Poll: Which ICP-OES testing is better

[MartinWaite]

I certainly understand the idea that a free test is better than nothing. The issue is, IMO, people will find things testing ro/di and possibly over react, replacing resins, adding additional resins, etc., when in reality, any real problem likely resides elsewhere than 0 ppm tds water.

I used ATI ICP for the first time and the results came back with recommendations on what to do to get things into spec and also telling me that my di resin will need changed very shortly and when I looked at the resin it had just about all changed colour so it was correct in that aspect. To me if the basic water is right going into the tank how can you expect to get good results from your tank. The ATI ICP is cheaper that Tritons and checks more things than Triton does. I was always a fan of Triton but following a reply from ATI which they said after every 5 water tests (I'm sure that was the number he said) they test a known std test to ensure the ICP gauge is reading correctly and again I'm sure it was each day the gauge is calibrated. I have asked Triton how check there gauge and they would not even reply. That was when I went ATI. I have followed there recommendations and will be sending of my next ICP water sample soon and will let you know my views etc.

 

[Tim@Triton]

I used ATI ICP for the first time and the results came back with recommendations on what to do to get things into spec and also telling me that my di resin will need changed very shortly and when I looked at the resin it had just about all changed colour so it was correct in that aspect. To me if the basic water is right going into the tank how can you expect to get good results from your tank. The ATI ICP is cheaper that Tritons and checks more things than Triton does. I was always a fan of Triton but following a reply from ATI which they said after every 5 water tests (I'm sure that was the number he said) they test a known std test to ensure the ICP gauge is reading correctly and again I'm sure it was each day the gauge is calibrated. I have asked Triton how check there gauge and they would not even reply. That was when I went ATI. I have followed there recommendations and will be sending of my next ICP water sample soon and will let you know my views etc.

Hi Martin

Sorry it seems your email was missed. We always answer our emails and if you would like to email me directly on [email protected] I will be happy to answer your questions.

I won’t comment too much on this post as it is good to stay independent but if anyone has any specific questions or problems please hit me up on the email above and I will be happy to help.

 

[mike werner]

so I went back and looked at brs videos and it is not available.thinking maybe I saw it on marine depot not it.i know what I saw because I was surprised by how different the results were.if someone else can find it I would appreciate it .I will do some more research and see what I can find.

 

[solitude127]

I just recently used ATI ICP and found it easy to register. All results that I could test were pretty close to what ATI told me. It took about 2 weeks to get results.

 

[shred5]

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I used ATI ICP for the first time and the results came back with recommendations on what to do to get things into spec and also telling me that my di resin will need changed very shortly and when I looked at the resin it had just about all changed colour so it was correct in that aspect. To me if the basic water is right going into the tank how can you expect to get good results from your tank. The ATI ICP is cheaper that Tritons and checks more things than Triton does. I was always a fan of Triton but following a reply from ATI which they said after every 5 water tests (I'm sure that was the number he said) they test a known std test to ensure the ICP gauge is reading correctly and again I'm sure it was each day the gauge is calibrated. I have asked Triton how check there gauge and they would not even reply. That was when I went ATI. I have followed there recommendations and will be sending of my next ICP water sample soon and will let you know my views etc.

I’m glad you felt the ro/di test was useful for you. But I’ve had numerous people in the chemistry forum who either did not know what to do with the info, or who acted needlessly based on unguided info on the ro/di test that scared them.

It may not be within the skill set of an ordinary reefer to know if 1 ug/l copper in their ro/di is a problem or not.

 

[Brett.Al]

No one has mentioned that ATI test for your salinity and then balance set points of your results to your set points. This is done on the standard test. Also KH, NO3 Nitrate and fluorine are tested... not done so at the same price point for any other ICP test.
ATI ICP accuracy is assured through testing a Lab reference sample after every third sample tested, to check results are correct.If results are not correct the a machine calibration is carried out and and the customers 2nd sample tested.

 

[MartinWaite]

I’m glad you felt the ro/di test was useful for you. But I’ve had numerous people in the chemistry forum who either did not know what to do with the info, or who acted needlessly based on unguided info on the ro/di test that scared them.

It may not be within the skill set of an ordinary reefer to know if 1 ug/l copper in their ro/di is a problem or not.

Randy I can't understand why they didn't know what to do or acted needlessly as I say I can only go by my results and people who I've discussed or read about. With mine they were simple and that was that I needed to change my Di resins soon, short of giving me pictures the actions to be taken were straight forward and even if I had a problem there's a link to the ATI help desk which I used while awaiting for my results and to check up on something else and I got a reply with the answers within 30 minutes. Plus there is a great Facebook group which I've quizzed them on things and had replies from members and the ATI representative on the group. This setup is the same as Triton which I have asked questions on their Facebook group and had replies from. But maybe it's all different in USA from the UK.

 

[MartinWaite]

Hi Martin

Sorry it seems your email was missed. We always answer our emails and if you would like to email me directly on [email protected] I will be happy to answer your questions.

I won’t comment too much on this post as it is good to stay independent but if anyone has any specific questions or problems please hit me up on the email above and I will be happy to help.

Hi Tim many thanks for your reply and I will send you an email tomorrow now as it's getting late now. I must admit when I asked questions about the Triton system it was a few years ago and I perhaps asked the wrong person or they didn't wish to release that information at the time as it was around the time of others coming into this field which was only done by Triton at that time and that's what I put it down to and never followed it up.
Again thanks for you reply.

 

[Ardeus]

After reading about the possible uses of ICP tests and their reliability, I decided to go ahead do one.

In my case, my rodi unit hasn't seen any maintenance in 2 years and getting a test that does both the tank water and the rodi water was a decisive factor (I have 5 TDS for a long time)

I had already decided to replace the whole rodi unit soon, so the test won't influence my decision, but it can change the attention I will give to the maintenance of the rodi unit.

I am also using the test with 2 other objectives:

- To see if there's something really wrong with the water;
- To get a broad picture of the trace elements. Only if I find the majority of them depleted, I will change my routine. Right now I only dose kalkwasser/vinegar and I am curious to see the impact that water changes and food have in the tank's chemistry.

I decided to go with aqua forest (marine lab) because it was the most cost effective).

Here's a video I just made about it:

 

[waxhawreefer]

The results all point towards Triton. @mike werner can you post the link of BRS investigates on the various IPC? FWIW, I am thinking on getting both Triton and ATI at the same time and see how the overall experience is and report out here like a few others @ksfulk @lambchops are doing.

So u want to spend $10 more and then shipping for the same test?? I like Randy’s responses about people freaking out on their rodi results and start changing resins etc, I’m pretty sure that one DI resin which from BRS videos is the most important costs less than $10, so if people use a triton test they are already throwing $10 away, i would rather use ati and replace one component of my rodi per test instead!

 

[lambchops]

Here are both of my results, ATI just came in. I haven't had a chance to really dig in as I am at work. One thing I will say is ATI's recommendations are lacking compared to Triton.

"ATI recommends
Tin is elevated, find source (corroding metals/magnets, RO water, salt). Adjust iodine dosage. PO4 is limited. RO result follow later."

 

[mahindra.dev]

Here are both of my results, ATI just came in. I haven't had a chance to really dig in as I am at work. One thing I will say is ATI's recommendations are lacking compared to Triton.

"ATI recommends
Tin is elevated, find source (corroding metals/magnets, RO water, salt). Adjust iodine dosage. PO4 is limited. RO result follow later."

This is great... THANK YOU @lambchops for posting!!

 

[Hammer100]

I have never perfomed an ICP test on my tank but i am thinking of sending one in now that my system seems pretty stable.
Is there a link to the updated triton LOD for the elements they are reporting?
Also have any of the companies offering these tests stated any accuracy, precision, method validation results for these tests?

 

[MartinWaite]

Here are both of my results, ATI just came in. I haven't had a chance to really dig in as I am at work. One thing I will say is ATI's recommendations are lacking compared to Triton.

"ATI recommends
Tin is elevated, find source (corroding metals/magnets, RO water, salt). Adjust iodine dosage. PO4 is limited. RO result follow later."

Hi Lambchops, have you by any chance picked up the wrong ICP for ATI as the one that shows is that its nearly a month old yet just came back and you haven't got a lot of salt in your water according to this ICP which doesn't read the same as what you say it should so its a bit confusing. It will be interesting to see the latest one.
Thanks for showing them.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I have never perfromed an ICP test on my tank but i am thinking of sending one in now that my system seems pretty stable.
Is there a link to the updated triton LOD for the elements they are reporting?
Also have any of the companies offering these tests stated any accuracy, precision, method validation results for these tests?

https://www.triton-lab.de/fileadmin/user_upload/triton-lab/TRITON_LOD.pdf

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Here are both of my results, ATI just came in. I haven't had a chance to really dig in as I am at work. One thing I will say is ATI's recommendations are lacking compared to Triton.

"ATI recommends
Tin is elevated, find source (corroding metals/magnets, RO water, salt). Adjust iodine dosage. PO4 is limited. RO result follow later."

The ATI test looks to be straight tap water (untreated)? Did you mean to post the tank water?

 

[Hammer100]

https://www.triton-lab.de/fileadmin/user_upload/triton-lab/TRITON_LOD.pdf

thank you

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

thank you

You're welcome.

Happy Reefing.

 

[MartinWaite]

I’m most familiar with Triton and one you don’t list that I wouldn’t pick. I’m pretty confident that Triton does about as good of a job as you can expect for that cost.

The other two listed above may as well, but I’ve not seen as much info from them, such as their limit of detection and standard curves. They may be just as good or even better.

I’m not a super fan of the ATI RO/DI test since it comes with no guidance of what is acceptable. It may be a perfectly accurate test, but understanding what is an issue and what is normal seems to challenge many users, and sometimes they replace filters needlessly.

Randy this is a link to the ATI LOD if it works
http://atiaquaristik.com/en/?page_id=1422