LaMotte ColorQ Pro

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ellislo

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Jul 23, 2017
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Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Hi! I am Ellis from Malaysia. Just bought an Intex 32'x16'x52" AGP with SWG. The pool is still in boxes and i wouldn't want to set up the pool until i got a test kit.

I have been searching high and low for a good test kit locally and I can't find the recommended TF-100 and Taylor K-2006C here locally. I was so happy when i found out that LaMotte has a local distributor here. But the excitement was cut short after i read all the posts on LaMotter ColorQ Pro 7 in the forum lol! But i suppose i am better off running the pool with not so consistent readings rather than without any figure at all?

Does anyone has any updated information on the accuracy of the ColorQ? given that all the posts on ColorQ were posted few years back..... they might have made some improvement to their test kit.....
 
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E,

I bought the ColorQ Pro 7 before I "found" TFP.. I now have the TF-100 and the ColorQ... There are pluses and minuses to both test kits. I use my ColorQ most of the time because it is simple to use and works great when comparing your most recent results with your past results. I use my TF-100 when I want the most accuracy.

There are two main issues with the ColorQ.. It says it measures Calcium Hardness (CH) but it really measures Total Hardness.. Depending on your location and fill water quality there could be several hundreds of ppm difference. The other problem is that the test sample is small. This means you have to be very accurate when you fill the test tube and again when you add the drops if you want the results to be the same.

I had not heard of the LaMotte 7022, until I read Tim's post above.. After looking at the 7022, it appears to be a TF-100 at about twice the cost.

Knowing what I know now, and if I could only have one test kit in your location, I would buy the 7022..

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
My understanding is the ColorQ does not test FC levels above 10 ppm (reads high). This makes the ColorQ useless for doing the SLAM Process or other tests where your FC can be above 10 ppm. This should not happen very often and the ColorQ can be used for routine tests.
 
ajw22 said:
My understanding is the ColorQ does not test FC levels above 10 ppm (reads high). This makes the ColorQ useless for doing the SLAM Process or other tests where your FC can be above 10 ppm. This should not happen very often and the ColorQ can be used for routine tests.
Click to expand...
That is correct, you can not use a ColorQ for a SLAM.

As Jim points has Pointed out in other threads, he uses his TF-100 to “double check” the results from the ColorQ.

To be honest, if the OP were “local” I would have recommended a FAS/DPD kit, but when you are out of the Us/Canada it can be very difficult. Luckily the 7022 kit is almost the same.....
 
For what it s worth, I have both tests have some limited data I have been recording to give my self a personal database of the variances between the 2 kits . This is all for my own fun and knowledge but I am attaching my data if you would like to view it .
generally i find the following :
FC -color q is about 1.5 PPM lower than TF-kit
CC - is always the same between both kits
PH - these are with in .1 of each other (to me this is acceptable)
ALK- is pretty close most of the time-certainly with in tolerances best I can tell
CH (or TH for q7)- this is the perplexing one - typically I find that the q7 is LOWER than the TF-100 which is opposite of what I wold expect. However, most of the time it appears , to me at least, to be with in an acceptable variance range
CYA- i let it speak for itself because of the subjectivity of the tF-100 , but once again it seems acceptable variance

FWIW I always use the TF-100 #s for any actual data, I just like comparing for my own knowledge. And maybe to build enough trust to use (and show wife how to) the Color Q 7 for my weekly tests for simplicity and convenience -and I like the numeric read out .
 

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  • POOL TEST LOG TF-100 VS CLR Q 7.pdf
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Alset2 said:
CH (or TH for q7)- this is the perplexing one - typically I find that the q7 is HIGHER than the TF-100 which is opposite of what I wold expect. However, most of the time it appears , to me at least, to be with in an acceptable variance range
Click to expand...

Color-Q measures Total Hardness that you would expect to be higher then just Calcium Hardness.

Pool Test Kits- LaMotte ColorQ
 

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@Alset2

Since the ColorQ measures Total Hardness, it really depends on the local water as to what the test will read. For me, the ColorQ's CH test is about 100 ppm higher than my TF-100.. I just subtract 100 ppm from whatever the ColorQ shows..

All your other readings are spot on with my comparisons between the two test kits.

Like you, I use my ColorQ about 90% of the time, for the same reasons you listed..

Thanks for the input,

Jim R.
 
So other than SLAM, I am starting to think that you could maintain a healthy pool with the Color Q , but I am going to keep doing both tests at same time for a complete year just to see how the season and all that I do affect the readings .

Sorry, if this is taking this off topic
Maybe ill post some more comprehensive results on another thread once i get more data. I also am tracking 2 different PH meters , a slat meter, and the IntelliPh readings for salt along with the Taylor drop test (which is what I use for usable data) .
And no Im really not this board, its time consuming but I do enjoy collecting data like this so what the heck right...its only time...lol
 
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@Alset2 thanks for the comparison table! I do agree with you and @Jimrahbe that ColorQ is good in monitoring the trend of the poor parameters due to ease of use, but you definitely need other more accurate test kit to correlate the results.

@ajw22 thanks for the link! I have contacted HornerXpress Worldwide for the Taylor K2006C and they are searching for any distributor located in other close by countries, i might be able to get a freight forwarder to send the kit to me.
 
That is not a test kit that we recommend.

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People here like water test accuracy and repeatability that many test kits lack. If you do not have accuracy and repeatability then the other fancy features are worthless as a tool to maintain pool water chemistry.
 
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