IDS Monitoring is happy to work with any sensor(s) that are chosen by a client or that may already form part of an equipment pool. However, some of the instruments that deliver  good quality data and which are reliable and reasonably priced are included in the following selection of the more popular, tried and tested water quality sensors.

Dissolved Oxygen - for a solution that is low maintenance, delivers reliable data and is very competitively priced the D-Opto by Zebra-Tech is recommended. pH - the preferred sensor for pH is the Tyco Greenspan PH3000. This has worked well for our clients and again is reasonably priced .

Conductivity - Having worked with many conductivity sensors, our preferred system for delivering good quality data at a competitive price is the Tyco-Environmental / Greenspan EC3000 (image opposite) . This sensor utilizes a robust toroidal conductivity cell, and has a thermistor temperature cell that delivers stable performance. This sensor is suitable for fresh or sea water and is low maintenance.   Temperature - We have a range of temperature sensors depending on the range and accuracy required and the overall plan deployment configuration.  The Zebra-tech D-Opto and the EC3000 mentioned above both output temperature data but are only accurate to 0.1 degree C. If a stand alone sensor accurate to 0.002 degree is required then we recommend the RBR TR1050. If you just require low cost self recording senors accurate to 0.2 of a degree are required  then the Tidbit is worth considering.

Chl-a Fluorescence - The Chelsea Technologies Unilux/Trilux sensors are a good value instrument for short or long-term deployment. This sensor is compact and is competitively priced. Turbidity / Nephelometer - The UniLux/Trilux is recommended. This is a compact sensor with a choice of output. When deploying the Unilux (and other optical sensors) for autonomous monitoring an anti fouling wiper (as shown on the image) or some other anti fouling technology should be implemented. One of the added befits of the Trilux is that it combines Chl-a and Turbidity in one sensor and also measures Phycoerythrin or Phycocyanin Cyanobacteria. For users that require more than one of these parameters the Trilux is a very competitively priced solution.

Water Level - IDS Monitoring offers a Tyco based solution (PS1000) that is rugged and delivers good quality data at a very reasonable price. If you would like to read more about IDS Water Level Monitoring system and other related sensors please follow this link.

If  other sensor types are required (e.g. UV-HydroCarbons, Iradiance, CDOM, ORP, a multiparameter sonde, sediment traps, grabs, secci disk, etc)  please contact us. 

When investing in a property there are three main considerations – location, location & location. When it comes to choosing your monitoring systems the equivalent is maintenance, maintenance & maintenance !

Regardless of the deal negotiated when purchasing instruments and regardless of the specification promised, the system maintenance must be a  primary consideration when selecting your solution. If not  then the system will ultimately more than expected, will take much more time than expected to maintain and often the performance specs promised will mean little. Surprises like that seen on the image opposite after just 1 month in the water can be avoided.

In reality there is no such thing as a maintence free water quality monitoring system but achieving a relatively low maintenance solution need not be expensive. However achieving a lower maintenance solution is much easier with early planning and almost impossible or expensive if it is relegated to being an afterthought. When selecting system components,  significant maintenance related consideration should be given to the site characteristics, the design of the platform that will host the system, the instrument types and configuration and available technology specifically designed to reduce the maintenance burden.  Even if you’re now deploying a new system or only thinking about a possible deployment in the future please contact us and we are happy to advise in this regard.