with plain RO water just to see. I always got same S.lo reading.

Trust me I read the instructions. I cleaned the vial every single time. I checked for bubbles etc.

Then Ethan explained what I wrote in red above. This is when we concurred it is a defective unit. I will call the idi?ts at hanna next and confirm.

Sunny

 

[Sunny]

I called them just now and tried it twice.

Here is what the automated woman says

"Our normal business hours are Monday through Friday 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM EST. If you know your buddy's extension please dial it now. Otherwise, please call during our normal business hours"

Are you kidding me?? I am calling during normal business hours.

What a scam. This company is officially on a don't-buy-anything-from-them list for me.

Time for BP medication

 

[roblshan2000]

Perhaps you are not actually calling during "normal business hours". They may be on a holiday. It is Veterans Day (observed) after all. BTW, thanks to all the Vets out there.

 

[spotter]

Serenity now Sunny.....Serenity now!