THE REEFBOT PRO IS HERE!

[LiamPM]

I hate doing water tests and contrary to another post, they don't take me 20 seconds either. To do five tests will typically take about an hour.
I would love an automated system but the price also comes into play. I could get a GHL KH and ION director for half the price of this system and they do the same tests and use up half the space and reagents. Even at half the price I still think that is a lot of money for automated testing.

Whoa....what tests are you doing that take that long for just five? I’d love automated testing and would favour the reefbot, I like the whole concept, but the price is just too steep.

I test, nitrate, phosphate, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium and potassium once a week and it all takes around 20 minutes all in, alkalinity often on a random in between.... all using Salifert.... the price isn’t worth simply taking 20 minutes of my time away on a Sunday night just yet.

 

[PRock]

I hate doing water tests and contrary to another post, they don't take me 20 seconds either. To do five tests will typically take about an hour.
I would love an automated system but the price also comes into play. I could get a GHL KH and ION director for half the price of this system and they do the same tests and use up half the space and reagents. Even at half the price I still think that is a lot of money for automated testing.

one thing to note, unless you own GHL equipment already and have a few spare GHL dosers around, your pricing is wrong. The KH requires 3 heads of a GHL doser, and the ION requires 4, so you're buying the KH, the ION, and 2 Dosers (Stand alone and a Slave).

 

[robbyg]

one thing to note, unless you own GHL equipment already and have a few spare GHL dosers around, your pricing is wrong. The KH requires 3 heads of a GHL doser, and the ION requires 4, so you're buying the KH, the ION, and 2 Dosers (Stand alone and a Slave).

Yes I am talking about the standalone system. Ion Director $850 and Kh Director $850. So that is $1700 total. I am not including the discounts on any of the units as that can vary.
So yes maybe it's $2oo over being half the price but then again it comes with the calibration fluid and reagents needed for the first few months. The Reefbot pro is probably also going to add $100-$200 more for the reagents for two months of daily testing.

 

[K7BMG]

Testing is one of the things I can do without. Yes its not that difficult to do.
Yes its about half an hour to compleate every test I have, and I don't like it.
So call me lazy its Okay and its true.
(This goes for all of us even the most critical of reefers)
For me some of the HUGE benefits of the automation is the tracking of the parameters. Yea a notepad works but, but it also gets lost, wet, and takes up space.
Yes I can enter it on a spread sheet, but I spend enough of my time doing data entry with my business and, honestly there has been a time or two I entered the wrong value when I did it back then. Then I question for an hour was that a mistake or fact?

With the automated systems its all clean readable dry and at your finger tips everywhere I go and no human error in logging data.

I like the automation for a several reasons.
I don't have to do something I don't like to do.
It tracks it automatically so I don't have to log it.
It gets done when its supposed to be done, I have a life outside of the tank and manual tests were not consistently done. Lets face it, skipped because it was a long day and I was to tired, or other responsibilities had to take precedence. Its called life.
You cant tell me if your a parent (Ultimate responsibility required) that one never skips out on proper care of the child. Pizza instead of a solid meal, Show up late to pick them up from something or drop them off.

 

[robbyg]

Whoa....what tests are you doing that take that long for just five? I’d love automated testing and would favour the reefbot, I like the whole concept, but the price is just too steep.

I test, nitrate, phosphate, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium and potassium once a week and it all takes around 20 minutes all in, alkalinity often on a random in between.... all using Salifert.... the price isn’t worth simply taking 20 minutes of my time away on a Sunday night just yet.

The same tests but I am including the time to clean the vials, dry out everything and repack the kits in the cabinet. Maybe I am just slow at this kind of thing but it always takes about an hour from start to finish. Hence why it will never be done daily until I get automation.

 

[Spottedreef69]

Definitely not doable for me....$$$$

 

[ppatches24]

takes 30 secs. tops.

Not if you are cleaning things properly before and after it does NOT take 30 seconds. i hate reading thing like this. Its a 10-30 minutes process to clean everything multiple times and record numbers. Just my take. Its not 30 seconds or else we would have all these auto machines to do testing.

 

[SeaDweller]

Not if you are cleaning things properly before and after it does NOT take 30 seconds. i hate reading thing like this. Its a 10-30 minutes process to clean everything multiple times and record numbers. Just my take. Its not 30 seconds or else we would have all these auto machines to do testing.

Why would it take any where near 10 mins for me to clean my plastic vial for my salifert kit? what the heck are you talking about? I rinse it with RO water and I’m done. You can hate reading anything you want, but it takes me 30 seconds. Done. Every day.

 

[robbyg]

Why would it take any where near 10 mins for me to clean my plastic vial for my salifert kit? what the heck are you talking about? I rinse it with RO water and I’m done. You can hate reading anything you want, but it takes me 30 seconds. Done. Every day.

Wow you are even faster at it than the guys who test all those tanks at BRS. Come on let’s be serious, most of these tests also involve shaking vials for 30sec to a minute and then you have wait times for the colors to develop, also dripping a drop and stirring while looking for an end point change. I am not sure what kits you use but they must be less complicated and super fast.

 

[LiamPM]

Wow you are even faster at it than the guys who test all those tanks at BRS. Come on let’s be serious, most of these tests also involve shaking vials for 30sec to a minute and then you have wait times for the colors to develop, also dripping a drop and stirring while looking for an end point change. I am not sure what kits you use but they must be less complicated and super fast.

I get what you are saying, however when you know your expected level you can literally add the amount of solution you believe you'll need, minus a few points and i then only need to add 1-2 drops to find my value and the colour change. The Salifert tests even document this in their manual stating to add all of the expected solution if you know the rough number.

I dont drop and swirl for any more than about 1-5 drops on each test because of that.
Cleaning wise mine get a quick rinse in RODI then left to sit and dry.

 

[ppatches24]

I guess I care to much about how clean they are? I Thought that you should rise about 3 times after using chemicals and test reagents... along with actually scrubbing the vials? No? If you are just rinsing there is left over reside, isnt there? Am I WAY over thinking this?

hmmmmm

Also to bring it back to this thread im not trying to let a expected result im trying to get the real numbers. Idk. The reason I haven't bought a reefbot yet is because of this cleaning issue. Im just getting started in this hobby.

Edit: I dont want to derail the reefbot PRO thread!

 

[LiamPM]

I guess I care to much about how clean they are? I Thought that you should rise about 3 times after using chemicals and test reagents... along with actually scrubbing the vials? No? If you are just rinsing there is left over reside, isnt there? Am I WAY over thinking this?

hmmmmm

Also to bring it back to this thread im not trying to let a expected result im trying to get the real numbers. Idk. The reason I haven't bought a reefbot yet is because of this cleaning issue. Im just getting started in this hobby.

Edit: I dont want to derail the reefbot PRO thread!

I imagine if you let them sit then residue may be an issue but mine are cleaned within 5 minutes of the test being taken, rinsed in RODI and then paper towel inside quick and left to dry. Never had an issue.

Also the expected result is purely when you know your calcium is in the 450 range for example, you can add enough solution to get it to 460, then from there you add drop by drop, speeding the test up. Its just as accurate as going 1 drop at a time because the outcome value is still the same.
As above, one of the Salifert kits i use even states in the manual that if you know your expected result to go straight towards that in one hit.

 

[homer1475]

I call complete BS on 30 second testing times. Heck just to get the water from the tank to a vial takes longer then 30 seconds. Lets not take into consideration the 10 seconds your supposed to shake the vial for after adding parts 1 or 2.

Lets get serious here, to run the big 5(ALK, Cal, Mag, NO3, PO4) takes about a half hour from start to finish regardless of what test kits your using.

Heck even the Hanna ALK test takes about 2 minutes top to bottom, and thats the fastest kit I use.

 

[BZOFIQ]

I imagine if you let them sit then residue may be an issue but mine are cleaned within 5 minutes of the test being taken...

If your vials are cleaned within 5 minutes then your tests don't take 30 seconds, it's that simple.

Post a video of your whole procedure done in 30 seconds, I'm sure it will look comical.

 

[Dilan Patel]

I feel you, but being in tune with your tank, IMO, is seeing it daily, knowing it THAT intimately, and knowing when something is actually going right or wrong, and knowing how to correct it. If you're gone months at a time, seeing numbers on your phone or whatever, what are you really "in tune" with? Numbers on a screen? So alk is stable at 7.5 for months, then dips to 7.0, you're not home, what do you do? Have someone add baking soda and then it brings it back up to 7.5; then the next day it dips again, and you're not home? Then what? Is something consuming that much alk? Or did something die, changing the ph of the tank, etc? What if alk jumps up? do you panic and shut things off? Are things not uptaking alk? and if so, what do you do? I'm not attacking you, btw, just things that come to mind when thinking of your post.

Good questions. I also run an apex which allows me to manage a situation if something arises. Yes I am not looking at the tank everyday but I am doing as much as I can with the circumstances I am in. If you were in my shoes wouldn't you want to know as much info about your tank while you are gone. Even if things are not going well at least you know what may be happening and may have automated your tank enough to control it. And for your dosing question i just have someone walk over to my doser and have them hit just 3 buttons to adjust whatever needs adjusting takes 1min tops. I automated as much as I could for this very reason. The next step is to get the doser that pairs upo with the reefbot so i or the reefbot can make manual adjustments where ever I am in the world. Honestly I feel like I thought about a lot of your questions but it is very hard to explain without showing you what has been done. Happy Reefing

 

[LiamPM]

If your vials are cleaned within 5 minutes then your tests don't take 30 seconds, it's that simple.

Post a video of your whole procedure done in 30 seconds, I'm sure it will look comical.

Before you find it too comical you should probably check the fact i said myself it takes around 20 minutes to do the tests i listed above. Might want to read the posts before bringing in the petty un-useful comments.

Why would i include cleaning, does the reefbot clean itself after every test? Some days i throw all test vials into a bucket of RODI and walk away, so takes me 1.25678 seconds to clean them? Comical enough?

Regardless of your petty video comment i actually do manage to test all the elements i need within 20 minutes, weather you get the pleasure of seeing me do it in a video or not. The fact is, most of my tests take me a couple minutes each weather i am scrathing my chin mid way through or not, its that simple.

 

[TheHarold]

Yes I am talking about the standalone system. Ion Director $850 and Kh Director $850. So that is $1700 total. I am not including the discounts on any of the units as that can vary.
So yes maybe it's $2oo over being half the price but then again it comes with the calibration fluid and reagents needed for the first few months. The Reefbot pro is probably also going to add $100-$200 more for the reagents for two months of daily testing.

Doesnt ion director require a slave dosing unit JUST to function?
I still don’t think you have the price comparison correct. And that’s not even released yet.... who knows how well it will work. Compare to existing products IMO.

 

[BZOFIQ]

Before you find it too comical you should probably check the fact i said myself it takes around 20 minutes to do the tests i listed above. Might want to read the posts before bringing in the petty un-useful comments.

Why would i include cleaning, does the reefbot clean itself after every test? Some days i throw all test vials into a bucket of RODI and walk away, so takes me 1.25678 seconds to clean them? Comical enough?

Regardless of your petty video comment i actually do manage to test all the elements i need within 20 minutes, weather you get the pleasure of seeing me do it in a video or not. The fact is, most of my tests take me a couple minutes each weather i am scrathing my chin mid way through or not, its that simple.

sorry, I was quickly scanning on my phone while doing my morning super bowl routine.

That said I agree with you and call any 20-30 second tests a full on bluff.

 

[BZOFIQ]

Now on to the topic. Last Friday I was looking (again) at the original ReefBot and in my mind I was thinking if it only had few more vials available so one could have all the tests.

Imagine my surprise when I read the thread this morning, I shouted to my wife and told her what I was thinking and bam here it is. I got to the point where the price got listed and my brain came to a screeching halt. What!?!?!? No Way,

That said if nothing more viable happens within next 6 months as I complete the build I'll order the original.

 

[SeaDweller]

Wow you are even faster at it than the guys who test all those tanks at BRS. Come on let’s be serious, most of these tests also involve shaking vials for 30sec to a minute and then you have wait times for the colors to develop, also dripping a drop and stirring while looking for an end point change. I am not sure what kits you use but they must be less complicated and super fast.

I’ve said it from the beginning: salifert alkalinity. When you test alk 2-3 times a day, it becomes pretty easy. It doesn’t take more than 5 seconds to draw 2 ml into a syringe. Another 5 seconds maybe to add two drops of blue green dye, another 5 seconds to draw 1.0 ml of titrant, and 5-10 seconds to push the syringe to 0.77 ml and then a few more drops to 0.74 ml. The whole process is fast for me, I’m not sure what you guys aren’t understanding? And another few seconds to shake the vial. Then rinse with RO when I’m done.

how can anyone tell me my testing is more than 30 seconds when I do it two times daily???? Certainly you two aren’t me, so...??????