Exact iDip Digital Water Testing

[ATB USA]

I paid in all 240 and some change the one on the site for 179 comes with the same app take a look it was not a big deal for me so I gave them the 200 with no mention of the site price.

The 179 on the site is for just the meter and 4 apps. no reagents. They are selling that at the show and thru today for $120

 

[ebushrow]

I'm really excited to see everyone talking about our product! From what I read everything you guys are saying looks accurate, the tests for marine water are currently being reworked and validated because MACNA was our debut in the marine aquarium world. We are excited about catering all of our chemistries to this market and love all the feed back we are getting, keep it coming!

Hi Christian ,
How would I go about ordering one for the MACNA price? Do I call you directly or email you directly? I will PM this too in case.

 

[Squishie89]

Just paid for mine. Pretty excited to see how this turns out. If it is decently accurate and makes testing easier, I am all for it.

 

[TheEngineer]

Please report back here, those of you who are buying in! This is exciting.

 

[ebushrow]

Just paid for mine. Pretty excited to see how this turns out. If it is decently accurate and makes testing easier, I am all for it.

Did you order it online or via the phone?

 

[SPotter]

Definitely exciting but I'm going to wait to see how the consistency from test to test is and the margin of error. Don't want to have another Hanna checker collecting dust under my tank.

 

[Squishie89]

Did you order it online or via the phone?

Haha well, I filled out an order form at MACNA, I did not have any credit cards on me due to volunteering, so they called today to get my credit card number.

 

[reefwiser]

As soon as I get mine will do a video for the R2R podcast along with Christian

 

[pciscott]

The Macna kit had 5 parameters with 25 to 50 test strips each for $200. I bought an additional 100 test strips of each for $50 and the strips range from $15 to $20 per 100 for each kit. You do also have to buy a app on your phone to use the meter. They have a app bundle for the Marine meter for $19.95 for the 5 kits kit comes with. They are working out better ranges for Calcium and a few others, but I have high hopes as the meter does log parameters on your device. They did say they were new to salt water but the meter was very nice and water proof. You can rinse it off in the sink and just dip meter in tank to get the water in unit. Then you pick parameter you are testing and hit start. A countdown timer starts at 20 and you swish the test strip back and forth 2 times a second for 20 seconds and it logs the test, date, and result on your smartphone device when 20 seconds is up. You will have to buy additional test strips and they are catering a new marine version to our industry and they said the same meter will work for all their tests. When you do add a new test outside the bundle it is an additional $5 per kit on the app store, plus buying the new strips. I bought one because I like all the new tank toys and my parameters get logged on a pad of paper that has been known to get wet so the logging was what sold me.

 

[ssdawood]

A little confusing on the site. So what do I need to buy on the site to get me going ?

 

[SPotter]

The Macna kit had 5 parameters with 25 to 50 test strips each for $200. I bought an additional 100 test strips of each for $50 and the strips range from $15 to $20 per 100 for each kit. You do also have to buy a app on your phone to use the meter. They have a app bundle for the Marine meter for $19.95 for the 5 kits kit comes with. They are working out better ranges for Calcium and a few others, but I have high hopes as the meter does log parameters on your device. They did say they were new to salt water but the meter was very nice and water proof. You can rinse it off in the sink and just dip meter in tank to get the water in unit. Then you pick parameter you are testing and hit start. A countdown timer starts at 20 and you swish the test strip back and forth 2 times a second for 20 seconds and it logs the test, date, and result on your smartphone device when 20 seconds is up. You will have to buy additional test strips and they are catering a new marine version to our industry and they said the same meter will work for all their tests. When you do add a new test outside the bundle it is an additional $5 per kit on the app store, plus buying the new strips. I bought one because I like all the new tank toys and my parameters get logged on a pad of paper that has been known to get wet so the logging was what sold me.

If logging is all you wanted then you could log parameters on apex fusion if you have an apex or there's a few really good apps that you can use for logging.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

They did say they were new to salt water but the meter was very nice and water proof. You can rinse it off in the sink and just dip meter in tank to get the water in unit. Then you pick parameter you are testing and hit start. A countdown timer starts at 20 and you swish the test strip back and forth 2 times a second for 20 seconds and it logs the test, date, and result on your smartphone device when 20 seconds is up. You will have to buy additional test strips and they are catering a new marine version to our industry and they said the same meter will work for all their tests.

Which, IMO, should lead folks to be wary until someone verifies the accuracy in seawater. Some of the test requirements, like alkalinity, are actually different in seawater than fresh. It is not just a matter of interferences. I hope they recognize these issues properly.

 

[watchguy123]

It all boils down to accuracy, reliability, and ease of use. Test kits are frustrating, Hanna checkers I like using but tired of trying to get all that powder out of the foil packet for phosphates, every new thread questioning Hanna reagents freaks me out. So I ordered this today and I'll soon know how it works and how it compares to hobbyist test kits, Hanna checkers and triton.

I've certainly got lots of testing kits that I currently use so it should be straight forward to compare. Two Hanna checkers for alk ( I didn't trust just one), Hanna ultra low phosphorous, Red Sea Ca and Mag, Salifert and API for nitrates. Hopeful that this new product will help with confidence in testing. Of course, that assumes it is accurate and reliable--to be determined. Plan on checking it against my test kits and checkers. And then finally testing with it and sending a tank sample to triton.

This may not be a critical comparison but for now, I am willing to take the time and expense to see if this is a better mousetrap than what I've been utilizing.

 

[reefwiser]

Watchguy123 I to do a lot of testing and since I have used this companies test kits at work. I was interested in trying their new system out. An they where taking feedback and are interested in getting kits we need in the hobby. I also bought a bunch of triton test kits too. Looking forward to checking this out with all the other test kits I have.

 

[prdubois]

A little confusing on the site. So what do I need to buy on the site to get me going ?

Call them and tell them you want a Marine Kit they are just putting it together. That way you will get the Ca test also.

 

[JSeward]

I've had the iDip since last November and really like it. I use it to test my alkalinity about once a week and pH on occasion. The precision and ease of use is much better than the Red Sea kit I was using previously. Back to back to back tests usually give the same result. When there is a deviation, it's only a few PPM. You are able to introduce some human error by forgetting to zero, being careless when adding reagent, or splashing water out of the test cup. I've never measured an alkalinity or pH standard to test for accuracy, but results are always comparable to titration kits when I test them against each other. Perfectly acceptable for hobby use. I test other parameters so infrequently that I can't justify spending the money while I still have good titration kits, but plan is to get other reagents as my test kits get used up or expire.

 

[m1resnick]

I would love to see a YouTube video of someone using it when they receive theirs. From what I'm reading, I'm curious to know if it actually is any easier than the standard test kits. Between the tester, reagents, apps, and math calculations to figureout values - I am going to have to see it to believe it is actually easier.

 

[JSeward]

It's easier. You don't need to mix multiple reagents, shake vials, count or measure drops, figure out if the test solution is blue or still kinda purple-ish blue. You put 4ml of tank water in the cup, dip a strip in the cup, wait a few seconds for the result, and you're done.

Ease of use wouldn't matter if it wasn't precise, but I've found that it is. The accuracy seems, at the very least, on par with current test kits. Personally, I don't care much about accuracy for most tests. I want precision and consistency so I can measure trends. The exception, for me, is copper. I want that to be accurate, but you can't possibly do worse than the hobby grade copper test kits currently on the market.

It's just another tool. Some may find value in it, others may not. I like the fact that it's backed by an established company that specializes in water testing. They aren't trying to sell supplements or salt and they are likely to be around for a while to support their product and that's important when a device relies on consumables to function.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Personally, I don't care much about accuracy for most tests. I want precision and consistency

The easiest and cheapest way to get high precision and consistency at the expense of accuracy is the following:

Take a nonfunctioning Hanna meter (very cheap, I expect), and write this over the LCD:

"Alkalinity = 8.1343 dKH
Calcium = 432.765 ppm"


:D

 

[JSeward]

That would certainly be the easiest and cheapest.

Perhaps my understanding of precision and accuracy is incorrect. Precision in terms of significant figures was not what I was referring to. If I measure my alkalinity at 143 ppm and send the same sample to a lab and they tell me it's actually 157 ppm, I'm okay with that (as an aquarium hobbyist using a ~$200 tool) as long as I can expect that error every time I use.