Poll: Alk Monitoring

[gcarroll]

I do the GHL KH Director having seen the trident protype at MACNA I knew it would be to large to go under my aquarium stand. I think that will be an issue for many when they actually see it in person. The monitors need to be near the tank to measure effectively. So size will matter.

Interesting! When I first saw the Trident, I thought it was much smaller than I imagined.

 

[BigJohnny]

I do the GHL KH Director having seen the trident protype at MACNA I knew it would be to large to go under my aquarium stand. I think that will be an issue for many when they actually see it in person. The monitors need to be near the tank to measure effectively. So size will matter.

Interesting! When I first saw the Trident, I thought it was much smaller than I imagined.

I believe the form factor of the trident was a huge mistake as well. It's big but it also seems like the shape alone would make it difficult to place.

 

[mitch91175]

I believe the form factor of the trident was a huge mistake as well. It's big but it also seems like the shape alone would make it difficult to place.

I do as well @BigJohnny. That was one of my deciding factors in choosing the Alkatronic. It isn't small, but it is easier to maneuver. Plus I like that it can dose if necessary and that they had pretty good presence in the forum. Now I just use Facebook messenger to communicate with them and they respond just as quickly there. I know they are the new kids on the block so there are things that they continue to iron out, but you can see that that flexibility allows them to be agile and make decisions much quicker that will benefit us all.

 

[mitch91175]

Oh something that I also heard that most may not realize about the Trident, it only has a single pump for testing the alk, cal, mag. I don't know about everybody else, but I just do not see why that was the final decision to only have a single pump. I would have expect each reagent to have its own pump. They are obviously much smarter than I am but I'd imagine that the reagents has a different chemical make-up so what happens if for some reason you get them mixed in the testing pump tubing or something? I am just curious how is that possible with only 1 test pump and only using the minimal amount of water they have mentioned it does. I would think that you would have to do some major tube flushing to prevent that from happening (but I don't have the unit so this is just a thought about the whole unit since I at least do have something that test alk and have a general idea about the process).

 

[Sherman]

Was deciding on the KH Guardian. Then by chance come across a thread on Alkatronic.
Just follow along and find they are quick to address issues/concerns and implement a solution
then the KH Guardian thread.
So finally decide on the Alkatronic on April. Place the order but there is no stock then.
Wait and wait and finally receive my Alkatronic last nite....

 

[mitch91175]

Was deciding on the KH Guardian. Then by chance come across a thread on Alkatronic.
Just follow along and find they are quick to address issues/concerns and implement a solution
then the KH Guardian thread.
So finally decide on the Alkatronic on April. Place the order but there is no stock then.
Wait and wait and finally receive my Alkatronic last nite....

Get that bad boy hooked up and let us know your impressions.

 

[BluewaterLa]

What most folks do not realize is there are lots of considerations to be had when choosing such new technology as none of them are proven solid over time and each one will inherently have some issues to overcome before and after releasing the units to the public.
Its understanding of what you are buying into and not putting full faith into the machine as a set it and forget it solution, Anyone would be wise to keep your test kits handy and check on a regular basis to ensure the machine is doing its job on a consistent basis / accuracy.
Knowing how many of these montitors / dosers work there is room for lots of error with mechanical break down, Reagent going bad and electrical issues can and will happen. Lets not forget the LARS setting in and lack of cleaning or maintenance of said equipment, this is a big kicker here.

Over time things will get better and more refined, just the way things work.
In a competitive small industry (our hobby) where droves of impatient folks want everything now and companies are all trying to be the first one to make that reveal and fill their pockets faster than the competition, You can bet your last dollar many of these products are rushed faster than most will admit and buyers would like if they consider the bugs/ issues.
There is not enough time to put forth long beta testing nor enough product in beta testing to get ''every'' scenario / go wrong issue covered and corrected So we must make our decisions on what suits us best at the time and be willing to go through some not so good times waiting for parts or having to proceed with warranty claims.
Some folks are all about the technical aspect of the hobby and love techy gear so they will be inclined to buy in early, That is their choice and their risk to take, I for one have no issue with this decision.
Most folks are more reserved and will wait for the product to succeed, become refined and trusted before making the investment. This too is just fine for this person to sit back and wait, Heck one or more of these machines may be outdated OR out of business before a large majority of folks decide to purchase one.
Then we have some folks that will wait on a more affordable option, friendly to their budget and no matter the quality of that product they will make the purchase anyway, This too is just fine with me.

I can agree with all of us have our own opinions, methods and beliefs along with budgets and willingness to take risk on new products and even some products with questionable quality control issues. We are all different, hopefully fund our own addictions (hobbies ) So ultimately its to each his / her own right ?

I've been around two of these Brand names for quite some time. Both have been great machines with some hiccups here and there. One more than the other and it took some time for this one to straighten out its short comings in terms of issues.
With any product that starts being mass produced there will be some lemons and this is hardly considered when something we purchase goes wrong or experiences an issue, instead we start to bash the product even though many are having great success with the same brand.
I would like to see more cohesiveness in the hobby among hobbiest rather than the arguing over just about anything like your life depends on being the final authority, Last time I checked even the best in this hobby has much to learn and still has mistakes made and ill things happen to their tanks.
We are essentially all in the same hobby for similar reasons, Why not just have conversations without ego getting in the way ? It stays more pleasant this way for sure.

For what its worth If I were to get one and likely will given some time, I would / will choose the Alkatronic

 

[mitch91175]

What most folks do not realize is there are lots of considerations to be had when choosing such new technology as none of them are proven solid over time and each one will inherently have some issues to overcome before and after releasing the units to the public.
Its understanding of what you are buying into and not putting full faith into the machine as a set it and forget it solution, Anyone would be wise to keep your test kits handy and check on a regular basis to ensure the machine is doing its job on a consistent basis / accuracy.
Knowing how many of these montitors / dosers work there is room for lots of error with mechanical break down, Reagent going bad and electrical issues can and will happen. Lets not forget the LARS setting in and lack of cleaning or maintenance of said equipment, this is a big kicker here.

Over time things will get better and more refined, just the way things work.
In a competitive small industry (our hobby) where droves of impatient folks want everything now and companies are all trying to be the first one to make that reveal and fill their pockets faster than the competition, You can bet your last dollar many of these products are rushed faster than most will admit and buyers would like if they consider the bugs/ issues.
There is not enough time to put forth long beta testing nor enough product in beta testing to get ''every'' scenario / go wrong issue covered and corrected So we must make our decisions on what suits us best at the time and be willing to go through some not so good times waiting for parts or having to proceed with warranty claims.
Some folks are all about the technical aspect of the hobby and love techy gear so they will be inclined to buy in early, That is their choice and their risk to take, I for one have no issue with this decision.
Most folks are more reserved and will wait for the product to succeed, become refined and trusted before making the investment. This too is just fine for this person to sit back and wait, Heck one or more of these machines may be outdated OR out of business before a large majority of folks decide to purchase one.
Then we have some folks that will wait on a more affordable option, friendly to their budget and no matter the quality of that product they will make the purchase anyway, This too is just fine with me.

I can agree with all of us have our own opinions, methods and beliefs along with budgets and willingness to take risk on new products and even some products with questionable quality control issues. We are all different, hopefully fund our own addictions (hobbies ) So ultimately its to each his / her own right ?

I've been around two of these Brand names for quite some time. Both have been great machines with some hiccups here and there. One more than the other and it took some time for this one to straighten out its short comings in terms of issues.
With any product that starts being mass produced there will be some lemons and this is hardly considered when something we purchase goes wrong or experiences an issue, instead we start to bash the product even though many are having great success with the same brand.
I would like to see more cohesiveness in the hobby among hobbiest rather than the arguing over just about anything like your life depends on being the final authority, Last time I checked even the best in this hobby has much to learn and still has mistakes made and ill things happen to their tanks.
We are essentially all in the same hobby for similar reasons, Why not just have conversations without ego getting in the way ? It stays more pleasant this way for sure.

For what its worth If I were to get one and likely will given some time, I would / will choose the Alkatronic

You put a ton of thought and time into that post. Anyone that doesn’t agree with your logic at the end of the day isn’t a logically individual, more of an emotional individual. That is where the issue lies when you talk about not having egos in the hobby. I do not think it’s egos, but more people just flat out think differently and will blindly defend a product regardless and there is nothing else that can be told to them about said product.

I do not think that the bantering is an issue either. At times think of it like a marriage. Not one marriage the ever existed never had some type of disagreement. Same applies here. Actually those disagreements sometimes lead to better ways of doing things as well as better products. In any corporate position that I have had in my time, the companies that were the most successful are the ones that allowed others to disagree with each other.

When I got the the end of your post and you said you would choose the Alkatronic, at that very moment I knew you were more an individual that truly weights the pros and cons and make your decision based upon those rather than a name brand.

 

[BluewaterLa]

You put a ton of thought and time into that post. Anyone that doesn’t agree with your logic at the end of the day isn’t a logically individual, more of an emotional individual. That is where the issue lies when you talk about not having egos in the hobby. I do not think it’s egos, but more people just flat out think differently and will blindly defend a product regardless and there is nothing else that can be told to them about said product.

I do not think that the bantering is an issue either. At times think of it like a marriage. Not one marriage the ever existed never had some type of disagreement. Same applies here. Actually those disagreements sometimes lead to better ways of doing things as well as better products. In any corporate position that I have had in my time, the companies that were the most successful are the ones that allowed others to disagree with each other.

When I got the the end of your post and you said you would choose the Alkatronic, at that very moment I knew you were more an individual that truly weights the pros and cons and make your decision based upon those rather than a name brand.

I agree that discussions lead to all sorts of things including progress and understanding even if there are several who see things differently or that may disagree completely. We can all benefit from keeping an open mind while striving to advance our knowledge and skill.
I've learned a great amount through old school methods, trials, errors, reading many books and having spent lots of time on forums So I rather enjoy being part of different topics while helping others in the hobby.

 

[JDtimk]

Any updates to users' experiences with their choices of alkalinity monitoring? Would be interested to know how things are going now that people have had a few more months of experience with their alk monitoring and controlling solutions.

 

[reef_ranch]

My Alkatronic still works flawlessly. I rely on it every day and have had no issues. It sends alerts to your phone every two weeks to calibrate the pumps, which I do. Its a bit annoying, but a necessary and fairly quick procedure. I've only had to recalibrate the pH probe once since I've owned it. Two thumbs up.

 

[mitch91175]

My Alkatronic still works flawlessly. I rely on it every day and have had no issues. It sends alerts to your phone every two weeks to calibrate the pumps, which I do. Its a bit annoying, but a necessary and fairly quick procedure. I've only had to recalibrate the pH probe once since I've owned it. Two thumbs up.

Hey @acesq, with the new firmware, it is every 4 weeks for recalibration. They realized that the pumps do not have to be calibrated every 2 weeks.

 

[mitch91175]

Any updates to users' experiences with their choices of alkalinity monitoring? Would be interested to know how things are going now that people have had a few more months of experience with their alk monitoring and controlling solutions.

Absolutely no complaints right now to speak of. They keep making it better and that's how you should do it.

 

[reef_ranch]

Hey @acesq, with the new firmware, it is every 4 weeks for recalibration. They realized that the pumps do not have to be calibrated every 2 weeks.

Wow, no wonder I haven't gotten an alert in a while! Good to know. Thanks!

 

[yellojello]

Bump, any updates from users? I think I'm leaning towards Alkatronic or KH Guardian. Integrating into my Apex Classic and just monitoring the stability of my CaRX.

- What is the maintenance and frequency of these machines?
- What is the minimum frequency of testing allowed? I would like to only test once or twice a day really.

 

[smartwater101]

I was excited for Trident but sending it in to Neptune every 18-24 months for routine service has me questioning it. Costing 150-200$ (or "under 100$" for the DIY kit) is a little absurd... and they'll tell us more about this "in a couple months."

They want us to invest 600$ on the unit and they can't even tell us definitively what the cost of routine servicing actually is!? :/

I really want an auto tester but I'm not sure what to get now....

 

[mitch91175]

Bump, any updates from users? I think I'm leaning towards Alkatronic or KH Guardian. Integrating into my Apex Classic and just monitoring the stability of my CaRX.

- What is the maintenance and frequency of these machines?
- What is the minimum frequency of testing allowed? I would like to only test once or twice a day really.

Don't know much about the KH Guardian, but the Alkatronic just needs monthly calibration. You can test however many times you want really. Reagent last over a year for $110, but in all fairness that is just for dKH. You need to calibrate/replace the pH probe as needed. Other than that it just works really. I run one with my CaRx and love it. Does that mean I won't also get a Trident for my frag tank, no it doesn't.

 

[GoVols]

Been running the V3 Alkatronic for 9 days.


This thing is off the hook... ;Woot ;Woot

Starting to wing off the Hanna alk checker.

With running a cal reactor the calcium stays in balance with the alk and pushing 10% of ZeoMag in stage 1.

 

[mitch91175]

Been running the V3 Alkatronic for 9 days.


This thing is off the hook... ;Woot ;Woot

With running a cal reactor the calcium stays in balance with the alk and pushing 10% of ZeoMag in stage 1.

It is a really nice unit. Does have a little more refinement (software related) but overall pretty solid. Been running mine for about 14 months now. My tank appreciates the love . Have a feeling that my frag tank about to show me some love too.

 

[Fishguywc]

I've been using the Reefbot for a couple months now, I do daily ALK test using the RedSea Pro reagents, the real plus is not only do i get ALK tests, i also am testing for Calcium, Phos and Nitrate (was testing Mag but once that got rock solid i switched to NO3) I could switch back at any time to do a one time test and best part Reefbot SW maintains my testing history. I considered all the other options but 1 i didn't want/need to invest in a Apex for the one system and 2 i didn't want anything that auto doses based on results.. and 3 i got lazy with any of the other manual methods. I'm very happy with the purchase.