My Honest Opinion About The Alkatronic

[mitch91175]

Anyone else having major issues with the cloud not updating scheduled tests?

I am holding off on any posting/review of my experience until my unit either gets repaired to work 100% or I get my money back.

None with my unit. I have gone through the initial frustration and now just sitting back and enjoying not having to worry about it much. I haven't had any issues with it updating the cloud when it is connected. Maybe you have connectivity issues in general or you are keeping the app open (which causes the unit to go into BT mode). If that is the case, I'd say not even use the app really. I only do so when I am calibrating (and that can be done through the web portal as well).

 

[Makers Marc]

None with my unit. I have gone through the initial frustration and now just sitting back and enjoying not having to worry about it much. I haven't had any issues with it updating the cloud when it is connected. Maybe you have connectivity issues in general or you are keeping the app open (which causes the unit to go into BT mode). If that is the case, I'd say not even use the app really. I only do so when I am calibrating (and that can be done through the web portal as well).

Thanks for the thought. But all of that somple diagnostic stuff has been done for wks now.

More detail/feedback to come later in my own post.

 

[2una]

Thanks for the thought. But all of that somple diagnostic stuff has been done for wks now.

More detail/feedback to come later in my own post.

The unit went to coralvue & back yes? Surely they would have tested that for you?
I also had initial headacke with it but once sorted its been pretty solid

 

[Makers Marc]

The unit went to coralvue & back yes? Surely they would have tested that for you?
I also had initial headacke with it but once sorted its been pretty solid

Yep it did. And got the SDcard replaced. It fixed the initial issue, of not being able to save any changes to my settings that were initiated via the cloud.

But now only 1/5 test results get plotted on the cloud or app. Even though the LCD screen shows the actual test results.

 

[2una]

I may be wrong on this as my memory on it is pretty foggy & as far as networking goes i'm like a 2 yr old BUT i THINK opening up the wpa choices or the encryption choices as available in my router got me going, maybe have a look in there if some wider options are available to be opened up

 

[2una]

Yep it did. And got the SDcard replaced. It fixed the initial issue, of not being able to save any changes to my settings that were initiated via the cloud.

But now only 1/5 test results get plotted on the cloud or app. Even though the LCD screen shows the actual test results.

So its working but its not working - weird

 

[2una]

@Makers Marc Take a screengrab of your cloud tests & after the unit has done a test go see if it isn't filing it on an earlier time.
We been having daily power cuts here & i noticed mine did that today on mine for a couple of tests then came right.

 

[Makers Marc]

@Makers Marc Take a screengrab of your cloud tests & after the unit has done a test go see if it isn't filing it on an earlier time.
We been having daily power cuts here & i noticed mine did that today on mine for a couple of tests then came right.

Its not. Ive given screenshots/pics and even video to Focustronic. Thanks for offering to help but I'm not posting here for that, since ive spent days already doing so directly with them.

 

[Kalibur2]

I can only connect through hotspot on my phone been trining for weeks to get it on my router. I’m not a techie person so I’m lost on what to do. Already troubleshooted many times

 

[markstubb]

I remember when I got my first 2016 Apex and had it would NOT connect to my wireless network no matter what I tried. I tried for DAYS to get the stupid wireless to work and couldn't. Support couldn't figure it out, either. For my day job I'm a principal level network engineer, so this ain't my first rodeo when it comes to networking stuff. The wireless stuff I have in my house was all Ubiquiti access points, scattered all over the house, all running both 2.4 and 5gHz spectrums with the same SSID and I also used band steering to force 5ghz capable clients to the 5ghz bands when appropriate so they would get faster speeds. Every other wireless device that ever entered my home worked 100% perfectly fine. Even my old apex with the linksys gaming ethernet adapter worked fine. One of the base stations I was trying to connect to was about 5 feet away (on the ceiling of the floor below). The others weren't much farther away.

What did I have to do to get my 2016 apex online? I had to enable the wireless in my Apple Time Machine (opposite side of the house from the tank) and the tank could connect to that, no problem. Wasn't a long term solution for me so I kept trying to figure it out. In the end, I figured out that band steering prevented the Apex from getting on my network. I disabled it, and bam, apex connected immediately and hasn't been a problem since. Worth trying if you have some sort of mesh network in your house, @Kalibur2.

@Makers Marc, you sound like you're having internal connectivity issues on your network, possibly due to the distance between the Alkatronic and the wireless base station? It just seems odd to me that you'd see results some times and not others (assuming there's nothing wrong with the hardware) as no one else has reported erratic behavior as related to the online portal.

I do admit, like most other folks, that the initial curve of getting the thing working is complicated for some reason, but once you get it going, it just does its thing and you can sit back. So I say to stick with it and get it working. You've already decided you want it and have it, after that it should be pretty easy once you get over the setup hump.

 

[ShadowR55]

I have google WiFi and it’s worked awesome since day 1, setup was a breeze on iOS, really made my tank stable. I run triton and a calcium reactor and I’ve adjusted my dosing to match my alk usage throughout the day and wow, my alk is so much more stable now and the apex will cut off my Calcium reactor, CO2 and reactor recirc pump when the alk gets too high. I like how if your reading is out of range, it does 2 retests to verify and then alerts you with a push notification(I also get an alert from Apex). Then it retests every 2 hours until your back in your specified alk range then goes back to your specified testing interval. Really thought out machine and I do not regret waiting for the trident. Why would I need to buy reagent bottles for magnesium and calcium. You never really need to test Mag or Calcium if you run triton or a calcium reactor because they are always input in equal amounts.

 

[Naturalreef]

After my initial hiccups, everything has been running smooth and I love the rock solid stability of my Alkalinity. I’m glad I purchased this instead of waiting for Trident and only wish this was available years ago as it would have paid for itself from coral losses while I was away from home. I do think the Trident will be great as Neptune makes a great product and I may purchase it down the road. The nice thing about the Alkatronic is that it is stand alone!

 

[Naturalreef]

After my initial hiccups, everything has been running smooth and I love the rock solid stability of my Alkalinity. I’m glad I purchased this instead of waiting for Trident and only wish this was available years ago as it would have paid for itself from coral losses while I was away from home. I do think the Trident will be great as Neptune makes a great product and I may purchase it down the road. The nice thing about the Alkatronic is that it is stand alone!

 

[Makers Marc]

Id be interested in hearing from those who used Android only. IOS semmingly has alot less issues per them.

With Android, you have the normal Alkatronic app. Which you need for the full suite of commands. But its known (by Focustronic as well) to have major dropped connection issues which makes using it for setup and callibration tough.

So their team recommends the lite App instead.

But then they recommend to really use the cloud all the time after once your wifi syncs and never any of the Android apps.

Android users. Just curious what you used at setup and afterward?

 

[Pygmey]

I just received my alkatronic. How can I tell which version it actually is? I read something about the door and how one of the pumps is mounted? Any pics?

 

[markstubb]

if it has the drain at the bottom then it's a v3. if it has no drain at the bottom and has 2 small pumps, one large pump with rubber around it, and the top pump doesn't have "rubber" around it, then it's a v2. If it has 4 large sized pumps with no rubber around them, it's a v1.

 

[hart24601]

I just got a unit today. Read the manual before hand, got the setup done without any issues, testing in line with my salifert test. Did 4 tests in a row all came back the exact same.

So pretty positive 1st day. You do know when it’s running though!

 

[2una]

Android users. Just curious what you used at setup and afterward?

I'm Android & i was ready to smash something trying to setup by the phone but i got it done....even the BT connection pop-ups are enough to drive you crazy. This was before the cloud setup was available.
Think they recommend to just get the wifi settings setup by using the "lite" app now then do the rest by wifi/cloud.
I THINK a lot of trouble here is the fact of the unit bluetooth/wifi switching & if you rather stay away from the app then probably less chance of users having no wifi/cloud access as the app didn't get closed & then the unit stays in bluetooth mode.

Before my samsung s9 i couldn't use - just now i downloaded the "lite" app to try changing my wifi over to a differant router & it worked flawless

 

[Pygmey]

if it has the drain at the bottom then it's a v3. if it has no drain at the bottom and has 2 small pumps, one large pump with rubber around it, and the top pump doesn't have "rubber" around it, then it's a v2. If it has 4 large sized pumps with no rubber around them, it's a v1.

Sweet.. I have a safety drain at the bottom. I assume that means it is version 3. Those that have it running do you put your waste in a bucket or back in the tank. I know you can do either but curious what you have done.

Thanks.. Awesome thread by the way

 

[hart24601]

I have a nano so it’s back to the system for me. In fact it’s one of the reasons I bought it so salinity didn’t go all over the place when testing frequently.

4 clams and sps 34g tank means dosing a whole lot of 2 part relative to tank size - one of more of those clams stops uptake for whatever reason and you have nuked the tank in just a couple days if you don’t see the alk spike!

 

[Pygmey]

Ok need some help here.. I just got mine setup.. It went ok... A few suggestions.. 1) The input filter to draw water in needs to be made not to float. It specifically states that it must be submerged and yet it floats. 2) The app connectivity during calibration was pretty rough. Had to kill the app alot to get the calibration completed. 3) Calibrating was interesting.. Doesnt make you feel great when you are done that you are calibrated properly. 4) Once you setup the wifi, you should be allowed to use the app over that instead of bluetooth.

Here is my issue. First test tested 7.15.. Ok not bad.. then 2nd test was 6.34 and then third test was 6.52.. Seems to be pretty much not consistent with itself. What could this be? I am confident I weighed the reagent properly. Only issue I may have is I may have more than 3 foot of length but come on?? It is not supposed to be mounted above water so in the stand is off limits.. It is literally sitting right outside the stand and run to the first compartment of the sump..

Any help would be greatly appreciated