Kh director, Triton and other multi testers.

[twentyleagues]

My first poll hope this turns out well.
I have been debating getting an automatic tester and controller. I currently do all the things old school. Dosing by hand (picked up a 4 head doser recently), testing by hand, really the only things on my tank that have control are the heaters and lights (leds) oh and ato of course. I see threads all the time about these automated testing units from inconsistencies to how great they are. I think if I do eventually get one I would at most test daily. I know most of them you can test many times a day. I guess this is where my real question lies. Does testing alk, calc, or whatever multiple times a day really help reef keeping? Or does it complicate a pretty straight forward part of the hobby? What am I missing?

 

[rishma]

I only test 2 things regularly, PO4 and alkalinity, but because I travel a lot for work, I have considered the auto testers. I have not done it because they seem too inconsistent or prone to issues. I am to saying they do not work well, but given the amount of issues people seek help with my impression is that the testers can be challenging. I not wanted to take in that challenge.

I suppose if they were cheaper I would take them for a spin.

 

[twentyleagues]

Ok learning curve. I actually needed to vote to see results, got it!
Those that have voted directly impacts how well my reef does can you expand on that? Do you take action when you see test results and are you testing multiple times a day? What actions do you take? What parameters are you dialed into?

 

[exnisstech]

Following. @twentyleagues it sounds like your methods are very similar to mine. I do use a doser for AFR in my acro tank but I manually dose AFR, 2part and bacto balance in the other tanks. Everytime I think about controllers I come on here and read some of the threads looking for help with issues, especially the auto testers and the desire passes. With the exception of people that have to travel I just see it as something else I have to maintain and deal with complications when they arise but like you maybe I'm missing something also?

EDIT : I voted #2 but its JMO having no experience with automation.

 

[twentyleagues]

Following. @twentyleagues it sounds like your methods are very similar to mine. I do use a doser for AFR in my acro tank but I manually dose AFR, 2part and bacto balance in the other tanks. Everytime I think about controllers I come on here and read some of the threads looking for help with issues, especially the auto testers and the desire passes. With the exception of people that have to travel I just see it as something else I have to maintain and deal with complications when they arise but like you maybe I'm missing something also?

EDIT : I voted #2 but its JMO having no experience with automation.

Yeah I got a doser just because I have forgot to dose a couple times in the last few weeks. I am very busy at the moment and it just slipped my mind. I dont want that happening. I still have to hook it up. Wish me luck!

 

[exnisstech]

Yeah I got a doser just because I have forgot to dose a couple times in the last few weeks. I am very busy at the moment and it just slipped my mind. I dont want that happening. I still have to hook it up. Wish me luck!

Ya same here. My routine since retiring has been I no longer have a routine lol so my manual dosing is lacking.

 

[twentyleagues]

Bumping this up. Trying to get some answers.

 

[twentyleagues]

I really thought there would be more input than this.

 

[ReefStable]

Without a control mechanism for dosing, auto testers can let you know when something is wrong, and do the testing that you're likely not going to do. I did do daily alkalinity testing at one point. It fades quickly as you burn through reagent or run late that day, etc. The auto testers are a GREAT way to get the test results to stabilize your tank parameters, even if you dose by hand! I think they are a game changer and borderline necessity to keeping happy, healthy reef tanks for the long term if you don't want to do the work by hand.

Adding in the control and dosing aspect, you're really able to target near perfect stability. They give you the ability to fix parameters on the fly, and automatically. But there need to be safeguards in place. The testing can go wrong on occasion, so there needs to be a safety that if things are wildly off, you get alerts or turn off dosing, etc.

That's my opinion for whatever it's worth!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’ve not used one, and rarely tested things like alk in my tank, so cannot comment much on what use they might have been for my situation.

In a newer tank when getting it stabilized, I can see it being a lot more useful.

 

[Gungo]

I’ve had tridents in the past and currently have the KH Director and the truth is you don’t need them. Testing is just that part of the hobby that bonds you with your tank. When people say that they don't have time for testing, at least once a week, maybe this is not the hobby for you. Having an automated testing device doesn't mean you don't need to test anymore, you still need to test, at least to calibrate and confirm the values from time to time, and this usually takes more time than a simple manual test.

I also think that people love the tech side of this, where having all these controllers and automation is a hobby within our hobby. But manual testing shouldn't be a complicated task.

 

[lbacha]

I marked directly impacts but that is only in relationship to Alkalinity. Other tests are nice and I feel nitrate and phosphate would be great as it would allow me to catch swings earlier. Alkalinity swings has such an impact on SPS that controlling Alk with an automatic tester has allowed me to stabilize my tank. I use a Triton on my Frag system and a KH director on my new 300g display system

 

[twentyleagues]

I marked directly impacts but that is only in relationship to Alkalinity. Other tests are nice and I feel nitrate and phosphate would be great as it would allow me to catch swings earlier. Alkalinity swings has such an impact on SPS that controlling Alk with an automatic tester has allowed me to stabilize my tank. I use a Triton on my Frag system and a KH director on my new 300g display system

Do you test alk more than once daily? Also do you have the "tester" controlling your dosing?

 

[twentyleagues]

I’ve not used one, and rarely tested things like alk in my tank, so cannot comment much on what use they might have been for my situation.

In a newer tank when getting it stabilized, I can see it being a lot more useful.

I can see that. If you have some experience then it would be beneficial for sure. If not experienced I feel manual testing to get used to doing it and hopefully correctly is more important when starting out.

 

[lbacha]

Do you test alk more than once daily? Also do you have the "tester" controlling your dosing?

I have my Kalk dosers set to turn off if Alk gets above 8.5. I dose 4 times a day and if I see alk drop below 8 I know I have run out of Alk. I run calcium reactors as well but I have them set to a level that is below what my tank needs for Alk this way I still dose Kalk to help with PH.