Neptune Trident OR Mindstream

[Silver14SS]

Its a GHL product the KH Guardian. It reads Alk.
I think it's a pretty nice unit but my only gripe with the GHL approach is that you pay all this money for the Guardian and the if you want the full Monty of tests you have to spend another pile of Cash on the GHL Ion Director. I really wish they had integrated all of this into one package.

No, GHL is KH Director. https://www.aquariumcomputer.com/products/kh-director/

KH Guardian is https://www.coralvue.com/kh-guardian-pro

 

[PigFarmer]

I am thinking about reefbot over mindstream. I like knowing I can get it in a few weeks and it tests phosphate (my achilles heel).

dont do it! same thing.. u wanna be a companys guiniepig? another premature testing device... I had 1 and worked on it and troubled shooted it with them daily to the point that I coulda done 100s of manual tests... $ 900 for that? after enough bs Hoop jumping I was sick of it and I called my CC company and they were able to get reef kinetics to refund my $ and pay for shipping the bot back.

 

[robbyg]

dont do it! same thing.. u wanna be a companys guiniepig? another premature testing device... I had 1 and worked on it and troubled shooted it with them daily to the point that I coulda done 100s of manual tests... $ 900 for that? after enough crap Hoop jumping I was sick of it and I called my CC company and they were able to get reef kinetics to refund my $ and pay for shipping the bot back.

Oh that explains why one particular person has been posting non stop negative stuff on the MindStream threads. I think he bought one of those ReefBots around March, just 2 months before the MindStream release. Last posts on the reefbot that I came across was that he was having problems. Since then has been pretty silent about it. Yet he is very vocal on the MindStream threads, even though all of the people who have received them minus just one, are very happy. Even the one guy who has issues does not want to change devices, he just wants to return it under warranty. It is simply just a defective unit. I would rather wait out 3-4 months for a product that works.

 

[User1]

I would rather wait out 3-4 months for a product that works.

Pretty sure you know where I stand but just wanted to say that yes, your comment here is valid. If the product is one you want just wait it out. However, it doesn't stop me from calling out a bad practice by asking to pay for the product upfront and getting nothing in return by doing so. Someone mentioned a discount which is nice but it should be somewhat proportional to the lag time be it additive discount or free discs.

I think this is what separates a good company from a bad one. Everyone makes mistakes. They key is learning from them and how you recover. And yes, it is easier for me having no skin in the game and owning a different product (with similar availability issues) to say as much.

In any case if the product is of interest then I do agree, wait it out. Let them work through their growing pains and/or mistakes.

 

[Silver14SS]

I would rather wait out 3-4 months for a product that works.

How well does it work though?

Tarheel78 has a thread on their issues.
Oldreefer44 returned theirs.
Lexinverts is still good I'm guessing?
Melev's alk results were not confidence inspiring with it having a carbonate alk reading higher than the total alk measurements from other methods.

Their social media has some nice pictures and quotes, but I'd love to see measurement comparisons showing how well it actually works.

 

[bam123]

Ok. DEFINETLY No on the reefbot. I guess what bothers me about the mindstream (other then waiting a long time) is that very few people (single digits) are posting about it. I count only 3 videos in the past year on youtube! I am giving it another 2 weeks (which will be 12), before I likely cancel. It looks like a cool device, but I can't risk that much money and paypal won't guarantee past 12 weeks. The company was suppose to email me this week with a discount and an update. It never happened. I really only need Phosphate checked on a regular basis anyways on my tank (mindstream doesn't do yet). It would be nice to check the other stuff ( I do weekly manually), but it is not crucial as everything is pretty stable. Kind of a bummer. I am a patient person, but I am not going to weight a few more months (unless its Adrianna Lima in a bikini checking my water parameters).

 

[robbyg]

How well does it work though?

Tarheel78 has a thread on their issues.
Oldreefer44 returned theirs.
Lexinverts is still good I'm guessing?
Melev's alk results were not confidence inspiring with it having a carbonate alk reading higher than the total alk measurements from other methods.

Their social media has some nice pictures and quotes, but I'd love to see measurement comparisons showing how well it actually works.

Tarheel78 has a defective unit. That was becoming clearer and clearer as the weeks rolled on.
As for Oldreefer, that one is a complete mystery to me. He posted these great results two weeks ago showing the MindStream versus ICP testing from ATI:

And now says he has to many issues with disks being consistent, but it could also be his tank but then says he has other personal issues to deal with and no time to mess with it.
From his posts I get the opinion his first disk worked fine and he is only on his second or maybe third disk. Since disks are what they are working on, I would be more than happy to buy his unit from him and see how it works out. It's not like Neptune did not have major issues with their reagents at the start.

 

[Silver14SS]

Here's those results in table format from the spreadsheet they attached to the post after your picture. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-adventures-with-mindstream.645250/#post-6630119

​	ATI-ICP​	Mindstream​	Hanna​	Red Sea​	Salifert​
​	​	​	​	​	​
DKH​	8.77*​	9.00​	9.00​	9.00​	​
Ca​	514​	445​	532​	470​	​
Potassium​	482​	​	​	​	​
Mg​	1425​	1388​	​	1500​	1470​
Salinity​	1.024​	1.024​	​	1.027 (Refractometer)​	​
​	​	​	​	​	​
* = Carbonate Alk.​	​	​	​	​	​

Interesting that Mindstream had no potassium. Maybe it's in the wrong column, maybe that's one of the readings that was inconsistent or not functioning. I get posting in text for the purpose of the comparison, but I also think seeing the Mindstream GUI would be interesting to evaluate measurement trends

The numbers aren't exactly the same between the post in your picture and their spreadsheet, I'm not sure which one is accurate.

 

[Oldreefer44]

Yes, that was with a new disc.

 

[RMS18]

You should check out KHG.

Had mine connected to apex and been working like a champ!!!

An auto test and dose stand alone unit for only 479$ with 10 month reagent supply free.

I think I might! Thanks

 

[CasaReefer]

Thinks that he is going to wait till the smoke clears on some of this stuff. I have waited hours in line for the newest phone only to feel the exact same after I had it. MACNA is in Phoenix next year. So I will sit and watch ya'll figure witch one is the best and witch one sucks. And then pick the one come out on top then. Seems like people been reefing just find for a long time without having this tech. Since I am new I need to learn to crawl first. I think that APEX is the big dog on the porch and everyone is going to make there stuff compatible with APEX so they can ride the wave. I hate buying something and then finding out a month later I could have made a better decision. Maybe for some of you a grand isn't a lot of chedder but to me it is.

 

[robbyg]

Thinks that he is going to wait till the smoke clears on some of this stuff. I have waited hours in line for the newest phone only to feel the exact same after I had it. MACNA is in Phoenix next year. So I will sit and watch ya'll figure witch one is the best and witch one sucks. And then pick the one come out on top then. Seems like people been reefing just find for a long time without having this tech. Since I am new I need to learn to crawl first. I think that APEX is the big dog on the porch and everyone is going to make there stuff compatible with APEX so they can ride the wave. I hate buying something and then finding out a month later I could have made a better decision. Maybe for some of you a grand isn't a lot of chedder but to me it is.

I agree, if you just started in this hobby it is a lot better to do things manually than by automation. You have to learn a lot of stuff and that is best done by being hands on with the tank and keeping it simple.
I have been keeping SW tanks for 35 years and I still get surprised by new things every couple of months. As for compatibility and the big dog thing, that is not really the case. Most of the companies in the market make controllers that can control most of the well known devices. There is very little difference in that dept.

 

[rushbattle]

132 days since they took my order and money and still no news.

 

[Darrell Brady]

Yea I finally had enough an canceled my order maybe a month ago.Just picked up my triton today will see how that goes .Now I can kick back an see how this mindstream turns out. I no right now its a big mess, I just don't understand how they can take peoples money an not let them no whats going on.

 

[bam123]

I am placing a call tomorrow and cancelling mine. I am on my 11th week. THey told me 6-8 initially, then said they would give me a discount and an email last week. NO RESPONSE. I am done. I will get an apex and a doser and automate water changes for almost the same cost. In a year, mindstream should have their act together and I will reconsider. By then, tridents will be everywhere. I don't plan on autodosing…, but at least I can evaluate each with an open mind.

 

[Darrell Brady]

I am placing a call tomorrow and cancelling mine. I am on my 11th week. THey told me 6-8 initially, then said they would give me a discount and an email last week. NO RESPONSE. I am done. I will get an apex and a doser and automate water changes for almost the same cost. In a year, mindstream should have their act together and I will reconsider. By then, tridents will be everywhere. I don't plan on autodosing…, but at least I can evaluate each with an open mind.

I was on my 16 th week before I canceled an if i waited i still dont think i would have 1

 

[bam123]

I was on my 16 th week before I canceled an if i waited i still dont think i would have 1

It wouldn't bother me as much if they told me where I was on the wait list and gave frequent updates on where you are on the list.

 

[SDJustin]

I have a trident and love it.
I also ordered the mindstream.
Having a single test automation is awesome. Having two test automations that you can validate against each other is double awesome.

I've followed up twice since placing my order on August 26th 2019 and both times the mindstream folks got back to me within one business day.

I still have hope/confidence that they'll be able to deliver. When they do, they'll have delivered a step change in test automation that'll beat everything else on the market.

 

[bam123]

I put a call in today. I ordered mine Sept 1, 2019. Hopefully they can provide more information.

I have a trident and love it.
I also ordered the mindstream.
Having a single test automation is awesome. Having two test automations that you can validate against each other is double awesome.

I've followed up twice since placing my order on August 26th 2019 and both times the mindstream folks got back to me within one business day.

I still have hope/confidence that they'll be able to deliver. When they do, they'll have delivered a step change in test automation that'll beat everything else on the market.

 

[User1]

It's not like Neptune did not have major issues with their reagents at the start.

I believe you may be mistaken on this. They didn't have issues with their reagents or measurements after launch.

The issues they had was regarding the calibration fluid or reagent bottles coming open during the last mile shipping. From reseller to hobbyist. At least that is what I remember reading and Neptune saying they are addressing. Not trying to nit pick but issue with disc != shipping issue. Production vs. process.