Seneye … anyone ever seen one or used one ?

[JCM]

@brandon429
The question I’m looking to answer is why we would need such device to accurately measure something that never be in our established systems .
as long as our systems are mature , and stable without over stocking a system that we all know not to .
There should never Be ammonia toxic enough to kill or even worry anyone .
Other than a digital readout of actual levels , and perhaps more precise number we have been reefing for many years with the same science , ( the nitrogen cycle ) is still required to maintain our eco systems we all
Love .
now the real question .
who would preach the importance of a device to do ……. Nothing other than provide an accurate number that really in the real world of reefing , it means nothing because we will always have minimal trace amounts of ammonia in our systems .

For many years I have thought of adding some sort of monitor or controller ,
But … the best part of the hobby for me is 1) testing and dosing ,
2) relaxing watching the ecosystem I have created

Why make the post if your mind is already made up that they're useless?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

@brandon429 likely has some thoughts on this

No, he's never owned one per his own admission...

 

[Derrick0580]

There was a brs investigates episode testing apogee vs seneye and another .
the seneye was comparable in terms of par .

That’s according to brs, i’ve compared mine directly side by side with a friend’s seneye and it wasn’t as close as brs made it out to be

 

[brandon429]

I don't have to own a seneye to get benefits from them. I can gain benefit when others post their readings, responses to cycling tests...we've covered this

 

[minireef]

I have it. It’s waaaayyy off . Temp about 5 degrees difference from Inkbird. Ph .5 off. Nh3 off also . Please note that it has also been discontinued. They have a newer more expensive version.

 

[areefer01]

Edit: I do not like spending other peoples money so this is just me talking out loud as I reply and my experience.

So...anybody here replying actually own or use one?

I own one. It is a tool that is in a box and used from time to time. Sort of like a Swiss Army Knife. For 200 bucks you get a few things that can come in handy vs spending more on a single use device such as an apogee (since it was referenced in this thread). This isn't about what is, or is not, better but rather the Seneye that has several use cases.

• No subscription needed. You buy slides. Packs of 3 or 6 I recall. Something to look out for during end of year, Friday sales
• Ammonia - would be used by those who quarantine fish or have observation tanks or cycling new displays
• Out of water alert - nice feature. Flashes red (visible) also through email
• PAR / PUR meter - can't compare to other tools such as apogee but you can reference the BRS video with Ryan and Randy (I believe that is the one they talked about results side by side their apogee)

So is it something you would have in the display permanently? I don't think of it like that. I look at it more that it is a device that has some features that are useful in certain situations. I've used it for swapping lights, cycling a new tank, and an out of water alert as a backup to my controller. Each time it worked well without issues. But it is usually in my reef tool box / cabinet for when it is needed. Not day to day.

So yes, it has value (to me). If you want to look at how accurate it is then the BRS video Ryan and Randy did went into more detail as they used it with an apogee. They made a few comments as they saw data using both at the same time or in the same display anyway.

200 bucks? Not too far out of line for what it offers. Especially when people blow more money on a 1/4" Harvey Wallbanger acropora.

 

[Cell]

this is my take on seneye

I won't own one unless they donate me one for sending them about 600 new buyers lol

ammonia is predictable in all settings reef all of the time, I wouldn't pay to own something that tells me a param I already know in my system or for someone else's cycling or tank transfer job

that being said, I really like when other people own them, set them up, and calibrate them/benchmark them as compared to non digital ammonia meters because in that data set new cycling science evolves

those are the best meters on the market for showing *changes* in ammonia control stasis in a reef tank or a quarantine setup. those would be truly helpful above all meters for discerning when it's water change time in a low surface area quarantine setup. were I a fish handler/seller/prepper I'd for sure own some of those for managing quarantine systems. in any reef display where surface area does not run low I would not ever need one.

*the thing they do best is show changes in stasis, until we get 3-4 other digital nh3 meters to back up what seneye reads nobody knows what the true bottom line average turnover rate for ammonia>nitrite is among reef displays. seneyes if calibrated correctly show the range .001-.004 in about 98% of any stocked running reef display as the baseline, that may be + or - depending on the true pH of the system as stated but the bottom line is not important

what's important is that thousands of reef tanks do show that very very tight range vs api or red sea where they show .25-8ppm disgusting range on many systems lol, mass confusion

when people add test ammonia loading in seneye systems the precision machines show the rise then a 15 minute average drop of the ammonia test loading, across systems in pattern, which we can then use to help people who don't own seneye but still copy the same display ratios seneye users copy. from that situation we can rule in or out what their crappy non digital ammonia meters say to discern cycle status.

anyone who buys a seneye is primed to make leaps and bounds in cycle measurement studies such as ability to starve a cycle, does transferring tanks actually cause a mini cycle, does removing a sandbed from a reef instantly cause a cycle, how long do a set of rocks truly unassisted and just set in water take to build up a cycle, are there any real instances of a bottle bac cycle taking longer than ten days to complete. does prime actually reduce ammonia, do fish-in cycles + bottle bac actually harm fish (not if ammonia is controlled on day one)

does a degrading fish inside a tank challenge the ammonia control ability or not that much, all kinds of things we don't currently know could be answered by seneye owners.


all the things we all argue about on the site for years have the potential to be answered by seneye owners, that's why I like them.

I don't want to actually pay to discover those things I'll just wait until more and more seneye digital logs are placed on the web and take patterns from them.

But you've never owned one so you cannot possibly know anything about it.

 

[Cell]

No, he's never owned one per his own admission...

Naive way to think tbh.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Why does somebody have to own something to be able to speak to its function, value or feature set?

 

[gbroadbridge]

Curious if anyone has ever seen or used seneye monitors ?
Pros and cons of actually owning and using one ?

@vetteguy53081 is this something you can offer your hands on expertise on ?

I have one which I use on the rare occasion I setup a QT.

It is very useful for ensuring Ammonia/pH is kept in check in a system that I've normally cycled up fast.

It is useful as a PAR meter wich does not require a slide.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Naive way to think tbh.

It's what the OP asked for, tbh...

 

[brandon429]

It’s most fun to aim opposing sets of data at one another and see what results + how that carries over into what reef tanks do

I’ve noticed what reef tanks do is control very very easily and well their ammonia conversion

long before seneye reefcentral’s sole ban reason of me in 2014 was for telling BrianD in the chemistry forum in a certain thread that .25 is a misread off api that reef tanks can’t be at that level when nothing is dead and the tank is aged and normally running. He disagreed, I dug in heels, he holds the ban schtick/ won

so as soon as a test kit came on line where literally everyone posts what Chris did above in the graphic = vindication gold flecks in the ore a love affair between seneye and myself was created, though we did not meet its like a virtual online relationship lol


love me some seneye / ain’t paying for one

 

[Garf]

Why does somebody have to own something to be able to speak to its function, value or feature set?

In relation to the seneye, when that someone doesn’t understand how calibration works or that oxidisers can damage the slide or gets his NH3 mixed up with his NH4, or how to operate the machine, I’d be worried. Of course, this can be glossed over with a deluge of falsehoods and misleading dead end links, perhaps a false accusation or 2. Of course, on the other hand, there is a thread detailing seneye problems, misreads, errors etc, lol

A thread tracking the incidence of seneye nh3 misreads

and you can trim it too/covered here since you have a fully running display. the nh3 will be between .002-.006 is the highest Ive seen in the last year of tracking patterns in posted seneye reads on displays. its hard to calibrate only when the tank is new, when they're fully stocked and running...

www.reef2reef.com

Obviously with threads like this they invite problems and therefore give the interpretation that lots of the seneye are bad. Impossible to tell really as there are likely thousands of happy users, whether the seneye is telling lies or not.

Similar problem to saying all API ammonia tests are trash, confirmation bias is a strong force.

that .25 is a misread off api that reef tanks can’t be at that level when nothing is dead and the tank is aged and normally running. He disagreed, I dug in heels, he holds the ban schtick/ won

You were wrong, and still are wrong. It’s easily attainable, for example a very very safe 0.005 NH3 at pH of 7.8 is nearly 0.2 when converted to NH4. please stop telling everyone that low levels of NH4 are tank killers, it’s just false. Hobby test kits are clunky, yes, but low levels detected are irrelevant anyhow, unless they are on the rise.

 

[OfficeReefer]

I hear mixed reviews on them. At a cost of $250 to $300. Id rather stick my money into a PAR meter such as Apogee or an Alkatronic unit or similar.
I know 3 with this instrument and 1 says its great for ammonia while the other two say its off on ammonia and Ph and they like the alerts, sent directly to them via e-mail
I cant justify spending this for temp and PH and Ammonia reading . I have all these in Hanna digitals that were under $100 and like the concept of Seneye in general but like the Hanna vials, if the slide becomes contaminated or scratch, there will be a questionable result

I'm with @vetteguy53081 as its also part of a subscription model, like so many other things. It's not a one a done and really doesn't make much sense if you have corals. I suppose for those with FOWLR tanks and certainly freshwater, it has an appeal there. The last thing I remember about this was the manufacturer was too lazy to incorporate a wireless sensor, so you'll need to buy something else just to connect it.

 

[Cell]

I can't imagine living a life where just because I do not own something or can't hold it in my hands or witness an event first hand that means I can't learn or know anything about it.

 

[Garf]

I can't imagine living a life where just because I do not own something or can't hold it in my hands or witness an event first hand that means I can't learn or know anything about it.

Yes, the seneye instructions are quite clear and informative. Why do some folks make up there own set of instructions to bastardise the results?

 

[Cell]

Science is open to interpretation.

 

[Rmckoy]

I can't imagine living a life where just because I do not own something or can't hold it in my hands or witness an event first hand that means I can't learn or know anything about it.

But you can ….
we learn different things through which ever way we need . But …… to preach the importance of something or to say “ your tests are false because you this digital device is all that matters “ I would personally expect someone preaching the importance of a must have device .
For example if I worked manufacturing or selling Lamborghini I wouldn’t preach how buying Porsche is better .

I would expect this advice from someone with some sort of background and experience ,

research alone doesn’t always answer every question .

 

[Cell]

But but but, we do know that API and other hobby ammonia tests can give false positives and the Seneye is a way more sensitive test and accurate test, I think.

 

[Rmckoy]

But but but, we do know that API and other hobby ammonia tests can give false positives and the Seneye is a way more sensitive test and accurate test, I think.

I agree ..
but for what we need … we know we will have a acceptable range for ammonia which is not toxic .
do we really need to worry about the precise number this instrument gives ?