I recently saw Reef Factory was getting into the ICP game and at a very aggressive price point so I decided to compare it against Triton which I have been using for years. I know R2R is predominately US users, and for now I believe Reef Factory ICP is only available in Europe, but they will be expanding in the future. If you're interested in my experience please read on!
Reef Factory ICP - Round 1
I purchased my Reef Factory ICP test for £20 which was a great deal compared to Triton ICP at £30. I was a little let down to find they didn't have a lab or a hub in the UK so I'd need to send it international postage. Via Royal Mail the cheapest postage you can buy is £1.85, so all in I'm at roughly £22.
Timeline (No postal tracking) - 14 DAYS
Reef Factory Analysis: https://storage.reeffactory.com/share/fb9188a683f715dd0164f75d09e09ed79e2178fe1130?t=1665176622249
Overall the results were fairly inline with my last Triton report (I do them quarterly) so I was happy. However the one anomaly was my magnesium which was way high at 2178. My mag has been rock solid on this tank for years and has never read anything approaching to 1500. I tested with my Aquaforest test kit and it was reading around 1300. I reached out to Reef Factory and after one email exchange they offered to send me a second test free of charge, which I thought was great customer service as all I was asking for was an explanation for the high result.
Reef Factory ICP - Round 2
This time around I decided to send the test Royal Mail tracked for £8.65 because I wanted to understand where the hold up was as my first sample took 14 days. Now this means if you're buying the test for £20, with the £8.65 postage rate you're almost at the £30 price of a Triton test.
Timeline (Postal tracking) - 10 DAYS
Reef Factory Analysis: https://storage.reeffactory.com/share/a06f07d622016bc29033a6b991517fbf0857eb371121?t=1665177686293
On this second result my magnesium showed much more in line. However the interesting conversation to be had is comparing those results to Triton. When I sent out my second Reef Factory test I had the idea to compare against Triton, so both samples were taken at the same time and sent off on the same day.
Triton ICP
I purchased my Triton test for £30 and as they have a lab in the UK I was able to ship it 1st Class no tracking for £1.45, so all in £31.45.
Timeline (No postal tracking) - 3 DAYS
My results were in line with my previous test, Triton is tried and true from my experience, so there were no surprises.
Conclusion
The big draw for me was the savings from Reef Factory. There wasn't a major difference in the number of days it took to arrive at the lab, from the cheapest shipping (14 days) to the most expensive shipping (10 days). Meaning you can go with the cheaper shipping and save yourself £10 in total using Reef Factory over Triton. The savings comes with a trade off for the wait time. The question to ask then is how fast do you need your results? Another question I had but have not found a solid answer; does the transit time affect the results. Will 3 days with Triton get you a more accurate results than 14 days with Reef Factory?
Reef Factory is also pushing hard the fact they are the first ICP OES to give you your results via a mobile app. Honestly... I don't get the value add. Most times I actually prefer viewing my results on my computer as it's easier to read. I'm really struggling to think what getting results on your mobile app gives you that you don't get from getting results on a web version. In fact, the best I can tell the Reef Factory mobile app is just a scaled down version of the website. Though there was one bright spot:
Reef Factory gives you a side by side comparison to your previous tests. This is something Triton has been lacking for quite some time. With Triton they do have an option export your data to a CSV file which you can import into Excel. However just seeing it on the website right next to each other is really nice!
And finally the giant elephant in the room... both samples (2nd Reef Factory and only Triton) were taken at the same time and the results were quite different in some areas. On the macros Calcium had a 21 point difference, Potassium 40 point difference, Magnesium 66 point difference. I won't run all of them down, you get the point. I'm also not saying the results are night and day difference. However it does beg the question who is more accurate?
Ultimately for me; I will likely stick with Triton for the faster turnaround time and because they are established in the industry so I tend to trust them (however irrationally) a bit more right now. However in the future if Reef Factory gets a UK lab setup and they continue to offer great service I just might make the switch!
Reef Factory ICP - Round 1
I purchased my Reef Factory ICP test for £20 which was a great deal compared to Triton ICP at £30. I was a little let down to find they didn't have a lab or a hub in the UK so I'd need to send it international postage. Via Royal Mail the cheapest postage you can buy is £1.85, so all in I'm at roughly £22.
Timeline (No postal tracking) - 14 DAYS
- August 24th - My sample test out was sent out
- September 6th - Reef Factory sent me a notification on their app it was received at the lab
- September 7th - Reef Factory sent me my test results
Reef Factory Analysis: https://storage.reeffactory.com/share/fb9188a683f715dd0164f75d09e09ed79e2178fe1130?t=1665176622249
Overall the results were fairly inline with my last Triton report (I do them quarterly) so I was happy. However the one anomaly was my magnesium which was way high at 2178. My mag has been rock solid on this tank for years and has never read anything approaching to 1500. I tested with my Aquaforest test kit and it was reading around 1300. I reached out to Reef Factory and after one email exchange they offered to send me a second test free of charge, which I thought was great customer service as all I was asking for was an explanation for the high result.
Reef Factory ICP - Round 2
This time around I decided to send the test Royal Mail tracked for £8.65 because I wanted to understand where the hold up was as my first sample took 14 days. Now this means if you're buying the test for £20, with the £8.65 postage rate you're almost at the £30 price of a Triton test.
Timeline (Postal tracking) - 10 DAYS
- September 27th - My sample test out was sent out
- September 30th - The package was handed off from Royal Mail to Poland customs
- October 5th - The package was delivered to Reef Factory lab
- October 7th - Reef Factory sent me my test results
Reef Factory Analysis: https://storage.reeffactory.com/share/a06f07d622016bc29033a6b991517fbf0857eb371121?t=1665177686293
On this second result my magnesium showed much more in line. However the interesting conversation to be had is comparing those results to Triton. When I sent out my second Reef Factory test I had the idea to compare against Triton, so both samples were taken at the same time and sent off on the same day.
Triton ICP
I purchased my Triton test for £30 and as they have a lab in the UK I was able to ship it 1st Class no tracking for £1.45, so all in £31.45.
Timeline (No postal tracking) - 3 DAYS
- September 27th - My sample test out was sent out
- September 28th - Triton sent me an email to let me know the sample had been received
- September 29th - Triton sent me my test results
My results were in line with my previous test, Triton is tried and true from my experience, so there were no surprises.
Conclusion
The big draw for me was the savings from Reef Factory. There wasn't a major difference in the number of days it took to arrive at the lab, from the cheapest shipping (14 days) to the most expensive shipping (10 days). Meaning you can go with the cheaper shipping and save yourself £10 in total using Reef Factory over Triton. The savings comes with a trade off for the wait time. The question to ask then is how fast do you need your results? Another question I had but have not found a solid answer; does the transit time affect the results. Will 3 days with Triton get you a more accurate results than 14 days with Reef Factory?
Reef Factory is also pushing hard the fact they are the first ICP OES to give you your results via a mobile app. Honestly... I don't get the value add. Most times I actually prefer viewing my results on my computer as it's easier to read. I'm really struggling to think what getting results on your mobile app gives you that you don't get from getting results on a web version. In fact, the best I can tell the Reef Factory mobile app is just a scaled down version of the website. Though there was one bright spot:
Reef Factory gives you a side by side comparison to your previous tests. This is something Triton has been lacking for quite some time. With Triton they do have an option export your data to a CSV file which you can import into Excel. However just seeing it on the website right next to each other is really nice!
And finally the giant elephant in the room... both samples (2nd Reef Factory and only Triton) were taken at the same time and the results were quite different in some areas. On the macros Calcium had a 21 point difference, Potassium 40 point difference, Magnesium 66 point difference. I won't run all of them down, you get the point. I'm also not saying the results are night and day difference. However it does beg the question who is more accurate?
Ultimately for me; I will likely stick with Triton for the faster turnaround time and because they are established in the industry so I tend to trust them (however irrationally) a bit more right now. However in the future if Reef Factory gets a UK lab setup and they continue to offer great service I just might make the switch!
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