In early July I ordered one of them fancy schmancy new Hanna phosphate checkers. I ended up using it quite a but during the "event" that ripped through the tank as I frantically checked all my parameters pretty much every other day. I have to say it is pretty slick. I wish ALL test kits were like this!
This is what you get in the box..
The checker itself, two test tubes, a stack of 4 (maybe 5 - i forget exactly) regents, AA battery. NOTE: The blue box to the left was an extra box of regent that I purchased. It does not come with it!
It is quite simple to use. First you fill both tubes with tank water. You then empty one packet of regent into one of the tubes and gently stir/mix.
The instructions say to wait 3 minutes before checking the tube with the regent in it. At about the 2.5 minute mark I turn on the checker by pressing the button. It'll display "Add Press C.1" once it is ready for you to insert the tube that only contains the tank water.
Once the tube is inserted press the button. The Phosphate Checker uses this sample as sort of a zero calibration. Once it is ready it will display "Add Press C.2".
This is when you take out the water only tube and insert the tube that has the regent in it. Then press the button again. In a pretty short amount of time (like a few seconds), it gives you a reading. voila!
Nice and simple. I do have two gripes about it though. 1. I find the openning of the test tube small and tricky to get all the regent out of the packet and into the tube. There may have been some spillage so I had to do a couple of tests
2. The display only stays on for a few seconds. After that it completely shuts off. If you press the button again it starts from scratch which means it expects you to put the water-only tube back in for calibration. Mildly annoying when you're trying to line it up for a photo shoot.