The multiparameter photometers Exact iDip by ITS Europe Ltd

ITS Europe Ltd was not a new name in the reputable Nuremberg exhibition. We had already came across it at Interzoo 2016, when the eXact iDip photometer (made for the measurement of water’s parameters) was presented, to the amazement of the crowd.

This article is also available in: italiano

Back then this type of meters wasn’t as common as it is today. In a market monopolised by classic reagent tests, the first colorimetric tests, capable of taking single measurements, were just landing. The launch of eXact iDip, a device that could test various parameters simply by changing the reagents, seemed too risky at that time.

I won’t deny that we too were a bit skeptical at the time of its introduction, we’d had some doubts about the photometer’s effective reliability. We hadn’t even heard of it during these years and we couldn’t test it at first hand, that made us lower our expectations.

On top of that, this company hasn’t got any distributor in Italy, but sells its products online, on its website. This certainly hasn’t helped with the spread of the meter within the Italian aquarists’ community.

Nevertheless, ITS Europe Ltd was deeply conscious of the quality of its product, so it never stopped investing in the industry.

This is why this year they got back on track not only with eXact iDip, that in the meantime was upgraded and improved, but with many new photometers too, to expand their catalogue and cover the needs of tests in some specific contexts.

Innovation and quality

During the second half of the 90’s the Industrial Test System Inc. from the US began the production and distribution of tests that used a strip of plastic material on which all the necessary reagents were attached, through a specific technological process.

This kind of strips, well known in the freshwater aquarist community, represented a unique product because they could facilitate the operations and managed to keep a high reliability.

ITS Europe Ltd is the European distribution point of the American society.

The choice of using these strips with their own tools actually eliminated many problems deriving from the handling of reagents in the measurements, making the procedure easier to those without specific skills or laboratory notions.

eXact iDip – Smart Digital Water Testing

For those who don’t know it yet, let’s recap briefly the properties of this photometric tester.

Exact iDip is a digital waterproof photometer (IP67) with Bluetooth connectivity and a proprietary app (iOS and Android) for the management and execution of tests.

Its functioning is quite simple: the upper part of the tested liquid (water or else) is dipped till the windowpane is full, then a stripe of sample is immersed until the reagent has dissolved. Their tool will do the rest, showing the result on the small display and the connected mobile app.

The now-known eXact Micro Strips are the product mostly used for the measurements, and are commercialized in small plastic tins. Some measurements, however, need other particular reagents which are supplied in sachets or flasks.

The amount of strips and so the number of practicable measurements, vary according to the tests. To give a few examples, the Manganese test is commercialized in sachets and one packet contains 24 tests, the Calcium test contains 50 strips, as well as the Nitrates (NO3) test, while the Alkalinity test provides 100 available measurements per packet.

Actually, there are different versions of eXact iDip. Each one is studied and adjusted to make the most out of measurements in each distinct context.

Almost all of these versions can be found in kits that include the measurement tool and its set of reagents.

Chlorine + eXact® EZ Photometer

This photometer is calibrated to measure pH and antiseptic levels in water. It provides very accurate results in few seconds, without having to pay for long and expensive laboratory tests.

They are sold individually or in the Chlorine + eXact® EZ Photometer Starter Kit, which contains the system and the reagents needed to test 9 parameters, including free Chlorine, Total and Total UHR Chlorine, Bromine, pH and Peracetic acid.

There are seven available tests among which Total Alkalinity, pH, Free Chlorine (DPD), combined and total Chlorine, Calcium and Total Bromine. Each of these was calibrated for the temperature range of an SPA, in order to have the maximum precision on results.

eXact iDip® 570 Photometer

This is the photometer specifically studied for aquarium measurements.

The tool is available in the eXact® Pool EZ Photometer Basic Kit with 6 basic tests, or in the Pool eXact® EZ Photometer Master Kit with all the 10 tests made for pools. It is equipped with a particular source of internal calibration that eliminates the needing of adjustements over time, and offers a precise and reliable measurement. The bluetooth connectivity allows an always efficient communication with the mobile managament app and a periodic update of its software.

The tool, in its original settings, allows to measure 4 basic parameters, while 35 other can be unlocked by purchasing them online in the app. Among them we can find characteristic parameters of fresh or seawater, but, other than the online unlocking, we will have to buy the corresponding reagent. Alternatively we can buy a kit, containing all the necessary in a practical hard case.

eXact iDip® 570 Freshwater Aquarium Kit is the kit for freshwater tanks, while the seawater one is called eXact iDip® 570 Marine Starter Kit and includes reagents to make 25 different measurements on parameters like Calcium, Nitrates, Alkalinity, Ammonia, Carbonate hardness, Phosphates and pH.

eXact® Micro 7+ Photometer

This tool uses a patented method that allows fast, accurate and precise measurements.

It is particularly recommended for the analysis of Drinking water, Pools and SPA, other than the analysis of environmental water and testings made for educational or demonstrative purposes.

Spa eXact® EZ Photometer

The main usage of this photometer is the analysis of water parameters typical of an SPA.

It is available as an individual tool or in a user-friendly Spa eXact® EZ Photometer Starter Kit.

Pool eXact® EZ Photometer

This photometer, like all the rest, can be directly immersed in pools’ water to collect the testing sample. It provides measurements on 10 parameters including Alkalinity, Copper, Chlorine, Calcium, Phosphates and Cyanuric acid. The latter is particularly important in pools because it protects chlorine from UV rays, that tend to degrade it.

Well eXact® EZ Photometer

This photometer is recommended for those who need to test water of wells, with a limited number of 5 parameters. The concerned elements are Alkalinity, Carbonate hardness, Iron, Nitrates and pH.

It can be found in the Well eXact® EZ Photometer Starter Kit or in the Well eXact® EZ Photometer Professional Kit.

In the latter kit there is also the eXact® pH+ Smart Meter tool, specific for the pH measurement and some reference solutions at pH constant levels (pH 4.0 e pH 7.0), required for its calibration.

eXact® Micro 20 with Bluetooth® Photometer

We are talking about the most complete and advanced photometer of the series. It is the only one that allows to make measurements on two wavelengths. The Bluetooth Smart technology provides a fast and reliable connectivity with its device and mobile management application.

This system is available in 4 types of kit:

eXact® LEADQuick with Bluetooth® Photometer

This photometer is ideal for the portable measurement of Lead levels, heavy metal whose presence can be harmful to health. We can test and verify the presence of Lead in water or any substance that needs to be controlled to check the potential contamination, for example paint.

The eXact® LEADQuick® w/Bluetooth® Water Test Kit includes the photometer and whatever is necessary for the detection of lead.

eXact® Eco-Check®

This tool is commercialized to cover that slice of tests that don’t fall into any specific category, but are generically classified as environmental measurements.

The eXact® Eco-Check® Kit includes the photometer, the hard case and the matching set of reagents.

REFERENCES

As usual here is the link of the official homepage of ITS Europe Ltd, in the English version, where you can also find the online store to purchase your products. We also invite you to read our Editorial on the exhibition, you can access the links of all the articles released so far, that will increase day by day, or watch our videoreport for this Interzoo 2022.

Lastly, this is the link to the original article, in Italian, whose author is Simone Baglioni.