HI727 Color of Water Colorimeter - Checker® HC use in Reef Aquariums

[Koigula]

I was curious if anyone out there uses a colorimeter in hobby.

https://www.hannainst.com/hi727-color-of-water.html

HI727

Color of Water Colorimeter - Checker® HC​

The visiual assessment white bucket test is done when changing water to compare what is taken out with what is put in often . I was curious if anyone found value from using a device like this. As with most tests the response is likely just a water change anyway short of carbon anyway. There certainly are blackwater Amazon aquarium that likely do could benefit possibly or aestitcally.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I'm not sure I'd use it for anything except to have an idea of the color change when experimenting.

yellowness is not the only reason to do water changes.

 

[taricha]

I have this checker, just as a digital eyeball in the royal blue 470nm wavelength.
It's not sensitive enough to detect yellow in my tank water (and my water is noticeably yellow) in such a short path length of one cuvette. Looking down a long path onto a white background is a better measure of yellow for reef water.

 

[Koigula]

Thanks for feedback. I would not get one but curious as so many people run tanks exact same way.

 

[Dan_P]

I was curious if anyone out there uses a colorimeter in hobby.

https://www.hannainst.com/hi727-color-of-water.html

HI727

Color of Water Colorimeter - Checker® HC​

The visiual assessment white bucket test is done when changing water to compare what is taken out with what is put in often . I was curious if anyone found value from using a device like this. As with most tests the response is likely just a water change anyway short of carbon anyway. There certainly are blackwater Amazon aquarium that likely do could benefit possibly or aestitcally.

The color we observe in the white bucket test is way below what the “Color of Water” Checker can detect. If you are interested in trending color development of your water, photograph the water change in a white bucket next to a bucket of freshly prepared saltwater. There is color analysis software that might be useful in quantifying the color difference in the photograph.

Aquarium water tends to be rather clear and colorless. I had to build a 54 inch cell to measure color or cloudiness of my aquarium water with a visible spectrometer. I might have been able to see the affect of a skimmer and GAC but the data was on the ragged edge of statistical significance. @taricha was able to use fluorescent measurements of his aquarium water to detect organic matter but I don’t remember if much diagnostic power came out of the technique.

 

[taricha]

@taricha was able to use fluorescent measurements of his aquarium water to detect organic matter but I don’t remember if much diagnostic power came out of the technique.

I can measure abundant fluorescent/yellowing organic material in tank water and in bacterial cultures as they break down food and release waste products. I haven't found anything that removes the yellowing/fluorescent compounds except GAC.

 

[elysics]

If you need a device to tell you that the color has imperceptibly changed, what would you use that information for except making yourself feel bad about your tank?

If you worry about chemical warfare, just run carbon every week or every second week

 

[taricha]

If you need a device to tell you that the color has imperceptibly changed, what would you use that information for except making yourself feel bad about your tank?

If you worry about chemical warfare, just run carbon every week or every second week

It's interesting to think about measuring the yellow, because yellowing chemicals can be a proxy for general Dissolved Organic Material in the water that doesn't show up with normal hobby test kits, but could be quantified at some cost by Triton N-DOC. Maybe the quantity of these is important - or maybe not - or maybe only important if they are extremely high or low.

Your GAC advice is certainly the best low-effort solution, and measuring the yellow, or the DOM might be most useful in just telling you to change out your carbon.