Hanna Calcium Checker Review

[fsu1dolfan]

Hey everyone - Figured i would share some new results from this weekend. I went and bought a new API calcium tester since i felt like the hanna checker was not really working for me. On Friday i dropped by RC and found these pictures and instructions posted by hanna Calcium Checker Optimization - Reef Central Online Community I printed them out and decided to see one last time if the checker was worth it. To my surprise API was 420 and the checker was 436. I definitely watched the lines more carefully to make sure it was exact as possible. I also used RO water instead of distilled. Not sure what made a difference but it was IMHO the most accurate result i have achieved. I also noticed that one difference was the 10ml line. I never use to make sure the "meniscus " was just above the line...i use to even it out with the line. Also i noticed that .1ml equals two drops from the syringe consistently. Again not sure what made it work but i plan to do it that way every time. Maybe it isn't so bad.

 

[Dowtish]

Corresponding video
[video=youtube;LGjpicL6hTk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGjpicL6hTk[/video]

 

[m and m]

So are these worth it?

 

[Reef Breeders]

Definitely, I love mine

 

[Dowtish]

About 3 quarters into this video we get to hear directly from a Hanna rep about the Cal. checker

[video=youtube;4v5-FPMQRYY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4v5-FPMQRYY[/video]

 

[rcmike]

Good info. I'm going to have to give mine another go. A couple of times I got good results where I thought they should be but a couple of times it maxed out the meter at 600!

 

[LeoLionFish]

I so cant wait until Macna 2012!!! Is anyone from the club going?? I smell roadtrip!!


Travis D.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[H@rry]

Also on the video is an interview with Philip Root. I remember him from when he and a partner ran a LFS in Rainbow City, AL. He's really come a long way!

 

[Dowtish]

Good info. I'm going to have to give mine another go. A couple of times I got good results where I thought they should be but a couple of times it maxed out the meter at 600!

Same with me. I have gone to the pharmacy and gotten a bag of 1ml diabetic syringes, and by using those it has been much more reliable. But I have also found that there is residual calcium in the RO/DI that I get. So I have contacted Hanna through email and asked for some of their lab grade RO/DI...I'll update here when and if I hear back from them.

 

[Dowtish]

Well I got a reply to my email asking for some of their lab grade RO/DI. and this is what is said....

Hi Chris,
Thank you for choosing Hanna! We have two sizes available:
HI 70436: $17, 3.75 Liters
HI 70436M: $9.75, 230 mL

We have both in stock now.

Not that I was asking for much, but I figured they might want to send me some to see if I was happier with my results with the checker. So, I guess I will have to pay for it, if I want to see the difference in the results.

 

[LeoLionFish]

Aint nuthin free in this hobby Chris!


Travis D.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dowtish]

Sometimes there is. you just got to be mr. saltwater tank to get the stuff.

 

[pickupman66]

just a dumb question but have you tried someone else's water? I do know that the water in the rutherford county area is VERY HARD and is notorious for leaving calcium deposits on everything. I had to soak my showerheads in CLR every 3 months untill I got an un-clogable one. If what they say is true that some calcium can get thru the RO/Di filter, then I would bet that the water in your area is a prime candidate for that.

IE, if you pay the postage, ill bottle up some of my RO/DI and send it to you or..... Ill be in the boro on saturday and ill bring you a jug of it.

 

[Dowtish]

I have gotten water from davidson and rutherford cty and from 3 different RO/DI systems and all seem to have a little. It's really not enough to be an issue honestly. I was just wanting to see if Hanna would respond to my email for a request. I appreciate the offer though.