- Joined
- Dec 22, 2016
- Messages
- 321
- Reaction score
- 195
Reefbot arrived today. I ordered from Carol last wednesday and it was shipped to Hong Kong. It was carefully packed. No cosmetic damage to the Reefbot nor the accessories.
INSTALLATION- EASE 9/10 Around 15mins
Installation was easy. Just watched the Youtube video. I used different hosing (white RO/DI hosing used in RO/DI units) for my RO/DI which I connected to my ATO which was more than a meter away. For the tank water I used black hose and placed it in the return area of my sump avoiding bubbles. My hoses didnt fit as snug as the stock ones but there were no leaks. I then added the syringe and the needle. The syringe needed to be[pushed right down so the clamp groove fits the syringe head. Then you screw the clamp back on with the small Allen Key
Then I began to add reagents to the tests I wanted. Red Sea Pro KH, Ca,Mg and Phosphate. These reagents took all of the 8 reagent slots. For the last two slots I will swap out Po4 with Nitrate test from API. The Red Sea Ca test is currently in beta and you need to mix reagents B and C first before putting in the vial. Instructions are on the support page.
I then installed the app on my iphone and setup my tank and reefbot using bluetooth and wifi. I connected a LAN cable to the Reefbot. Not sure what that was for because the Reefbot is supposed to have WIFI. The Reefbot is discoverable within the first 10 minutes of switching on.
Overall the installation was straightforward. My only complaint is the fonts are quite faint when bluetooth discovers the reefbot which is tagged by the serial number. Once connected by bluetooth it should show you the WIFI connections.
TESTING
KH RED SEA PRO - Accuracy 8/10 -15mins
Started with Red Sea KH Test. I scheduled it for 5mins after in the scheduling section. I didnt find a function for test now. The bot went into action and lights turned GREEN and then WHITE. I didnt know if it was drawing water from the tank or the RO/DI or whether I needed to calibrate it. The manual says no calibration or priming needed. After around 30mins I got a test result of 8.7dkH. I wasnt sure if I was drawing water so i checked each of the hoses and there was water there. I did a manual test and I got a dkH of 8.9. I did another test with the bot straight after and got a value of 9.2 dKH. Not sure why it was out by that much.
Ca RED SEA PRO Accuracy 7/10 -30mins
The calcium test took a bit longer and stuttered a bit so i switch off the unit and turned it back on and it continued the test. This test took quite long, nearly 30mins. I got 340ppm. Used the Hanna Ca checker and got 381ppm. I guess its in beta so thats why it may have been off.
Nitrate API -Accuracy 10/10 -30mins
The nitrate test seemed to take forever. It was very accurate with 0ppm. I tested it manually with Red Sea Nitrate Pro and API Nitrate and same results. Next time I will try with Hanna ULR Phosphorous.
Initial thoughts 8/10
So far so good. Its easy to setup and the UI is intuitive and its pretty accurate. Only downside is the price and the time it takes to do one test. I would liked it to have 10 slots so I include P04 without having to switch out the nitrate. Overall I recommend it.
INSTALLATION- EASE 9/10 Around 15mins
Installation was easy. Just watched the Youtube video. I used different hosing (white RO/DI hosing used in RO/DI units) for my RO/DI which I connected to my ATO which was more than a meter away. For the tank water I used black hose and placed it in the return area of my sump avoiding bubbles. My hoses didnt fit as snug as the stock ones but there were no leaks. I then added the syringe and the needle. The syringe needed to be[pushed right down so the clamp groove fits the syringe head. Then you screw the clamp back on with the small Allen Key
Then I began to add reagents to the tests I wanted. Red Sea Pro KH, Ca,Mg and Phosphate. These reagents took all of the 8 reagent slots. For the last two slots I will swap out Po4 with Nitrate test from API. The Red Sea Ca test is currently in beta and you need to mix reagents B and C first before putting in the vial. Instructions are on the support page.
I then installed the app on my iphone and setup my tank and reefbot using bluetooth and wifi. I connected a LAN cable to the Reefbot. Not sure what that was for because the Reefbot is supposed to have WIFI. The Reefbot is discoverable within the first 10 minutes of switching on.
Overall the installation was straightforward. My only complaint is the fonts are quite faint when bluetooth discovers the reefbot which is tagged by the serial number. Once connected by bluetooth it should show you the WIFI connections.
TESTING
KH RED SEA PRO - Accuracy 8/10 -15mins
Started with Red Sea KH Test. I scheduled it for 5mins after in the scheduling section. I didnt find a function for test now. The bot went into action and lights turned GREEN and then WHITE. I didnt know if it was drawing water from the tank or the RO/DI or whether I needed to calibrate it. The manual says no calibration or priming needed. After around 30mins I got a test result of 8.7dkH. I wasnt sure if I was drawing water so i checked each of the hoses and there was water there. I did a manual test and I got a dkH of 8.9. I did another test with the bot straight after and got a value of 9.2 dKH. Not sure why it was out by that much.
Ca RED SEA PRO Accuracy 7/10 -30mins
The calcium test took a bit longer and stuttered a bit so i switch off the unit and turned it back on and it continued the test. This test took quite long, nearly 30mins. I got 340ppm. Used the Hanna Ca checker and got 381ppm. I guess its in beta so thats why it may have been off.
Nitrate API -Accuracy 10/10 -30mins
The nitrate test seemed to take forever. It was very accurate with 0ppm. I tested it manually with Red Sea Nitrate Pro and API Nitrate and same results. Next time I will try with Hanna ULR Phosphorous.
Initial thoughts 8/10
So far so good. Its easy to setup and the UI is intuitive and its pretty accurate. Only downside is the price and the time it takes to do one test. I would liked it to have 10 slots so I include P04 without having to switch out the nitrate. Overall I recommend it.
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