Kingtriton92 Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 Can anyone recommend a good idiot proof alkalinity test kit? I picked up an API kit from Upscale yesterday and was dismayed with the direction to add one drop at a time until it turns "bright yellow". It turned yellow at 8 drops, brightish yellow at 9 drops and indisputably bright yellow at 10 drops. So is my alkalinity 8, 9 or 10? Up until now I've been doing a five gallon water change every Saturday with tropic marin pro reef and everything seems to be doing fine and thriving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdxmonkeyboy Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 I don't know why they still make all the titration kits that are almost impossible to tell when the actual color change takes place. You want fast, accurate, and actually pretty fun alk tests? .. here it is.. https://www.amazon.com/Hanna-Marine-Alkalinity-dKH-Checker/dp/B01G969YA0 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 +1 on the Hanna Alk tester. That's all I would use if I didn't have a Trident. 😎 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milesmiles902 Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 (edited) As a colorblind person, I know your pain. So, I too had to search for the best alkalinity kit. It's Salifert's Alkalinity test. Edited September 4, 2019 by milesmiles902 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 14 minutes ago, milesmiles902 said: As a colorblind person, I know your pain. So, I too had to search for the best alkalinity kit. It's Salifert's Alkalinity test. I've had good luck with this one as well. It's titration (which I personally prefer) with a very obvious transition. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisriverfisherman Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 I use the salifert alk test. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrabbyCrabs Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 I got fed up with colors. Got a Hanna. But I'm just as accurate with redsea. So I guess I didn't need the Hanna but used it to double check I was reading the color correctly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H20cooled Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 BRS did a video on the different test kits its a good video and surprising results. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdxmonkeyboy Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 so basically the hannah was the most consistent and basically one of the better if not best option. What good is accuracy if it is not consistent? Not to mention that you can literally check your alk in 1.5 minutes with the hannah checker. just my 2 cents 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregonic Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 Love my hanna alk checker. I believe mine tests a little low, but it is very consistent and easy to use. The reagents are pretty affordable too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milesmiles902 Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 27 minutes ago, pdxmonkeyboy said: so basically the hannah was the most consistent and basically one of the better if not best option. What good is accuracy if it is not consistent? Not to mention that you can literally check your alk in 1.5 minutes with the hannah checker. just my 2 cents I've had consistent results with Salifert alkalinity test and believe most alkalinity tests are consistently precise, even though they may not be consistently accurate. As long as there isn't aquarium swings, the corals fine. Maybe the aquarium is a 7 dKh and the test shows 9 dKh, but they don't care. Note: Did not watch the video. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingtriton92 Posted September 5, 2019 Author Share Posted September 5, 2019 I'm curious about the hannah checker. Do any of our local shops sell it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregonic Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 I never found it locally. I ordered from BRS. Each bottle of reagent lasts me 2-3 months. The only issue I have ever had with mine is on bottle of reagent tested about .5 dkh lower then any other bottle I have had but was consistently .5 lower the entire bottle. Just be mindful when you open a new bottle and dont freak out. I have started opening a new bottle just before the previous one runs out and test using both new and old bottle for a few tests. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrabbyCrabs Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 I've never been to a local shop that used the Hanna. I've taken samples of my water to many shops out of curiosity and none used a Hanna. Most seem to use red sea, salifert, or nyos. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optimusprime3605 Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 I've never been to a local shop that used the Hanna. I've taken samples of my water to many shops out of curiosity and none used a Hanna. Most seem to use red sea, salifert, or nyos.Brian @The ReefBox, will test your Alk with a Hannah checker. Sent from Atlantis 🤙 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 18 minutes ago, Optimusprime3605 said: Brian @The ReefBox, will test your Alk with a Hannah checker. Sent from Atlantis 🤙 @Kingtriton92 That's a good thing since ReefBox is probably the closest store to you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdxmonkeyboy Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 The brs video showed that not all the tests yielded consistently precise results. The hannah was the most precise. For those that don't know the difference between accuracy and precision the dart board is the classic example. A tight grouping of darts would be precise, even if they are not near the center of the board. Accurate darts are near the center of the board but if they are not precise, then they would be clustered in a wider grouping. For alkalinity you are looking for consistency rather than a magic value, so precision is more important. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H20cooled Posted September 6, 2019 Share Posted September 6, 2019 I use the Hanna tester as well, its simple and convenient testing is hard to beat and I do find that it is consistent. I'm not too worried about it as I'm not running to high or low Alk and I stay pretty consistent when I test. I was surprised about the Salifert tests though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenbasketreef Posted September 6, 2019 Share Posted September 6, 2019 Salifert, Hanna, or Red Sea Alk test kit, pick one and for sure you will be good All three test kits have had bad reagent in the past and have corrected and reaching out to user. This is assurance from quality test kit that we need. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youcallmenny Posted September 6, 2019 Share Posted September 6, 2019 I used Red Sea instead of Hannah for a long time until Hannah dropped the powdered reagent out of their alk checker. Now I use the Hannah and honestly the consistency is superior over the color shift, even to someone like myself who is pretty consistent in reading it. You can't argue with hard numbers over your "readings". That said I do think the Hannah reads ~0.5dKH lower than the Red Sea kit. Regardless of a little precision drift, if whatever number you pick is staying the same and you don't change kits it shouldn't ever be an issue. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.