A colorimetric filtration method has been developed for the highly selective and sensitive determination of Ni 2+ and Pb 2+ ions. Determinations of Ni 2+ and Pb 2+ follow the filtration using nioxime (1,2-cyclohexanedione dioxime) and rhodizonic acid disodium salt, respectively, as colorimetric reagents. Different from regular instrumentation techniques, the metal chelate precipitations are continuously pumped into a home-made flow cell at a constant flow rate, and filtered by a cellulose acetate/nitrate membrane. The color changes of the membrane are imaged using a conventional flatbed scanner, and digitized. The special selection of individual channels in the red, green, and blue channels of the images filters the influences of coexisting ions and provides a highly selective detection of Ni 2+ and ). The determinations take five to ten minutes. No shelf life issue exists because the chelating indicators react with metal directly without any pre-immobilizations.