JustinBolton
Supporting Member
I have been sparsely used ICP analysis in the past, now that they are gone, who has the best/reasonable turn around(not located in Germany)?
Icp preferred vendors?
- Thread starter JustinBolton
- Start date
JustinBolton
Supporting Member
Oh sweet, what has been your experience with them?
i use ATI as well. they not only test the tank but also your rodi. 2 test in 1.
Alexander1312
Supporting Member
Second Triton for speed of turn around. But I would no longer recommend them over Fauna Marin (or Oceamo if MS is needed, based in Austria). Fauna Marin needs to be send out on Thursday morning with priority mail, otherwise, it will take 8 days or so vs approx 3 days for Triton.
@derek_SR - re Oceamo: https://andremueller.e-junkie.com/product/1758008/Reef-Moonshiner26230393Bs-ICP-MS-Test
@derek_SR - re Oceamo: https://andremueller.e-junkie.com/product/1758008/Reef-Moonshiner26230393Bs-ICP-MS-Test
Fauna Marin ICP tests go to CoralVue now in Louisiana, ships out from there next day on Mon/Wed/Fri to clear customs etc. faster now than if you sent direct. So if you don't send priority to CoralVue, then you'll want to send out Thursday to arrive by Monday in Europe and get results by the following Wed. You can send Friday if by priority mail. Per ReefBum/Telegraham.
Alexander1312
Supporting Member
Yes, that is correct. It costs approx 12.50 USD to ship priority to Louisiana, and they will ship it as you said per their schedule. If you buy their tests here, the cost for the ICP plus priority shipping is still lower than triton https://icp1999.com/.
However, the Friday recommendation does not work for us here on the West Coast (they live both East, I believe). I tried it twice to ship on Friday morning, but it still took 8+ days (due to some German public holidays when I shipped it). I mentioned this issue to Claude when I spoke to him last week, and he said he is still looking for a collection point on the West Coast to speed up the process. This can be any LFS, but I believe they will need to do this on a cost basis, which makes this less attractive except as a marketing tool to attract new business.
Therefore, I suggested Thursday to ensure it is ready to ship on Monday.
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derek_SR
Supporting Member
Nice thanks for this!
Folks should be aware the Fauna tests do not include a return shipping label (???!!!!).
Alexander1312
Supporting Member
They have a label but not pre-paid postage. And some tests still contain the old Texas address vs Louisiana. So shipping is slower and less convenient than e.g. TRITON.
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Triton is super convenient. They also have good fast customer service. I recently emailed them because their address had changed and I had some old kits. They sent me new prepaid label files immediately.
You don’t have to spend any time or energy wondering what day to send samples, try to game delivery times to Louisiana, nor any special trips to pay for shipping or anything. Just take your sample, send it off with the prepaid label, and you get the results back in a few days from their California site.
I haven’t used the budget ICP companies so I can’t say if Triton is superior in quality, but I’ve been satisfied with the results, and that’s not my default state lol. For many things where I can check results against my experience/intuition, I’m fine with budget alternatives. ICP isn’t one of those things, since you are basically just left with the results they give and no way to know if a specific result is accurate/actionable or not, other than trust. So paying more for a company you trust is worth it in my opinion.
You don’t have to spend any time or energy wondering what day to send samples, try to game delivery times to Louisiana, nor any special trips to pay for shipping or anything. Just take your sample, send it off with the prepaid label, and you get the results back in a few days from their California site.
I haven’t used the budget ICP companies so I can’t say if Triton is superior in quality, but I’ve been satisfied with the results, and that’s not my default state lol. For many things where I can check results against my experience/intuition, I’m fine with budget alternatives. ICP isn’t one of those things, since you are basically just left with the results they give and no way to know if a specific result is accurate/actionable or not, other than trust. So paying more for a company you trust is worth it in my opinion.
My suggestion. Send one to Triton and at the same time send one to ATO (or any other.)
Then decide if they are worth is.
Then decide if they are worth is.
Rich did that, but didn't say who was who lol https://reefbuilders.com/2024/03/06/evaluating-the-repeatability-and-differences-between-icp-tests/My suggestion. Send one to Triton and at the same time send one to ATO (or any other.)
Then decide if they are worth is.
I've done it as well. It's why I don't really care to do ICP anymore.
I'm not saying it doesn't have inherent value, but I'm reticent to jump to conclusions and correct for the given values unless I see a real problem.
derek_SR
Supporting Member
I think the variation between ICP providers is not really any different than the variation you see between Hanna, Salifert, and so on. For me - it's about sticking with a single provider (Triton in my case) on a regular interval and paying attention to any trends or alarming outliers.
I agree trying to dose based on specific element targets is a questionable endeavor.
I agree trying to dose based on specific element targets is a questionable endeavor.