Algal chlorophyll-$alpha$ is commonly determined by spectro-photometric method using 90% acetone as solvents. However, acetone has low extraction efficiency without grinding filters, and DMF (dimethyl formamide) was tested for the compatibility with acetone. Chlorophyll-$alpha$ concentration was determined for samples from 5 reservoirs of different trophic states and phytoplankton composition, using acetone extraction with grinding and DMF without grinding. Chlorophyll-$alpha$ measured by DMF and Acetone did not show a significant difference when using trichromatic method of UNESCO and Lorenzen, and therefore, DMF can substitute acetone. But when acidification method was applied, they showed significant difference of 8%. It can be concluded that DMF can extract chlorophylls more effectively without grinding and it can be a better alternative for the standard extraction solvent.