Hanna Marine Master gen 2

[phish1627]

I am building my first reef tank. I currently don’t have any testing equipment. I am someone that would prefer to buy nicer equipment off the bat as opposed to buying entry level and then buying again later on.

Since I don’t currently have any Hanna checkers, I was thinking of getting the marine master instead of ending up buying several Hanna checkers individually. I like the Bluetooth capabilities of sending readings to a spreadsheet for tracking as well. Any thoughts on buying the marine master instead of individual trackers over time?

 

[exnisstech]

I almost went with a master tester when I won one but decided not to since I only test N, P and Alk on a regular basis with calcium being tested once every month or two. I also test several tanks so I have multiple tests going at once. Only being able run a single test at a time would make for a very long boring Sunday morning for me.
I could see it possibly being useful if I only had a single tank.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I am not convinced that a mixed kit is worth getting. Hanna is not the best at calcium, and gives lots of folks issues. I do not recommend home testing if magnesium at all due to a poor accuracy record.

pH is best tested with a meter, IMO.

If you ever measure ammonia, it will likely only be during cycling and a cheap kit is fine for that.

Nitrite is not worth measuring in a marine system, unless the goal is to see if it is interfering with nitrate results.

 

[BryanM]

I have a marine master and I would vote to pass.

The calcium test is a joke.

I often have to test phosphate 3 times even though my reagents have an expiration date in 2028.

 

[rtparty]

Complete waste of money.

Salifert for alkalinity, calcium, and nitrate. Hanna Phosphorous ULR for phosphate.

Save the money for other stuff. The only Hanna worth having is the phosphate

 

[Reefin' Steve]

I have it, a couple eggs, salifert, api, and Red Sea.

Ammonia and nitrite you only need cycling, but its nice to have I suppose.

Calcium and magnesium don't bother with hanna, I have a hard time getting repeatable results. I use Red Sea because the titration is nice.

ph seems to be accurate but I also have a pen and hydros probe.

Nitrate phosphate alkalinity I have eggs and the master and trust them.

if I was doing it over, id buy salifert for ammonia and nitrite, hanna eggs for alk, nitrate and phosphate, Red Sea cal mag, and a ph pen. not because I don't like the master, but because I could do multiple tests at a time while the others are sitting in the reaction period. if you want the bluetooth recording for results and on screen instructions, go for it. just know that testing will take an hour doing it one at a time.

EDIT - If you are quarantining (you should) get the copper hanna egg. Don't be like me and be impatient and lose your tank 6 months in. Check the guide here or humble fish's guide.

 

[toygrr]

When I started my tank I got a couple Hanna checkers, realized my other supplemental kits sucked, sold my Hannas and upgraded to the gen 2 Hanna master reef kit. No regrets, the step by step on screen tutorial and the log in your phone is a nice upgrade from the ol' moleskin notebook and crappy handwriting.

 

[Reefin' Steve]

When I started my tank I got a couple Hanna checkers, realized my other supplemental kits sucked, sold my Hannas and upgraded to the gen 2 Hanna master reef kit. No regrets, the step by step on screen tutorial and the log in your phone is a nice upgrade from the ol' moleskin notebook and crappy handwriting.

I agree generally, its just slow, and do two calcium test or magnesium tests back to back and they will be pretty far apart and that has to be emphasized for the price of the thing. Manual testing (titration) only for me on those.

 

[toygrr]

I agree generally, its just slow, and do two calcium test or magnesium tests back to back and they will be pretty far apart and that has to be emphasized for the price of the thing. Manual testing (titration) only for me on those.

oh that's interesting, my results have been very consistent when I've checked it with my LFS, they have a big fancy machine, not sure what brand it is. Side note I always fill the cuvettes with the syringes and never use the line as reference, idk maybe I'm lucky..

 

[Reefin' Steve]

oh that's interesting, my results have been very consistent when I've checked it with my LFS, they have a big fancy machine, not sure what brand it is. Side note I always fill the cuvettes with the syringes and never use the line as reference, idk maybe I'm lucky..

Same here, maybe its something else I do but I'm very careful, regardless I struggle with repeatability on those and I come out more where I expect with Red Sea

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

oh that's interesting, my results have been very consistent when I've checked it with my LFS, they have a big fancy machine, not sure what brand it is. Side note I always fill the cuvettes with the syringes and never use the line as reference, idk maybe I'm lucky..

Probably an Aquaspin, though I'd be careful treating that number as highly accurate.

if you want a good check on tank levels of ions such as calcium, magnesium, or nitrate, an ICP company test, such as by Oceamo will do it.