Lookup Tables for Hanna Checkers

[Origami]

In the past, I've made two handy look-up tables that I tape into the lid of my Hanna Alkalinity Checker and my Phosphorus Ultra-Low-Range Checker. I thought that I'd post them here because I refer others to them from time to time.

 

The alkalinity checker reads out in ppm CaCO3 equivalents which, for most of us, is a little foreign. The attached table looks like this and, when printed out, should fit the lid nicely. It also provides a reference for balanced calcium for a given alkalinity which I find handy.

 

 

The Phosphorus ULR reads out in parts-per-billion of Phosphorus, a component of phosphate (which we typically want a measure of). The attached table makes the conversion.

 

 

Alkalinity Table v2.pdf

Phosphate Table.pdf

[zoozilla]

This will come in handy. Thanks Tom!

[surf&turf]

I got this today, thanks Ryan, and thanks Tom for posting the charts.

 

So I checked the 90 and got a 0 reading. Now, are the phosphates truly 0, or are they just being used up by the corals? Everything looks great and is growing, should I let them crept up some?

[Origami]

Phosphates are used by all living cells. It's used in DNA and it's involved in producing the energy that drives the cell's biological processes. When zero, it only means it's all been taken up and is locked up in tissue. Algae love it, of course.

[linkfalcon]

kick ass thank I was looking for something like this last night

[howaboutme]

Tom....(and anyone else)

 

It's come to my attention that there are different opinions on whether or not we should use both cuvettes for the ULR phosphorous tester. Apparently, using 2 cuvettes (different sets of water?? and possibly different curvatures of the glass) will affect the reading. A quick search yielded this informative thread on another forum (though I only read the first 2 pages). Perhaps the most helpful post on that long thread was this:

 

Start out with only 1 vial.  Make sure it is clean.  Make sure you always discard old solution, rinse, and store it full with RODI water.  This prevents staining or buildup on the glass that could influence the colorimeter. 

 

Dump out the RODI, and rinse several times with aquarium water.  Then fill to line.  Make sure that there are no particulates in the vial. 

 

Dry and clean the vial taking care to remove any finger prints.  Put the vial into your meter and zero out.  Note the orientation of the vial by paying attention what direction the printing on the vial is facing.

 

Using the same vial, put the reagent into the vial making sure that you got all of it in.  Do not let your fingers touch the inside of the pouch or the reagent.  Don't use a different vial as this could produce different results.

 

Continue to invert vial to dissolve the reagent.  Don't shake aggressively because it will create air bubbles.  Using a stopwatch (download an app) or using the timer feature on your microwave (I do my testing in the kitchen), pay attention to when your 3 minutes before auto shutoff expires.  When you get close, stop shaking and continue by rotating in a spinning fashion to keep it moving while cleaning the vial with a cloth.

 

Put the vial into the meter making sure you install it in the same orientation and start the cycle.

 

After the cycle is completed, rinse and store the vial using the previous mentioned method. 

 

Note:  If you intend to do a recheck, prepare a new solution.  If you retest the already tested solution you will NOT receive the same result because the reagent had a longer time to react.

 

 

What is your opinion or experience regarding testing w/ the ULR meter? Do you think using both cuvettes will alter the reading that much? In your response to my thread, you did mention your method and it seems like you only use 1 cuvette. It sure looks like your understanding of the tests does confirm only the use of 1 cuvette. Thanks!

[AlanM]

howaboutme, thanks for bumping this.  I'd tried to find it and couldn't get the right search terms.

 

Tom,  I never got the balanced calcium thing until I tossed some extra in to see what would happen and watched my alk drop as it precipitated CaCO3 out, I guess.  I'm running 3.0 meq/l and my Ca consistently is right at 420 with only dosing alk, so I guess I'm doing all right.

[Origami]

Tom....(and anyone else)

 

It's come to my attention that there are different opinions on whether or not we should use both cuvettes for the ULR phosphorous tester. Apparently, using 2 cuvettes (different sets of water?? and possibly different curvatures of the glass) will affect the reading. A quick search yielded this informative thread on another forum (though I only read the first 2 pages). Perhaps the most helpful post on that long thread was this:

 

 

What is your opinion or experience regarding testing w/ the ULR meter? Do you think using both cuvettes will alter the reading that much? In your response to my thread, you did mention your method and it seems like you only use 1 cuvette. It sure looks like your understanding of the tests does confirm only the use of 1 cuvette. Thanks!

Hi Jack. I only use one vial. A couple of items of note to add to the instructions that you copied (which are very much like what I do):

 

1) Really make sure that the outside of the vial is clean and free of fingerprints throughout the test. Handle the cuvette from this point forward by the black cap or at the very bottom. If you've got clean cotton gloves (like the kind that coin-collectors use), you can try them. The objective is to keep the vial clean.

 

2) When finished with the test, rinse the inside of the vial out with RO/DI THREE (or more) times. I leave the vial uncapped so that the water evaporates.

 

3) Before a test, I rinse the syringe out (that I use to take my sample water) three (or more times) with aquarium water to flush it of any residue. I then fill the cuvette to the sample line, avoiding making too many bubbles. I take my water sample a couple of inches below the water surface to make sure that I'm not picking up any surface film.

 

4) Invert the filled cuvette a few times (before introducing the reagent) to check for any particulates that you may have introduced with the sample. It's important that you don't have particulates floating around in the sample. It's best to do this check just before you take your calibration reading.

 

5) Each cuvette has "10 ml" printed along the fill-line. When taking the calibration and measurement readings, I always orient the cuvette so that this printing faces me, thereby ensuring consistent orientation of the vial.

 

6) When you do add the reagent, note the time. You only have a 2 or 3 minutes (I can't remember) before the meter times out and the result of your calibration reading is lost. Use the time to tip and swirl the reagent in the cuvette so it dissolves. I also gently roll the cuvette in my fingers to ensure that any bubbles on the sides of the glass are eliminated. For good measure, I clean the outside of the cuvette again just to make sure it's not got water or finger prints on it from the filling.

 

7) Every once in a while, I'll run the test a couple of times to ensure that the results I'm getting are consistent. This helps to confirm that my handling procedures are consistent.

[howaboutme]

Thanks Tom for the additional advice. I will add those to my routine and hope to get the adding the regents method down pat. I believe you get 3 minutes to add C2 so I have timed myself to 2:30 ish while I swiss the cuvette w/ the regents and then re-insert it into the checker. I really appreciate your help.

[miggs76]

This is an old thread but just to let you know I use the charts weekly. Thanks for doing this!

[tom39]

I just found this thread and can't believe that I had not seen it before. I have thought of doing this same thing every time I use my Hanna Alk meter but then I put it away and out of sight out of mind.

 

Thank you Tom for putting this together and sharing it with everyone.  

[rtsusc83]

Thanks for resurrecting this!  I have a better appreciation for the sensitivity.  I have not been rinsing my cuvettes with RO/DI water.  Can I use vinegar to clean them out?

[Big Country]

Someone should pin this, great info

[Origami]

Someone should pin this, great info

OK. It's pinned.