Hanna Marine Ammonia Checker Not Working

dnprall · Mar 5, 2023

My checker is only a couple months ago. I get a "L. Lo" flashing error after zeroing from C1. I've changed the battery and I've tried multiple different vials.

I've emailed the company through their website. I send a message to an email I saw on another thread ( [email protected]) and I've send a message to what I believe is the Hanna representative on Reef2Reef.

Any ideas on how I can reach the company regarding this?

HankstankXXXL750 · Mar 5, 2023

I found this on another thread

homer1475 · Mar 5, 2023

Would it not read the low error if ammonia was 0?

I've never used the hanna ammonia checker, but I have the rest of them.

HankstankXXXL750 · Mar 5, 2023

I believe the op is stating that the error comes when calibrating the checker before adding and reactant.

dnprall · Mar 5, 2023

HankstankXXXL750 said:
I believe the op is stating that the error comes when calibrating the checker before adding and reactant.

Correct. Add tank water. Add a reagent. Then calibrate. Then add another reagent wait 15 minutes and it gives a result. The problem is at the baseline set prior to adding the last reagent.

Dan_P · Mar 5, 2023

dnprall said:
Correct. Add tank water. Add a reagent. Then calibrate. Then add another reagent wait 15 minutes and it gives a result. The problem is at the baseline set prior to adding the last reagent.

Is the sample crystal clear?

dnprall · Mar 5, 2023

Dan_P said:
Is the sample crystal clear?

The tank water is clear. When I add the first reagent (18 drops), it turns to a dark color because the reagent looks almost black. Your question has me questioning whether or not I'm using the correct liquid reagent first or not. Slightly embarrassing. I'll check my stuff later tonight again. I suspect that I have switched the liquid reagents around.

Dan_P · Mar 5, 2023

dnprall said:
The tank water is clear. When I add the first reagent (18 drops), it turns to a dark color because the reagent looks almost black. Your question has me questioning whether or not I'm using the correct liquid reagent first or not. Slightly embarrassing. I'll check my stuff later tonight again. I suspect that I have switched the liquid reagents around.

Hopefully you’ve found the answer. The calibration step, C1, is typically colorless or barely a tint.

taricha · Mar 5, 2023

dnprall said:
The tank water is clear. When I add the first reagent (18 drops), it turns to a dark color because the reagent looks almost black.

I pulled out my old hanna ammonia test a few days ago and the reagent had discolored significantly to very dark in the months I haven't used it. Adding it to a cuvette gives a dark brown like what you are describing.
I wonder if your reagents may be old or have been previously opened.
(Maybe hanna shoulda put those reagents in packets too, like their others. )

dnprall · Mar 6, 2023

Doubled checked what I'm doing and I'm using the correct reagent bottle first. It's a dark brown/black color.

Hanna finally got back to me and said that the reagent is likely bad and will be sending me new supplies.

dschuffert · Mar 25, 2023

dnprall said:
Doubled checked what I'm doing and I'm using the correct reagent bottle first. It's a dark brown/black color.

Hanna finally got back to me and said that the reagent is likely bad and will be sending me new supplies.

The same thing happened to me. When I bought the kit, everything worked well with the drops and reagents in the kit. I ordered a refill kit, but nothing worked; everything turned brown and wouldn't calibrate. I also received the L.LO error. I emailed Hanna a few times and never got a reply. I figured I got a bad batch of Reagent. So I went online, and all the Reagent was out of stock for months. A couple of weeks ago, I saw everyone now has the Reagent set in stock, so I ordered it and got something different from what I had. Now the A and B reagents are powder instead of drops. Now there is a big bottle of Reagent C with a 1ML tip and syringe in the kit. I cross-checked the numbers, got the suitable refill kit, etc. They all match up with the HI784 Testing Device. Now I am trying to figure out how to use it. When I searched Hanna's site, it still had the instructions and pictures for the old reagent refill set. I guess I will have to wait until someone figures it out or Hanna updates their site. I emailed Hanna again this morning, but I do not expect them to respond as usual.

Here is a picture of the new refill set on the left and the original testing kit on the right.

taricha · Mar 25, 2023

This is the new instructions.
Reagent A liquid gets 1.00mL
B and C are a packet.

dnprall · Mar 25, 2023

dschuffert said:
The same thing happened to me. When I bought the kit, everything worked well with the drops and reagents in the kit. I ordered a refill kit, but nothing worked; everything turned brown and wouldn't calibrate. I also received the L.LO error. I emailed Hanna a few times and never got a reply. I figured I got a bad batch of Reagent. So I went online, and all the Reagent was out of stock for months. A couple of weeks ago, I saw everyone now has the Reagent set in stock, so I ordered it and got something different from what I had. Now the A and B reagents are powder instead of drops. Now there is a big bottle of Reagent C with a 1ML tip and syringe in the kit. I cross-checked the numbers, got the suitable refill kit, etc. They all match up with the HI784 Testing Device. Now I am trying to figure out how to use it. When I searched Hanna's site, it still had the instructions and pictures for the old reagent refill set. I guess I will have to wait until someone figures it out or Hanna updates their site. I emailed Hanna again this morning, but I do not expect them to respond as usual.

Here is a picture of the new refill set on the left and the original testing kit on the right.
View attachment 3080730

@taricha Beat me too it but here are the instructions from the single card.