Elos Test Kit Manual ???
 

Hello Guys

Just want to know if anyone can tell me the procedure for the ELos test kits for the Calcium and the Alk test. Need to know how many drops or if anyone has the manual in PDF format. Greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Erick

The ELOS alk test is pretty simple.

- 5ml sample
- Each drop = 1/2 dkh.

Besides....if i sent you a scan of the instructions, they would be wrong!

Each drop is HALF a dKH? :eek: Did they change??? My instructions say one drop = 1dKH. Is my alk half what I think it is??? OMG this could explain a lot :(

...

On the calcium one, there is a reagent C and a reagent D. The reagent C is one drop per 50ppm, reagent D is 10ppm. So the first time you count the drops of C to get your rough measurement. Test it again, this time do stop at one drop sooner, and switch to D and start counting drops until the colour change.

So if it's say 390, you'll add 8 drops before you see the colour change (which would tell you 400). So you test again, this time add 7 drops (ie, one fewer than where you got the colour change the last time), then switch to D, and you'd add 4 drops of D to get to 390 at the colour change.

Yeah nice eh? I have in the instructions that one drop = 1dkH but upon further investigation, the little quick info card says 1 drop = 1/2 dkH. Sure is a bit of a freakout when your dkH looks like its 14 :eek:

It depends on how old you test kits are. Both of these test kits have changed in the last 4 or 5 months.

DKH used to be 1 drop per DKH to 5ml and recently changed.
I just bought a calcium test kit a couple weeks back and now its different then my last one. It has basically two kits in it one of the regents is 1 drop for 25 PPM calcium and the other regent is 1 drop for 10 PPM. They did this so you can get a more accurate reading.

So it would depend on how old the test kits are and hom long they sat on LFS shelf.

Keith

Yes, they did recently change, but Elos did in fact screw up on some of their Alk kits, with contradictory instructions in the very same kit. As Christy said, the instructions sheet said one thing, the colour chart short sheet said another. As long as one knows the correct procedure is 1 drop = 1/2 dkh, the kit is still good.

Edit: Of course, they claim it was the printer's fault, not theirs.

My Alk kit is not brand new, but I don't think it's older than 6 months. So I have no idea the vintage of mine. It is a 5ml sample, does the newer one call for a different sample size?

If it turns out Elos is the cause of my SPS issues I will never touch the brand again and warn people off from using it until my dying breath. I cannot believe the lack of quality assurance with this brand. Easy to use, maybe, but the contradictory instructions is not a first with them, my Mg test kit is the same. The printed instructions say 1 drop = 100ppm, the printed card has a sticker on it that says 1 drop = 75ppm (suggesting the card was first printed wrong and they corrected it with a sticker instead of reprinting).

Well you know how it is Tony, these companies are probly run by one dude or something, and that one guy is frantically putting stickers on the quick info cards :razz:. Look what happened when that Habib guy from Salifert got sick. Their whole production line died it seemed and nobody could even get the test kits.

Hey Tony

Check your paper instruction against the quick card instructions see if they both say 1 drop per dkh. If they do then you are doing it correctly if they are different then you have the new test kit and it is only .5 dkh per drop.

Keith

They also butchered their nitrate test kit a while ago where the 0 nitrate color was transparent but in reality the solution was orange.

I've chosen to stop using them because I can't justify the price and lack of consistency despite their claims of superiority.

I just bought a new KH test kit yesterday,My old one is about 8 mounths old and says 1 drop = 1 KH. The new one says 1 drop= .5 KH.

Thanks for all the information guys
 

I will see if i can figure it out. Just got a used one with my tank setup so it never came with a manual. I will test later.

thanks
erick

Calcium and Magnesium Elos test
 

Hey Guys

Can someone tell me the calcium test kit procedure along with Magnesium? I have and A, B (powder) C reagents but don't know how many drops to add of A or C.

any help would be great

thanks
erick

For magnesium 3 ml water, 9 drops A, shake, small spoon 0.15 B(powder), shake, count drops of C till color change, For old kit multiply times 100, newer kit multiply times 75

The ELOS Mg kit is relatively complicated compared to most. You really do two separate tests, then apply some math to get your answer.

Test 1:
Take a 3ml water sample and titrate using Part A until colour changes from red-orange to green. Count the drops. (for me, this is typically about 33-35 drops)

Test 2:
Clean/rinse the test vial; Take a new 3ml water sample.
Add 5 drops of Part B. Mix 30 seconds
Add one small spoonful (.15ml) of Part C powder. Mix shortly.
Titrate using Part D until you see colour change from pink-violet to light-blue. Count the drops. (for me, this is typically about 5-6 drops)

Math:
Subtract the # of drops in Test 2, from the # of drops on Test 1...and multiply by 50 to get your answer in ppm Mg. (34-5) = 29; 29x50 = 1450ppm

Wow...your Mg kit is completely different than mine in how it works!

I must have a different version of the elos Mg test kit. Mine only has A,B,C, (no D). It was purchased about 6 months ago.

So which brand do you use now?
Anyone have the Elos Ca test procedure?

Agreed. I'm progressively switching back to Salifert. For some reason, I got it in my head that Salifert were no longer being manufactured, hence J&L slowly selling them off. But I see OA still sells them, so I obviously misunderstood that somehow. Until Elos gets their crap together, I'm a Salifert guy.

Edit: There was a problem with PO4 kit vials, too. The 5ml line was not exactly at 5ml. So if you didn't know it, and didn't know to just ignore it and go with the syringe 5ml line, you'd get an incorrect result. Many, many Elos issues, it seems.

Cheers,