Hanna Alk reagent issues

Chaz D · Sep 13, 2015

It would be AWESOME if the reagent bottles were clear.

pickupman66 · Sep 13, 2015

Maybe light harms them, hence color of bottle

Rob.D · Sep 13, 2015

jgraz said:
I'm glad you showed us how to used the Hanna kit properly. That should solve all of out problems. Oh wait, it didn't. the reason why it didn't is because there is clearly an issue with the reagent as it nears the end of the bottle. Perhaps it settles a bit and needs to be shaken more then normal, perhaps it something else. Either way this is an issue that has occurred with different people at different times and with different reagent Lot#'s. If this was 1 person sure I'll give the benefit of the doubt, but at least 3 here has had this issue and on the other site there are several more with the exact same problem. Heck, apparently even Hanna has acknowledged the issue.

That said, I invite you to read this whole thread again and ask yourself at what point did your teaching us seem warranted.

He is just trying to help out, please remember this is a open forum.

tcoyle · Sep 14, 2015

rovster, can you give me the lot # you had that was giving issues?

schooleyosis, I do shake up the bottle.

BetURWrasse · Sep 14, 2015

I've also had these issues and had Hanna send me more regents. Also have lost some because of their stupid lid. When I talked with someone I told them I lost regent thru the lid and they told me I should have stored it standing up. I told them then they should have made the case in a way that the bottle stands up straight.

rovster · Sep 14, 2015

tcoyle said:
rovster, can you give me the lot # you had that was giving issues?

schooleyosis, I do shake up the bottle.

Lot 5441 Exp 09/16

I had like 3 or 4 of them. I only confirmed the lot # on the last bottle, but usually when you order a group, they are the same. At least my last batch all were the same lot. I did order my last batch from hanna directly though, not sure if that makes a difference. I just assume the others were the same lot because they all behaved the same.

It wasn't until the last bottle that I realized the problem. Until then, I was ASSuming it was just a tank issue I was having.

iiluisii · Sep 14, 2015

I never had issues with the regents. But I do test my alk daily. I also use a micro fiber towel to wipe the glass bottle clean of any prints and after each use I rinse it with ro water and fill it with new ro water and store it like that.

rovster · Sep 14, 2015

iiluisii said:
I never had issues with the regents. But I do test my alk daily. I also use a micro fiber towel to wipe the glass bottle clean of any prints and after each use I rinse it with ro water and fill it with new ro water and store it like that.

Yeah, we all do that too

Been using it for 2 years and has been super consistent. Nothing you can do if the reagent is bad. We are not complaining about consistency here, its accuracy. Even with the bad reagent, the tests are consistent that's why its hard to pick up on. Checking every day I was within 1-2 PPM of the last day, ALWAYS, until you get to the new bottle.

iiluisii · Sep 14, 2015

rovster said:
Yeah, we all do that too

Been using it for 2 years and has been super consistent. Nothing you can do if the reagent is bad. We are not complaining about consistency here, its accuracy. Even with the bad reagent, the tests are consistent that's why its hard to pick up on. Checking every day I was within 1-2 PPM of the last day, ALWAYS, until you get to the new bottle.

Well if that the case don't you think I would have notice. I been testing everyday for maybe 6 month and never seen a change. I keep my alk at 7 dkh and it has been stable through many different bottles.

iiluisii · Sep 14, 2015

rovster said:
Yeah, we all do that too

Been using it for 2 years and has been super consistent. Nothing you can do if the reagent is bad. We are not complaining about consistency here, its accuracy. Even with the bad reagent, the tests are consistent that's why its hard to pick up on. Checking every day I was within 1-2 PPM of the last day, ALWAYS, until you get to the new bottle.

Well if that the case don't you think I would have notice. I been testing everyday for maybe 6 month and never seen a change. I keep my alk at 7 dkh and it has been stable through many different bottles.

rovster · Sep 14, 2015

iiluisii said:
Well if that the case don't you think I would have notice. I been testing everyday for maybe 6 month and never seen a change. I keep my alk at 7 dkh and it has been stable through many different bottles.

Just for the record. This is not a flame the Hanna checker thread. I do believe they have had a legitimate issue with SOME reagent. I keep a log of my alk and I check every 1-3 days based on how well the tank is doing. Up until now I enjoyed the same accuracy and consistency that you are experiencing. I hope to return to that soon. In my tank, my levels once dialed in do not move. 142-145 is the range I get, never outside that testing daily. Problems happen when you start getting drifting of that number down and you react by upping the dosing until you are back steady at that 142-145. You run out of the bottle and realize you are not at 142-145 you are at 169!

tcoyle · Sep 15, 2015

rovster.. That is the EXACT lot number I have! I am 100% convinced now that is a bad batch. All of mine with that lot # have had the same issue. The bottle I opened for the test is the same lot # and now showing low numbers, even still full. I am betting there is a stability issue once opened.

rovster · Sep 15, 2015

I agree. It seemed to show the right value once opened, but by the end of the bottle was off about 20-25 PPM. Unfortunately, I repeated this cycle two maybe even 3 times before I realized what was going on.

pickupman66 · Sep 22, 2015

FWIW, I got my new reagent in from Amazon last week. I tested it against a bottle that had MAYBE 2 or three tests left in it. they were within 2ppm of each other. I dont have the LOT #'s but both came from amazon at least 6 months apart. the old bottle has been stored in the test box on its side since it was opened.

meintn · Sep 23, 2015

Get a couple bottle of reagent and cycle which bottle you pull from for a month or two. I'd be curious to see the results.

rovster · Sep 23, 2015

Sounds like this may be specific to certain batches or possibly s single batch. Like I said previously, been using this checker for 2 years and never had an issue, and checked it with the Hanna calibration kit recently and its spot on.

rovster · Oct 2, 2015

Fool me thrice shame on you and me, fool me four times, NEVER!!!!

dang you Hanna checker, tried to fool me again. Luckily this time I have salifert to throw me a life line. Just checked my alk with Hanna and it read lower than I expected....test with salifert and it's exactly what I expect....test again with Hanna and it agrees with first test......test again with Salifert......agrees with first salifert test.

So I call Hanna and tell them about this. According to them technically I'm still within range. BS!!!! So while I'm on the phone I tell Hanna I have two other bottles of the same lot as the first. While on the phone I crack open a new bottle bs do the test right there.....voila! Test reads higher, which is where I thought I was, which agrees with salifert.

Ha! I'm going to do the same with the new bottle and see if it starts to drop off at the same point again. For the record I saw the drop off at the 16th test....yes my anal retentive self dates and records all my test results. BOOM, whatcha think about that??

tcoyle · Oct 2, 2015

what is the lot #? The new ones they sent me seem to be much better.

BryanS4 · Oct 2, 2015

I'm really glad I saw this thread because my last bottle was way off. I even increased the amount I was doing for a few days because I thought the tank was consuming more.

Went from 8.4 to 7.1 within a week. Bought Red Sea kit and got 8.3 again. I'm going to toss that thing in the trash.