Quote:
Originally Posted by lastlight
Biggest waste of money ever: Hanna Phosphate Checker.
This putrid looking brown hair algae is having an absolute heyday on all the rock that was added to my stuff from the previous tank. So I do two tests tonight to determine whether my gfo needs replacing after only 2 weeks in operation.
Both tests: 0.00
When you're already ****ed because it's damn near impossible to get all the damn reagent out of those little packets let alone into the vial... and it slaps you with a zero reading twice... I damn near threw the thing out!  |
I find measuring phosphate one of the more frustrating exercises in the domain of "measuring stuff" in this hobby. Second only to measuring potassium (which still reigns supreme, IMHO, as one of the most asinine methods of testing anything, you'd have more accurate results by licking your finger, sticking said finger into the tank, and then stating out loud, emphatically, the first random number that pops into your head. It's important that you state it out loud
emphatically, if you have any hesitation or politeness in your tone when stating the number, you have to perform the test again).
Hanna sure doesn't make it convenient to get their little powdered reagents into those little test tubes, without spilling some. I've discovered a whole new repertoire of swearing thanks to those little checkers.
(At least the Alk checker uses a liquid reagent: soooo much easier to use and get consistent results.)
The best test kit I ever used for measuring PO4 was the D-D/Merck low-range kit. You can't get it anymore. Which is a real shame, it was the ONLY test kit I found you could really have any confidence in the numbers produced... Every other one, Hanna included, you really have to take the results with a small grain of salt.