milwaukee instruments elec ph tester

**smaug** · 02-05-2012, 10:08 PM

I set it up and calibrated it today and it proved easy enough to cal and use. The colors for all the liquid tests are too close together to get a good read for me and if this little gem proves accurate over time and durable I may have to get one for salinity and or dkh as well. Prob not for sal as a refractometer is fairly simple. Anyone else here use any electronic testers?

**Cliff** · 02-05-2012, 10:15 PM

They have them at the SW LFS that I go to. When my current test kits run out, I was planning to up-grade to them. From what I have read, the good eletronic testers are far more accurate and less time consuming to use.

**Dave66** · 02-05-2012, 10:45 PM

I use electronic meters to verify what my liquid tests read and vice versa. I test every week, several days before partial changes. Personally I use American Marine, LaMotte, YSI and Hach testing equipment.

Dave

**smaug** · 02-05-2012, 11:28 PM

Never heard of those dave.... I assume they are ridiculously expensive and require a phd to use

**Dave66** · 02-05-2012, 11:51 PM

American Marine makes Pinpoint brand meters. They run from about 50-75 for a pH meter, up to 250 for a salinity meter. Less if you shop.

LaMotte I use their regents with their Smart2 colormeter. You put the vial of water with the drips of regents into the colormeter, push a button, and it gives you the reading with great accuracy. Removes the human error from using those color charts that come with test kits.

YSI makes multi-meters. They come with two probes, like pH and hardness for example. They have BNC connectors, so you can use different probes, just plug in and use.

Depending on the meter (and the cost), a YSI can read between four and six different parameters; you just need to buy the probe for the parameter you want to test that your YSI meter can read. As you can probably tell, YSI meters ain't cheap.

Hach makes the best dissolved oxygen meter there is. Runs about a thousand.

So American Marine meters are the least expensive (and made in the USA), LaMotte makes top grade regents, but the colormeter is expensive, YSI is capable but costly.

Isn't rocket science to use any meter, actually. You push the button, and get the reading. Calibration is simple, just read the instructions that come with the meter.

Dave