My Honest Opinion About The Alkatronic

[dwest]

Just going to share a word of warning to don't leave it too long to not run a prime/calibrate on Pump D the alk addition head.
I hadn't done one for ages & my 2 part doser had an issue.
Where the alkatronic was set to pick up & dose once it got below the action mode level it thought it was dosing but the line was crusted up so nothing was going in.
Had Fusion2 plumbed to it - think i might swap to something weaker to try help stop that repeating.
As well as slap myself to run/check that line a bit more often.

I’ve had that same issue with my D line plugging up. It would only happen if there was a long period (about a month or so) of no use. I am trying to remedy that by priming the line with RODI water after the line is used.

 

[2una]

I’ve had that same issue with my D line plugging up. It would only happen if there was a long period (about a month or so) of no use. I am trying to remedy that by priming the line with RODI water after the line is used.

What were you using for alk? This fusion2 i had hooked up is heavier carbonate than bicarbonate at a guess from what is needed to raise 100gal/1dkh so i'm going to try just putting a bicarb mix online & see if it stops that.
Or was it a bicarb you had the same issue?

 

[GoVols]

What were you using for alk? This fusion2 i had hooked up is heavier carbonate than bicarbonate at a guess from what is needed to raise 100gal/1dkh so i'm going to try just putting a bicarb mix online & see if it stops that.
Or was it a bicarb you had the same issue?

I never used the D pump, but I think the manual recommends to use regular BRS for alk.

 

[dwest]

What were you using for alk? This fusion2 i had hooked up is heavier carbonate than bicarbonate at a guess from what is needed to raise 100gal/1dkh so i'm going to try just putting a bicarb mix online & see if it stops that.
Or was it a bicarb you had the same issue?

I use the BRS soda ash which is sodium carbonate. I also now try to set my alkalinity to the higher limit, vs the lower limit when I travel. When my alkalinity is too high, it will shut down my 2 part addition through my Apex. Then I don’t use my D addition pump. But I will still prime it with RODI just in case.

I suspect that any carbonate alkalinity solution might plug the line if not used very often. I’m guessing lowering the carbonate concentration would buy us more time between plugs.

 

[2una]

I use the BRS soda ash which is sodium carbonate. I also now try to set my alkalinity to the higher limit, vs the lower limit when I travel. When my alkalinity is too high, it will shut down my 2 part addition through my Apex. Then I don’t use my D addition pump. But I will still prime it with RODI just in case.

I suspect that any carbonate alkalinity solution might plug the line if not used very often. I’m guessing lowering the carbonate concentration would buy us more time between plugs.

Ok thanks, I'll give the bicarb a try, mine was ages not used or calibrated/tested & was like frozen crystals inside the line.
I'm guessing the carbonate will react with co2 so i'll see if the bicarb behaves any differant

 

[Michiel.]

I've had the Alkatronic for about half a year now and it works okay. The problem I have with it is that the values after renewal of the reagent are always higher than with the old liquid. The amount of reagent I make at a time is about 1.5 to 2 weeks. Do I have to stir the prepared reagent in between or does anyone know another cause? I always prepare the reagent in the same way, of course.

 

[Hydrored]

I've had the Alkatronic for about half a year now and it works okay. The problem I have with it is that the values after renewal of the reagent are always higher than with the old liquid. The amount of reagent I make at a time is about 1.5 to 2 weeks. Do I have to stir the prepared reagent in between or does anyone know another cause? I always prepare the reagent in the same way, of course.

you are using a gram scale? I can’t say I have this issue so I would have to assume it’s mixing accuracy unless recalibrating changes it.

 

[Dennis Cartier]

Are you keeping the reagent air tight, or as close to air tight, as possible? If you get evaporation in the reagent, then I would expect the behaviour you are seeing.

For accurate mixing, I recommend inexpensive volumetric flasks from Amazon. A 250 ml and 1 L flask will give you 1.25 L of reagent.

 

[David Cher]

i would use the weighting scale to get more accurate readings

 

[ReeferBud]

I've had the Alkatronic for about half a year now and it works okay. The problem I have with it is that the values after renewal of the reagent are always higher than with the old liquid. The amount of reagent I make at a time is about 1.5 to 2 weeks. Do I have to stir the prepared reagent in between or does anyone know another cause? I always prepare the reagent in the same way, of course.

you can make a larger batch of reagent to last you longer. I make 5 L at a time and lasts over a month. As other suggested, just buy a 1L volumetric flask.

in my experience, despite how well I think I mix the reagent solution, the first couple readings always seem off. Just turn off the action mode, let the readings settle over the day, and enjoy this great piece of technology for the hobby.

 

[R-balljunkie]

you can make a larger batch of reagent to last you longer. I make 5 L at a time and lasts over a month. As other suggested, just buy a 1L volumetric flask.

in my experience, despite how well I think I mix the reagent solution, the first couple readings always seem off. Just turn off the action mode, let the readings settle over the day, and enjoy this great piece of technology for the hobby.

+1 for 5L at a time. lasts considerably. Also, you can change testing interval to every 4 hours vs 2.

 

[Michiel.]

you are using a gram scale? I can’t say I have this issue so I would have to assume it’s mixing accuracy unless recalibrating changes it.

Thanks for your reply, yes I am using a (cheap, Ikea) gram scale.

Are you keeping the reagent air tight, or as close to air tight, as possible? If you get evaporation in the reagent, then I would expect the behaviour you are seeing.

For accurate mixing, I recommend inexpensive volumetric flasks from Amazon. A 250 ml and 1 L flask will give you 1.25 L of reagent.

Thanks for your reply, I am keeping it air tight. Do you have a link to the flasks? You think it is better than a scale?

you can make a larger batch of reagent to last you longer. I make 5 L at a time and lasts over a month. As other suggested, just buy a 1L volumetric flask.

in my experience, despite how well I think I mix the reagent solution, the first couple readings always seem off. Just turn off the action mode, let the readings settle over the day, and enjoy this great piece of technology for the hobby.

I will try it, thanks.

 

[Dennis Cartier]

Thanks for your reply, I am keeping it air tight. Do you have a link to the flasks? You think it is better than a scale?

If you are keeping it air tight, than you should see no shift if the reagent is mixed accurately. I see no shift when mixing up a new 1.25L of reagent when I run an extra measurement after re-filling (which I always do).

Here is a link to my local Amazon. You may or may not have something similar available locally. Volumetric Flask Set, 3 Pieces - Class B, ASTM - 250ml, 500ml & 1000ml - Glass Stopper - Blue Graduation - Eisco Labs

Is it better? It is better for me. I was also seeing jumps between batches of reagent, which told me that I had messed up somehow with the mixing ratio. I switched to flasks and have never had a problem since. I have accurate scales, but the flasks are just so much easier to get it right.

 

[Kevin80]

Hi, I'm looking for a replacement probe for my Alkatronic, but the original one is very expensive here in Belgium. I've heard good things about the Milwaukee probes or are there any other good ones on the market?

 

[dwest]

Hi, I'm looking for a replacement probe for my Alkatronic, but the original one is very expensive here in Belgium. I've heard good things about the Milwaukee probes or are there any other good ones on the market?

I’m in the US. I was having a hard time finding the Atlas probe with BNC. So I just bough a BRS version. I haven’t installed it yet. I don’t know about Milwaukee but I used pinpoint probes in the past but they didn’t last much longer than 12-18 months for me.

 

[Ryan Doolittle]

Hi, I'm looking for a replacement probe for my Alkatronic, but the original one is very expensive here in Belgium. I've heard good things about the Milwaukee probes or are there any other good ones on the market?

This is such a crucial part on a piece of equipment you are relying on, why risk it on a less expensive product?

Not that price dictates quality, however a PH probe that is vital in running my alk tester is not something a person should go cheap on.

 

[Beonedge]

double post

 

[Beonedge]

Hi, I'm looking for a replacement probe for my Alkatronic, but the original one is very expensive here in Belgium. I've heard good things about the Milwaukee probes or are there any other good ones on the market?

If you can order from uk - Atlas Scientific ENV-40-PH Lab Grade pH Probe

 

[pixelhustler]

Completely removing the original post here and posting an update to how I feel about the Alkatronic.

I have had the Alkatronic for going on 6 months. In that time, it has been an emotional rollercoaster. When I first received the unit, it was loud as heck. It was so loud that I couldn't even sleep at night when it tested. When initially told about the noise, Focustronic determined a solution for the noise level, but was initially going to just put the fix in the 2nd batch of the unit. I personally reached out to them about those of us that had originally purchased the unit and what they would do for us, and they decided to send out the quiet fix to all of their distribution partners to distribute to existing customers. Win for us and win for the Alkatronic unit.

Now to how this unit has changed my entire way of reefing. Like most people, you can get a little complacent in the hobby. Specially when you do not have too much more going into the tank. Yeah you do the maintenance and test, but sometimes you just get complacent. I was having to test dKH multiple time a day and it was becoming very repetitive. Calcium and Magnesium wasn't that much of a hassle for me, but dKH was becoming a pain in the you know what. Since I have had the Alkatronic, overall I would say now I feel like I can actually enjoy my reef more and do the other maintenance that allows me to keep an eye on the reef. Yeah testing dKH doesn't take long, but plotting it manually to see what was going on, yada, yada, was an issue that needed to be resolved.

Measurements from the unit are in line with what I was getting from using my Hanna checker. Now instead of me test dKH multiple times daily, I just test it when I honestly feel like doing so. If I remix any reagent, I definitely test it at that time to ensure that I mixed the reagent properly and determine whether I need to do a baseline adjustment. The reagent will last you a very long time if you purchase the 4L with the unit. Testing every 8 hours, the reagent will last you at least 18 months. Cost wise that isn't much when you calculate out how much you would spend on which ever test kit you use for dKH.

The real beauty about the Alkatronic isn't just the accuracy, but how the people over at Focustronic work with the community on making improvements to the platform. When initially released, you could not manipulate the settings of the unit via the cloud, only in the mobile app. With the most recent firmware update, you can now change all settings via the cloud and do all calibrations through it as well. They also implemented some really nice features like more failsafes (preventing any catastrophic events), etc. You can read more about that here:

Before making my decision to go with the Alkatronic, I looked at the Neptune Systems Trident, GHL KH Director and the KH Guardian. I ultimately decided on the Alkatronic for a number of reasons.

1. The unit can operate independently of any aquarium controller
2. The presence that @JonasRoman had in his original thread and documenting his journey to getting the unit to market
3. The overall design of the unit. Easier to place under my stand.
4. The concentrated reagent. I like buying in bulk.
5. It actually can make corrections to the dKH.

The unit itself isn't 100% perfect that's for sure, but what really is in this world? There are some setup issues that can be worked out like getting it connected to wifi and not needing to use USB to do the firmware update, but outside of those, I'd rate the unit overall a 9/10. Cannot give it a 10/10 because like I said, there are always improvements that can be done.

Here is a great video from ReefDudes about the unboxing and setup of the unit.

One from CoralVue:


For those of you that are on the fence and want to have as stable dKH as you can get for your system, I personally highly recommend you giving the Alkatronic a closer look. Is it a pricey unit, yes it is. If your in this hobby the at the end of the day everything is pricey; that is why it's a hobby. I just needed a better sense of security knowing that I have invested 15x more in my thank than the unit cost so I needed some insurance for the tank. The Alkatronic is my insurance policy.

Do you happen to know what the “fix” was to make it less loud? Mine was always pretty loud out of the box but a few months in it’s gotten 2x louder.

Great device and well worth the money but it’s SO loud. My old Trident made a much higher pitched noise but was 1/3 of the volume at most (and very unreliable but that’s a different story).

 

[R-balljunkie]

Do you happen to know what the “fix” was to make it less loud? Mine was always pretty loud out of the box but a few months in it’s gotten 2x louder.

Great device and well worth the money but it’s SO loud. My old Trident made a much higher pitched noise but was 1/3 of the volume at most (and very unreliable but that’s a different story).

My fix....a bit medieval, but works. i don't really notice it running when the doors are both closed.....you can also increase the test interval to every 4 hours vs default.