Calcium high with Hanna 971

[PatricioLG]

I am so frustrated, I am being very careful doing the Hanna Calcium test using the HI971 making sure it is correct and vials wiped properly. I tested 4 days ago it tested 373ppm, previously before quite high. then 3 times tonight getting results 576, 519, then 600, should I just use a different company ? So fed up!!

 

[KrisReef]

I like Hanna, but for calcium I also find that API is less expensive and reasonable accurate, and a lot simpler to use.

If you’re not happy with Hanna, take a look at API calcium for relief.

 

[Fish Fan]

The Hanna Calcium Checker is one of their least liked Checkers, it's very finicky. I'd suggest trying a Salifert test kit.

 

[ScottJ]

I like the Salfert Calcium. Very easy and cost effective.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I agree the Hanna calcium gives folks more apparent issues than any other of their checkers.

I’ve essentially stopped testing calcium (and magnesium). I dose them in proportion to alk dosed using AFR.

 

[PatricioLG]

I like Hanna, but for calcium I also find that API is less expensive and reasonable accurate, and a lot simpler to use.

If you’re not happy with Hanna, take a look at API calcium for relief.

Hmmm that’s interesting because a lot of people say that API are freshwater masquerading as saltwater tests.. you recommend them then ?

 

[KrisReef]

Hmmm that’s interesting because a lot of people say that API are freshwater masquerading as saltwater tests.. you recommend them then ?

Specifically, I found the calcium test to give reasonable results. Not Hanna precision (in general) but I am using a calcium reactor and rarely measure calcium. I monitor dkH and if it's stable, calcium doesn't move much, if at all for me. I would not recommend other API tests, but when I had all three (API, Salifer, and Hanna) calcium test kitss I didn't find the results to be so far off, one from another for calcium. And I do use Hanna for dKh, and adjust my reactor output with that one parameter because calcium follows alk for me, very nicely.

Rarely measure magnesium either, but that's another test that I don't stress with.

 

[JonasRoman]

I am so frustrated, I am being very careful doing the Hanna Calcium test using the HI971 making sure it is correct and vials wiped properly. I tested 4 days ago it tested 373ppm, previously before quite high. then 3 times tonight getting results 576, 519, then 600, should I just use a different company ? So fed up!!

Hanna Ca checker includes several steps that lower both precision and accuracy. The checkers is fine for po4 and no3 but, but not for Mg,kh and ca. Because these 3 para is always better to do with titration methods. So your frustration is because its not better than this.
Buy just a simple titration test of any kind. Its accurate, fast and cheap.
Especially Ca titration test are very accurate as its easy to exclude Mg in the subsequent edta titration.

Jonas

 

[PatricioLG]

Specifically, I found the calcium test to give reasonable results. Not Hanna precision (in general) but I am using a calcium reactor and rarely measure calcium. I monitor dkH and if it's stable, calcium doesn't move much, if at all for me. I would not recommend other API tests, but when I had all three (API, Salifer, and Hanna) calcium test kitss I didn't find the results to be so far off, one from another for calcium. And I do use Hanna for dKh, and adjust my reactor output with that one parameter because calcium follows alk for me, very nicely.

Rarely measure magnesium either, but that's another test that I don't stress with.

Hello whoever is reading this, I tested with salifert today which is also difficult to understand, please understand that my old brain struggles with instructions, although it was much better than the Hanna test which I found to be totally unreliable, my test results today measured out at 0.52 left in the syringe which is 240 PPM totally different to the results that Hanna was showing and it means I have to dose calcium. Blimey what a palaver!!
Thank you for the replies everyone

 

[PatricioLG]

The Hanna Calcium Checker is one of their least liked Checkers, it's very finicky. I'd suggest trying a Salifert test kit.

Yes I used Salifert today, had trouble getting my old head around it and wasted 3 tests but I think I have it now, turns out my Calcium was very low not high as Hanna was showing, why are these instructions so ridiculously hard to understand?, , thanks for the tip off

 

[JonasRoman]

Hmmm that’s interesting because a lot of people say that API are freshwater masquerading as saltwater tests.. you recommend them then ?

Api is fine for marine aswell. Its no difference how a ca test works between fresh and marine.

 

[JonasRoman]

Yes I used Salifert today, had trouble getting my old head around it and wasted 3 tests but I think I have it now, turns out my Calcium was very low not high as Hanna was showing, why are these instructions so ridiculously hard to understand?, , thanks for the tip off

What Salifert did was to include the NaOH (bottle 1) to edta titration reagent meaning one bottle less. No really advantage, and confusing for some. That means that you need a certain amount of titrant to get it work at all as colour reagent must be in an alkalic environment to get right function (red colour when Ca ions are bound, blue when not) . Therefore the test start work after a bolus which is around 300 mg/l Ca. Below that the test is not working.

 

[Homewrecker]

I can get pretty freaking close to my
ICP results using salifert.
I tried the Hanna checker once and sent that thing right back to Amazon. Not worth the headache, hassle or reagent cost

 

[JonasRoman]

I am honestly surprised Hanna is doing checkers for Ca,Mg and Kh. Not an accurate method. Kh with fixed dose I explain in a video I recently posted.

Ca with fixed dose is also very unsecure. Reason is this: titration is is easy because there we just titrate to colour transition which appear when ALL Ca,ions has left colour dye, and the dosage of colour dye is very small compared to Ca.
A fixed dose test like Hanna needs more colour molecules than Ca ions so independent of concentration we always have some colour not bound to Ca. That means the sample must be diluted like 1+9. Photometer now measure absorbance. But with that dilution we loss accuracy as marine water is just 10% of total volume. So if you just add for instance 0.2 ml too much (or 0.2 ml less ro) that gives an error of 20%, thus 80 ppm. If you do same error for both marine water component and RO dil, the error is in this example 160 ppm.
Add to that that colour dye absorbance is not 100% linear to number of Ca ions bound.
Its just not a good checker. Same for Mg.

Jonas

 

[fishtex]

I too have struggled with the Hanna Ca Tester. You might watch this YouTube video from Logan at Reef Rookies. I learned a couple of things that I'm going to change in my Ca testing process and see if the results are more consistent (although I also agree that both Ca and Mg tests are probably the least important to test routinely - I only do them about once per month).

 

[PatricioLG]

Yes Logan gives a great remark on how to use the singular machine but the multimeter/photometer HI971- etc is a different test and is just not good enough