Elos vs Salifret

[Montaquelaveist]

Hello fellow reefers just a question i recently purchased an Elos Alkalinity kit because everyone seemed to be out of Salifert but the question i have is i still have about 20 test left on the Salifert so i decided to compare the two and hwen i did what a difference in readings so here it is:

Elos came back at 11dkh
and the Salifert came back with 12.8 dkh :Yikes:

so has anyone else had this type of variance in two different test kits with such high ratings i just wanna know which one is more accurate in order for me to fine tune my tank and on a side not did the test three times and each time same result :banghead::banghead:

 

[lfsmarineguy]

How long have you had the salifert and how old is the Elos kit? Both should have lot numbers or dates.

The salifert would probably be the one that is off just based on the fact that you have been opening the bottles repeatedly while you had the kit and the constant exposure will change the solutions over time. Temperature and humidity do play a role in their accuracy over time.

 

[Montaquelaveist]

How long have you had the salifert and how old is the Elos kit? Both should have lot numbers or dates.

The salifert would probably be the one that is off just based on the fact that you have been opening the bottles repeatedly while you had the kit and the constant exposure will change the solutions over time. Temperature and humidity do play a role in their accuracy over time.

i just got the elos test kit it has an expiration of 1-13 and the salifret 5-2013 and ive had the salifret for about 6 months

 

[lfsmarineguy]

I would put more faith in the Elos kits knowing that they are NIST certified and stored in a controlled room before shipping out. But the salifert is going to be off for the reasons I already said and that variance is going to rely on how long they have been left exposed over those 6 months.

 

[Montaquelaveist]

I would put more faith in the Elos kits knowing that they are NIST certified and stored in a controlled room before shipping out. But the salifert is going to be off for the reasons I already said and that variance is going to rely on how long they have been left exposed over those 6 months.

ok so i did another test today and its only off by 1.2ppm the Elos is at 10 and the salifert is at 11.2 but i do know one thing the Elos is easier to use than the salifret

 

[batt600]

The problem with Salifert is it give you a range not the actual reading as elos does. Everyone say there lab grade but if thay truely were there wouldnt be a range there would be an actual value like 6.5 7.0 7.5 not between 7.2 to 7.8.. I stop using there test kit for alk and would never us them again , I us fauna marin alk test kit that are truely lab grade .

 

[smoq]

My opinion is different here. While I believe Elos has the most accurate tests, I can't say that about their alkalinity test. Salifert wins heads down, with Elos is darn hard to guess the moment when reagent changes color, sometimes I was off one full degree. Salifert has the 1ml syringe and that's way more accurate IMO

 

[Montaquelaveist]

so i guess then either one would be good its just a little bother when one says 10 and the other 11.2 i kinda agree with what was said about the color change, what i do is perform the test in front of a white light so that i can see the minute it turns yellow

 

[lfsmarineguy]

Salifert may have a narrower range but I think the quality of the Elos reagents are far superior.

But in this particular case you also need to consider the age of the kits and the fact that the salifert has been opened numerous times in the past 6 months.