lamotte

dandy7200 · #1 07/28/2007, 10:12 PM

Man I am so bummed. I shelled out quite a large sum of $$$ on all new Lamotte kits and I can't get a good reading on any of them.

Has anyone else here used them?

My alk kit shows 170ppm alkalinity in IO mixed to 35ppm. 2 different Salifert alk kits confirm 11.6- 11.8 dkh.

I found this calculator to convert alk in ppm to dkh. If this is correct calculator then 170ppm is 9.5dkh meaning the kit is a full 2dkh off. Am I missing something here? I thought these were high end kits, they sure carry a high end price tag

bertoni · #2 07/28/2007, 10:27 PM

I think many people would suspect the Salifert kits are bad. I wish I had a good answer, but I don't. Your conversion seems about right, as 11 dKH is about 200 ppm.

Are there any unit conversions to do? I'm not familiar with the test kit.

oct2274 · #3 07/28/2007, 10:30 PM

i'm betting the salifert kits are bad, the had some bad ones lately. get a cheap API kit and see what you get. They seem to be accurate

dandy7200 · #4 07/28/2007, 11:02 PM

Yeah, I am confused and very concerned. About 3 months ago I upgraded my calcium reactor. At the time I also wanted to be safe about it so I ordered a new Salifert alk test kit. Ever since then I have been slowly losing some nice SPS out of my system. Everything else checks out OK and new Salifert was having some problems which led me to investing in new test kits. I did think though that IO at 35ppm salinity measured 11.5-12dkh so I was assuming the Lamotte was reading wrong not the salifert.

I tested my tank water:

Salifert #1 8.3 dkh
Salifert #2 8.6 dkh
Lammotte 6.5dkh

If I have been keeping my alk at 6.5 for several months that would explain some coral loss I have had. Kinda burns me that I need to go buy a third alk test kit to see which one is wrong.....

So API is the new standard?

dandy7200 · #5 07/28/2007, 11:04 PM

Oh and the Lamotte reads in ppm on the titrator, so there are no conversions except the one to dkh that I linked to.

kau_cinta_ku · #6 07/28/2007, 11:37 PM

i just tested my IO at 1.025 with 3 kits

Salifert 9.0
API 9.0
IO 9.8

i also got a lower reading then my last bucket of IO so it could it be the salt itself?

kau_cinta_ku · #7 07/28/2007, 11:38 PM

BTW Habib is sending me a new Alk test kit along with the standard to test it against but it isn't here yet.

dandy7200 · #8 07/29/2007, 12:34 AM

A reference standard to test against would be nice. Is there one available for alkalinity? I'm sure Habib is swamped these days. Does someone else make one or is there a recipe for me to make one?

kau_cinta_ku · #9 07/29/2007, 12:42 AM

well that last i heard about it was that it was in the US so it should be here sometime next week. as far as making your own i don't have a clue where to start.

Peter Eichler · #10 07/29/2007, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kau_cinta_ku
well that last i heard about it was that it was in the US so it should be here sometime next week. as far as making your own i don't have a clue where to start.

How did you hear it was in the US? I haven't had an update since I got the PM asking for my address.

Dandy, trust the Lamotte kit for now... I figured out mine was low when Coraline started dying in mass. Tetra, Hagen, and API would all be good choices for a cheap test to compare to the Lamotte. This is just one of many examples of why I suggest maintaining 10+ dKH in reef aquariums, it just gives you that extra cushion room. I slacked a little and didn't worry when my Salifert was reading a little over 9 dKH and that's when I ran into problems.

kau_cinta_ku · #11 07/29/2007, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Habib
Those who got a pm or did sent me a pm regarding a replacement:

The stuff is arriving tomorrow in the USA and after it is customs cleared it will be sent out to you. I expect it shoul arrive at your address somewhere next week.

I'll post or send an update after I'm back on this coming Saturday.

that is how i found out lol

Boomer · #12 07/30/2007, 12:36 AM

Yes that calculator is correct. There are many just like it. Here is another one.

Here are the actual conversions

1 mEq/L = 2.8 dKh = 50.04 ppm CaCO3
1dKh = 17.9 ppm CaCO3
1 mEq/L = 50.04 ppm CaCO

Lots of conversions
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/info.../calculate.htm

http://www.cactus2000.de/uk/unit/masswas.shtml

Billybeau1 · #13 07/30/2007, 01:01 AM

dandy, get an API kit. They are cheap and accurate. They will tell you which ones lyin' and which ones dyin'

old salty · #14 07/30/2007, 04:58 PM

I have a Lamotte test kit. It's a nice kit, but can be difficult to exactly match the color to the piece of paper they give you. Once you use it a few times, you should get the hang of it.