Alkalinity (1 Viewer)

[Erin]

I will admit I haven’t been testing as often as I should. I recently bought a used Hanna dKh test kit and used it for the first time today. I read the instructions and believe I ran the test correctly- I actually ran it 3 times. The results for the 3 tests were 5.4, 5.3, and 5.3. For comparison, I tested a couple times with my Salifert alk kit, and both those readings were 8.3. As I said, I haven’t tested consistently, and my alkalinity has run low (6-7) in the past, but I really don’t want to try to correct it not knowing what the real level is first.

Is there anyone in the Spring area that can let me borrow their Hanna kit tomorrow and see if I get different results? Alternatively, if someone has *any* alkalinity test I can use to at least figure out which of my numbers is closer to being accurate, I would really appreciate it.

I’m getting ready to do a water change and will test everything again, but other current params: temp- 78; pH- 8.0; salinity 1.028 (high I know); Ca- 460;
Mg- 1470; nitrates around 10.

Thanks.

 

[Cody]

I have both the Hannah alk and the salifert. I trust the salifert over the Hannah based off of cross-referencing the salifert and trident with the Hannah being the oddball. My Hannah worked great for years. Perhaps it needs to be recalibrated. I would reach out to Hannah.

 

[Erin]

I have both the Hannah alk and the salifert. I trust the salifert over the Hannah based off of cross-referencing the salifert and trident with the Hannah being the oddball. My Hannah worked great for years. Perhaps it needs to be recalibrated. I would reach out to Hannah.

Thanks. I’d actually be surprised if my alk was as high as 8.3, at least prior to the water change I just did. I’m going to test everything again tomorrow morning and see how it looks. I still need to get the salinity down... I’m out of fresh water and my wc mix was 1.026. Will be heading to TAP when they open tomorrow and may take a water sample for them to test.

 

[reeftopia]

salifert # 1

 

[TooMuchDog]

I've got a hanna alk test that's pretty new so hopefully it's still calibrated well. I'm on Gosling if you wanna stop by and bring a cuvette of water i can test it for you.

 

[Ostentum]

My salifert actually tests .5dkh higher than my trident and khg. Hannah is way off of those other two testers

 

[RR-MAN]

If I were you I would dump the used Hanna kit. Remember these Hanna checkers are great but it won’t last forever plus you don’t know how the other person used/abused it.

One thing I have learned in this hobby. Do not buy used test kits...that’s just me.

What’s an extra $50 if corals and fish adds up to hundreds even thousands... too much to jeopardize.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Erin]

I've got a hanna alk test that's pretty new so hopefully it's still calibrated well. I'm on Gosling if you wanna stop by and bring a cuvette of water i can test it for you.

Funny, I bought this from someone who lives off Gosling, lol. I will message you.

 

[Erin]

My salifert actually tests .5dkh higher than my trident and khg. Hannah is way off of those other two testers

And here I thought I was doing a good thing getting a fancy tester, lol!

 

[Erin]

I have both the Hannah alk and the salifert. I trust the salifert over the Hannah based off of cross-referencing the salifert and trident with the Hannah being the oddball. My Hannah worked great for years. Perhaps it needs to be recalibrated. I would reach out to Hannah.

Does the fact that my Ca and Mg are high have any relation/bearing on a lower alk result? If I decide to raise the alk (which I will probably try since 8.3 is on the low end of “normal”), do I need to worry about the other 2?

*sorry, I‘ll look at the chemistry forum

 

[TooMuchDog]

Does the fact that my Ca and Mg are high have any relation/bearing on a lower alk result? If I decide to raise the alk (which I will probably try since 8.3 is on the low end of “normal”), do I need to worry about the other 2?

*sorry, I‘ll look at the chemistry forum

I'm not an expert on this but from my understanding is that Alk and Cal get used at a pretty equal rate. Mag prevents them from precipitating out. So you want to make sure your Mag is a good level or else the Alk will just precipitate out. I've also read some stuff that says even if Cal is a good level, if you are trying to raise Alk you should also dose Cal, but I do not fully understand how the chemistry there works so definitely look further into that angle before adding Cal.

 

[Reefahholic]

***EDIT***
Sorry for unknown recommendation

 

[Erin]

I’ve never had issues with my Hanna Alkalinity meter, Copper meter, or Phosphorus ULR. Will definitely be using them on the new system along with Red Sea for Mag and Cal. I still like Nyos for NO3.

I tired the over-hyped AF Magnesium test kit. I didn’t like it. Used it for a little bit and went back to Red Sea. The color change wasn’t drastic enough. Waste of money for me.

Salifert has always been pretty good and their cheap.

Not looking for recommendations on test kits. I just want a third data point to see which of my 2 measurements is close... hopefully a 3rd test will confirm one or the other.

 

[Erin]

I'm not an expert on this but from my understanding is that Alk and Cal get used at a pretty equal rate. Mag prevents them from precipitating out. So you want to make sure your Mag is a good level or else the Alk will just precipitate out. I've also read some stuff that says even if Cal is a good level, if you are trying to raise Alk you should also dose Cal, but I do not fully understand how the chemistry there works so definitely look further into that angle before adding Cal.

Yeah, my Mg and Ca are a little high, but are at about the 3:1 ratio that is recommended.

I tested again today after roughly a 15% water change last night. Ca and Mg are about the same and my alk results were 8.6 with Salifert and 5.9 with the Hanna. I went ahead and added about 1/3 of the recommended dose of Seachem Reef Buffer and will test again several times during the week. Consistency is most important, so even if a particular test is wrong, I'll still be able to track changes. But these 2 were so far off, I'm not even sure what ballpark I'm in, lol.

 

[Reefahholic]

Not looking for recommendations on test kits. I just want a third data point to see which of my 2 measurements is close... hopefully a 3rd test will confirm one or the other.

Ohh excuse me. Let me delete my comment. Didn’t know I specifically referenced you and recommended it to you. Sorry.

 

[Reefahholic]

Does the fact that my Ca and Mg are high have any relation/bearing on a lower alk result? If I decide to raise the alk (which I will probably try since 8.3 is on the low end of “normal”), do I need to worry about the other 2?

*sorry, I‘ll look at the chemistry forum

FYI, 8.3 isn’t on the low end. Over 50% of reefers run between 8 - 9.

 

[Erin]

FYI, 8.3 isn’t on the low end. Over 50% of reefers run between 8 - 9.

True, but the "normal range" (and I do use that term loosely) is about 7-11. With that in mind, even if my 8.3 result is correct, there's room to increase it without it being outside that range, and if it's really below 6, I definitely need to raise it (slowly).

 

[Reefahholic]

True, but the "normal range" (and I do use that term loosely) is about 7-11. With that in mind, even if my 8.3 result is correct, there's room to increase it without it being outside that range, and if it's really below 6, I definitely need to raise it (slowly).

Sounds like you’re slightly confused about your target dKH. What is your goal for the tank? What kind of corals are you growing?

 

[Erin]

Sounds like you’re slightly confused about your target dKH. What is your goal for the tank? What kind of corals are you growing?

Sounds like you're slightly confused about my original post. I'm not confused at all, except by the significantly different test results I got yesterday, but thanks.

 

[Reefahholic]

Sounds like you're slightly confused about my original post. I'm not confused at all, except by the significantly different test results I got yesterday, but thanks.

Apparently so. Good luck.