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Just keep this in mind if you start getting crazy results that don't make sense.

Soil is weird. It's a growing media and source of nutrients as well. That makes it a little more complicated. Thanks for the info!

Be careful though. Anything that causes a color change can change your readings. Some chemicals will interfere with the reagent reaction but this is probably not an issue in your application.

That first step is like a calibration. The reagent cause the color change. So the first is basically a "zero" for the meter. The reagent makes it change color and the machine quantifies the difference. That's a pretty good process for that little device.

Maybe it's not needed. Do you put it in water to zero it or anything like that?

Lots of industrial process controls will use some kind of colorimeter but critical processes will require frequent calibration. We have one in the lab that is calibrated every time we use it but it's a built in part of the process of using the machine. As long as your not looking for super...

That's a colorimeter. It looks at the color of a substance. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01G969YA0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_imm_N2QGXCJHEBKKNB87FC0T

Hello Aqua Man, could describe how you would amend the soil in this instance? Asking because I don't know.

Ive seen the Hanna colorimeter but not familiar with it. Do you calibrate it? If so, how. Is there a blank that you use for zero?

Alkalinity testing is pretty simple but not super accurate. Unless there was a big change in the soil, the test my not see it. I'll see if we can improve the resolution.

Let me check with the lab guys and girls tomorrow.

Sodium bicarbonate is cheap. Potassium bicarbonate not so much. Much more than potassium carbonate

Bicarbonate is more expensive

All of our testing right now is with nutrient solutions

Not much right now but if you want me to run some tests in the lab, I can try to help

Some people use potassium hydroxide and it's strong but not a really good buffer. It can also be hazardous and their Safety Data Sheets are hard to find. I've never found them and I looked.

Carbonate has twice the alkalinity of bicarbonate

Potassium carbonate has twice the alkalinity of by carbonate and equal buffering capabilities