Elos KH test kit

[mark]

Really like the ease of the Salifert (rather read off a scale than count drops) but see JL no longer carrying so how's the Elos KH for use?

[George]

Elos alkalinity test kit is using drops. One drop is 0.5 dKH. So it's pretty quick to do a test.

Really like the ease of the Salifert (rather read off a scale than count drops) but see JL no longer carrying so how's the Elos KH for use?

[Megalodon]

My Elos kit for kH is inaccurate. It reads about 20% too low. Go with Salifert ... they sell them at OceanAquatics.

BTW, the new Elos kit for magnesium's also a joke. You get a different reading each time.

[DiverDude]

My Elos kit for kH is inaccurate. It reads about 20% too low. Go with Salifert ... they sell them at OceanAquatics.

BTW, the new Elos kit for magnesium's also a joke. You get a different reading each time.

I'm FAR from an expert on test kits or the chemistry behind them but if I were getting different readings from the same kit, I'd be suspicious. Either the kit's gone bad, been contaminated somehow or you're doing something wrong.

I can't see how a company like Elos could produce a product that simply did not work !

Just my $0.02 worth.

[globaldesigns]

I have always used the ELOS, very quick and easy.

[asylumdown]

I'm a giant fan of seachem's reef status test series. The fact that you add your titrant with a 1ml syringe is awesome and makes it super clear how much you've dispensed, they also come with calibration samples.

The alk test kit also tests both borate and carbonate (indirectly) alkalinity and magnesium.

[jimbo222]

I have three different kh kits.
Elos is always 20% too low...i dont like it maybe a bad bach

[DiverDude]

I don't want to hijack this thread and make it a "I like THIS brand" kind of thing but I will say that I recently picked up a few Elos kits and was disappointed that they use a (supposedly calibrated) colour panel to determine the results.

I find it frustrating to try and decide just how blue the liquid is vs the colour chart.

I find titration to be a FAR more accurate process.

[asylumdown]

definitely, when I was counting drops I had to re-do my tests half the time because air bubbles would get in to the fluid and you'd end up dispensing some weird fraction of a normal drop. Wasted a lot of reagent that way, especially when you were near the end of the bottle.

Plus each drop can be a different size depending on how steady your hand is, so one result might give you a way higher result and another test 5 seconds later might give you a totally different result.

[steve fedyk]

the magnesium test kit is a pain for me, I get differrant readings very time. Just can't get the same reading twice in a row.

[lastlight]

definitely, when I was counting drops I had to re-do my tests half the time because air bubbles would get in to the fluid and you'd end up dispensing some weird fraction of a normal drop. Wasted a lot of reagent that way, especially when you were near the end of the bottle.

I can feel past rage rising inside of me as I read that. Oh how I hate that.

I don't really press hard at all though on my elos bottles. It's almost like a gravity drip with a tiny but constant amount of help. My tests for ca, alk and mg may be wrong but they are always consistent. Whatever my 'real' levels are...they are surely consistent which I think is half the battle.

[mark]

definitely, when I was counting drops I had to re-do my tests half the time because air bubbles would get in to the fluid and you'd end up dispensing some weird fraction of a normal drop. Wasted a lot of reagent that way, especially when you were near the end of the bottle.

Plus each drop can be a different size depending on how steady your hand is, so one result might give you a way higher result and another test 5 seconds later might give you a totally different result.

and another reason I don't like the drop count type.

how's the colour change though? Is it one colour to another, or change in shade of the same colour.

[e46er]

i like the elos kits i get consistant results
i only use elos for kh mg and ca tho
the color change is definately noticeable

ca goes pink to purple
mg has 2 tests red to green and pink to purple
and kh is blue to yellow

[ProReef]

Hey Mark, if you are still a fan of the Salifert test kits we sell them here at Progressive Reef-and we are pretty quick with shipping in stock items such as the Salifert Test kits. We carry the whole line.
Cheers Ronnie

Really like the ease of the Salifert (rather read off a scale than count drops) but see JL no longer carrying so how's the Elos KH for use?

[BlueTang<3]

Why not go hanna colorimeters/checkers? We really like ours the ease of use and the accuracy and it is the cost of a elos test kit.

[asylumdown]

and another reason I don't like the drop count type.

how's the colour change though? Is it one colour to another, or change in shade of the same colour.

If you're asking about the seachem reef status tests, it's an unmistakeable change. I'm on my second Mg/alk test kit and I've noticed the indicator on the second one isn't as dark as the first, but I've been doing two drops instead of one and I luckily have some left from the first kit. The alk test is the difference between a sky blue and pale, almost colourless yellow, with a fairly dramatic colour change at the end point.

The MG test starts out a dark fuschia and turns dark purple at end point, and the calcium goes from a rose pink to a really pretty blue.

Because you dispense such tiny volumes of reagent with every drop, it's possible to get right up to the end point and not be sure if you've gone over, but in that case you just read the volume on the syringe before you add your second drop.

[JMes]

Why not go hanna colorimeters/checkers? We really like ours the ease of use and the accuracy and it is the cost of a elos test kit.

How do you like your hanna colorimeter? I was thinking about purchasing one soon as my Elos KH ran out.

[BlueTang<3]

How do you like your hanna colorimeter? I was thinking about purchasing one soon as my Elos KH ran out.

Its great put water in the vile calibrate it then remove the vile and add a few drops and place it back it and bang you have an exact level. Its very precise i just cant wait till the calcium and mag ones come out.

[randallino]

I am having issues with the Salifert Mg test kit, the readings are a lot higher compared to Elos. Actually are a lot of other people are having the same issues as you can see by the post on RC http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1986944
I'm waiting for a response to this matter from the Canadian wholesaler of Salifert. In regards to Elos I hate counting the drops.


Its great put water in the vile calibrate it then remove the vile and add a few drops and place it back it and bang you have an exact level. Its very precise i just cant wait till the calcium and mag ones come out.
Ditto

[globaldesigns]

I am not sure I agree with the others about how ELOS is inaccurate... During my time of SPS issues, I had taken water samples to my LFS, as I thought maybe my kits or refract are out of whack. My LFS uses Salifert and API, and when they tested, the results were accurate to what I got using exclusively ELOS.

In saying this, I use ELOS without any complaints... I have also just tried API and Salifert for some things, and they seem fine also.