ryans.salty.crew Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 Background: I'm a first year reef keeper, about 9 months in. It should be noted that I have never tested my calcium before this date but will be testing it weekly now. While purchasing the toadstool yesterday, I took my water to get tested at my local fish store. I only have soft corals and only do water changes (RedSea salt) within the last couple of months. A couple months ago I did dose reef roids and AB+ a couple times as well. Problem: While testing calcium the Hanna checker was getting 600+, while alk was 8.1. I plan on getting it tested again on Wednesday at another local fish store to see if maybe there Hanna checker was messed up. Is this normal? Any advice for a concerned reef owner? Quote Link to comment
seabass Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 I doubt that it's actually 600 ppm. I'm thinking it's a testing error of some kind. I'd recommend getting a Salifert kit to confirm. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted October 6, 2022 Share Posted October 6, 2022 On 9/20/2022 at 9:46 AM, 10g4Me said: Background: I'm a first year reef keeper, about 9 months in. It should be noted that I have never tested my calcium before this date but will be testing it weekly now. While purchasing the toadstool yesterday, I took my water to get tested at my local fish store. I only have soft corals and only do water changes (RedSea salt) within the last couple of months. A couple months ago I did dose reef roids and AB+ a couple times as well. Problem: While testing calcium the Hanna checker was getting 600+, while alk was 8.1. I plan on getting it tested again on Wednesday at another local fish store to see if maybe there Hanna checker was messed up. Is this normal? Any advice for a concerned reef owner? The Hanna Checkers are great, but the Calcium unit is probably the hardest test I've ever run. I wouldn't recommend it for beginners unless you have patience and budget to practice A LOT, or unless you have colorblindness and this is the only practical way to test. If you practice it can be just as accurate as (eg) Salifert though....for future reference. Salifert tests are universally easy as long as you can see blue<->pink color transitions. Guessing the store employee was low on experience....understandable with this particular Hanna test. 1 Quote Link to comment
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