AndrewSPS Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 Everyone was super hyped up about the new Hanna nitrate colorimeter and then sad to learn this one required being able to follow some simple directions. While there are 3 reagents and a few steps to this checker, the accuracy of a digital colorimeter out beats trying to decide which shade of pink your sample is. Overall for an investment of $50 and $15 for reagent refills ($0.60/test). This checker will be used weekly in my testing routine without a doubt. My previous method was a salifert test kit but to me it was hard to decipher the exact color shade so I just knew a general range of my nitrate. The checker would greatly benefit those running a super low nutrient system. Luckily for those of us who do not run low nutrients there is a dilution method to be able to register nitrate levels up to 50 ppm. Otherwise the low range checker is good for up to 5ppm readings. At a solid reading of 4.73 ppm I was satisfied as my goal is usually 5-10ppm after dosing ESV nitrate weekly Joe and Flounder 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muttley000 Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 Sweet, I didn’t know this was released. It will be in my marine depot cart soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewSPS Posted October 2, 2020 Author Share Posted October 2, 2020 I think most sites are shipping them this week. I did a preorder from SA about a month ago. No one is really selling the reagents yet which is strange but I placed an order directly through Hanna for 5 extra boxes. I’m going to try the dilution method now since it’ll be doing that the majority of the time. It does require fresh saltwater which I do not keep mixed so a small pain there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMM Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 I read the reviews and it appears to be difficult to use. You disagree with that? I am certainly interested in something better then my red sea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewSPS Posted October 2, 2020 Author Share Posted October 2, 2020 5 minutes ago, JMM said: I read the reviews and it appears to be difficult to use. You disagree with that? I am certainly interested in something better then my red sea. It’s definitely the most in-depth checker they offer in terms of steps but still easy to use. Here’s a good video showing the process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMM Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 Thanks for the link. It’s certainly more involved but at once a week it would be ok. Interested in seeing what the cost is to replace the reagents and filters. Looks interesting and doable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewSPS Posted October 5, 2020 Author Share Posted October 5, 2020 After a little experimenting I’ve tried ESV salt water mix and just IO and both are testing for nitrates just after mixing. So the dilution method requires you to mix sample water with “nitrate free saltwater” which may be hard to do. RODI water- 0.00 RODI ESV salt- 3.66 x10 tank sample- 4.73ppm im curious how much of the salt impacts the rest of I could just dilute with RODI water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMM Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 Have you done any more with dilution? Ju#t ordered one and my nitrates are over 20 so will need to dilute. Thanks, Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewSPS Posted October 28, 2020 Author Share Posted October 28, 2020 Yes I have been doing the dilution method now. I tried this with both RODI water and freshly made saltwater and saw no difference between the 2. I ran about 6 test back to best and all were within 10% of each other and consistent with salifert and Red Sea test kit. Overall it’s handy to have but does take more time than a salifert test. I’m currently out of reagent and awaiting an order directly from Hanna for more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMM Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 I just saw that my Ofer for extra reagent is back ordered. Guess my Red Sea days are yet to be over. thanks for the update. jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewSPS Posted November 6, 2020 Author Share Posted November 6, 2020 I finally got reagents directly from Hanna. They kinda released the checker too early without extra reagents available. No reef site has them in stock yet. The kits do come with the filter papers so no need to purchase separately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMM Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Just got notification my tool and extra reagents shipped this week. Looking forward to trying it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muttley000 Posted November 25, 2020 Share Posted November 25, 2020 Hey guys, how is it going with these? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewSPS Posted November 25, 2020 Author Share Posted November 25, 2020 2 hours ago, Muttley000 said: Hey guys, how is it going with these? I love mine. I used it at least 3 times a week. My nitrates have been around 6-7 so I’m still using the dilution method. I dilute with just DI water and don’t notice a difference between that and premixed saltwater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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