Elos vs Salifert

[Aquadiva]

Well, been waiting for someone local to get the MG Salifert kits in, and finally got tired of waiting. Bought an Elos kit on the recommendation of LFS.

OK, either I am metric challenged or I am used to the little more "precise" salifert. The test is pretty simple, but there is no tritation. Add tank water, add 9 drops of A, at itty bitty scoop of powder B, swirl a bit and just add drops out of the bottle C until the test vial turns blue. simple right??

I did it twice. took 11 drops the first time, 12 drops the second. Got frustrated ...gave it to hubby. He got 14 drops He does it again, gets 11 drops.

Directions say multiply drops by 100 to get ppm. OK, so I have somewhere between 1100 and 1400 ppm of MG. Great....

Closest "English" directions are for UK... OK, I can read UK....

"multiply the number of drops you have added by 100. The result indicates the approx. MG content in mg/Lt (1 drop = 100 mg/Lt) E.G. 11 drops = 1.100mg/Lt of Magnesium."

Am I doing this right??? Holy smokes.....anyone else having this trouble?? Are these really supposed to be more accurate than Salifert?

 

[waltm]

Check out thest 2 topics on RC, might offer some insight. I've never tried them myself.


http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=924778
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=905063

 

[TomD]

Well, been waiting for someone local to get the MG Salifert kits in, and finally got tired of waiting. Bought an Elos kit on the recommendation of LFS.

OK, either I am metric challenged or I am used to the little more "precise" salifert. The test is pretty simple, but there is no tritation. Add tank water, add 9 drops of A, at itty bitty scoop of powder B, swirl a bit and just add drops out of the bottle C until the test vial turns blue. simple right??

I did it twice. took 11 drops the first time, 12 drops the second. Got frustrated ...gave it to hubby. He got 14 drops He does it again, gets 11 drops.

Directions say multiply drops by 100 to get ppm. OK, so I have somewhere between 1100 and 1400 ppm of MG. Great....

Closest "English" directions are for UK... OK, I can read UK....

"multiply the number of drops you have added by 100. The result indicates the approx. MG content in mg/Lt (1 drop = 100 mg/Lt) E.G. 11 drops = 1.100mg/Lt of Magnesium."

Am I doing this right??? Holy smokes.....anyone else having this trouble?? Are these really supposed to be more accurate than Salifert?

Linda I know this probably does not help but Skiptons in Boston gets the Sailfert MG and I could grab one for you next time I go to a meeting.

 

[Glass Ocean]

Also tried Elos. Not Impressed. Back to Saifert!

 

[Aquadiva]

Linda I know this probably does not help but Skiptons in Boston gets the Salifert MG and I could grab one for you next time I go to a meeting.

Hey thanks Tom, that's awfully nice of you, but the issue seems to be that they are in short supply. Both Jays Aquatics and Aqua Addicts carry the salifert kits, but haven't been able to get them in. Aquarium Gallery has apparently stopped stocking them.

I could get it online, but I've been trying to send a few more $$ towards our local stores and sponsors, lately. Maybe I'll give Skiptons a call myself if I can't figure this elos thing out. If they've got them in, I'll take a ride down myself. A visit to them is LONG overdue.

Thanks again.

 

[TomD]

No problem Linda. Last time I was there maybe a week and a half they did have them in stock because I got one

 

[Aquadiva]

Check out thest 2 topics on RC, might offer some insight. I've never tried them myself.


http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=924778
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=905063

thanks for the links Walt. Seems "old salty" is a new fan. Not many opinions from others. Apparently, he needed to practice after receiving some tips from the Elos Rep. I'm hoping this is not going to take too much practice.

 

[JeremyR]

Interesting... I'm not sure why you are getting odd results. Technically, that last "drop by drop" section is titration, you are just doing it out of a bottle instead of a syringe. Like others, I went to the elos for mag because of the inability of salifert to ever keep kits available and calcium because the salifert calcium kits are never the same batch to bach. We test every reef tank in the store every week for mag as well as customers water pretty much every day and have not seen such a variance in testing. I'm told it's important to shake the bottles well before each use, but I have not seen a 3 drop variance like that.

FWIW, I wish the elos kit had a little higher resolution myself, maybe 25 or 50 points instead of 100, but I have found them to be repeatable.

 

[JeremyR]

Btw, I would guess that the 14 drop test was the abberation.. otherwise you have 2 at 11 and one at 12. If you doubled your water sample, doubled the drops of part A, did 2 scoops of powder, and did drops of part C and mutiplied C times 50, you would probably come up with 1150 or so.

 

[Aquadiva]

Thanks Jeremy...

Spent the last two hours testing with the kit. Discovered the angle I hold the bottles at varies the test a great deal. I finally used the idiot card and using your method and I hold the bottle at the angle pictured on the card I got a consistent 1250.

I put a lengthy post on RC in the Elos USA thread to make sure this is what I am supposed to be doing. If I totally invert the reagents when I add the drops, I consistently get 1050. I did this 10 times. I can now predict the result based on the angle I hold the bottle.

I don't find this comforting.

The link is here: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1074839

If anyone can tell me what else I am doing wrong, it would be appreciated.

 

[SALTYOLDDOG]

elos

I pick up one of the ELOS mag test kits seem to work just fine
As with ALL test kits
the angle at which you hold the bottles at will have a effect on the final results

its not a bad kit kind of Pricey but it does the job

it changes clearly from one color to the next with no mistake
in the change from one color to the next

WISH it was cheaper but AS with all euro products the cost are high