Waterlink Spin Touch FF - First look and review
- Thread starter JeffB418
- Start date
- Tagged users None
samparker
Well-Known Member
yeah ok fair enough, just stock shortages?
Neptune doesn't seem to care about the Australian market so I'm not super keen on going out of my way to help promote them here. Sucks as they actually have a loyal Australian following despite all this
I’m in the same boat. Tired of measuring phosphates.
TigerReef
Active Member
Guys, I'm going to take the plunge. I found a brand new unit and after searching the entire World Wide Web... some saltwater test disks.
But I am confident (and not to brag here) that my high-scoring phosphate results will light that thing right up!
But I am confident (and not to brag here) that my high-scoring phosphate results will light that thing right up!
Last edited:
AydenLincoln
Pufferfish lover!
Phosphate!
Danny McElroy
Community Member
THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting this detailed review, this helped me in my decision to buy one... I am sick and tired of testing nitrates and phosphates using the slow and arduous hanna checkers, so I will be buying this machine. The simplicity of the process is appealing, and using it as a back up to know when my Tridents are getting out of calibration and need servicing will make it worth it for me. The one major down side of not knowing my exact Phosphate level doesn't bother me, as long as it's reading .1-.2 I am happy, and if it tests zero I will test with the hanna to see if I need to add phosphates. Once again, THANK YOU for posting the detailed review!!!Many weeks ago, Reef Builders put out some info on a new product by API, Aquaspin. Seemed like a neat multi-test platform that made testing easy and quick. So I started to do some digging. Turns out a company by the name of LaMotte has been making automated testers for the pool industry for many years, and most recently they ventured their Spin Touch series of testers into the aquaponics, and fish farming area. Now there are 2 different machines, the API Aquaspin and the LaMotte Spin Touch FF. From all the details I can find, they are the same hardware but different software. The API unit is only available to professionals (Stores), while the Spin Touch FF can be found on a couple of online retail stores for use in the fishery industry. From my comparisons of people who actually have the API unit, the type of tests they run and test ranges are the same (including how detailed the results are). So I ended up getting a LaMotte version to try out...here are my first impressions.
Here is the unit, for ~$900 you get the tester, a case, and accessories you need to test. You also get a calibration disc to check (but not calibrate) the photo sensors in your unit. You have to send it back to LaMotte if your readings are off, but I don't think most have to do this. This meter uses disposable reagent discs to test your tanks water. They are NOT cheap, about $3/ea and you have to buy them in packs of 50. They contain a small amount of dried reagent in test cells around the parameter. They come sealed in these packs and test the following items with the displayed ranges. Now LaMotte doesn't publish any accuracy or precision data on these tests unfortunately.
Here are the test disks in their packages:
Here is a used disk from the top, showing you the reagent pools, and a center track you fill with test water. The unit spins the disk and evenly deposits water into each reagent chamber. The top and bottom of these chambers are clear so that photosensors can read up through them. In addition one cell has no reagent for getting a base reading.
Another neat thing about these disks, they use metal balls in each chamber to mix the sample and dried reagent. The tester has magnets that move these up and down. You can see these balls here:
Here are the photo sensors on the bottom, and the top are the different wavelength light generators (LEDs). This unit uses 6 different wavelengths during tests based on the reagent color.
So to do a test you fill a syringe with tank water and then fill the test disk using the fill hole. It will fill up the center test chamber to the line. You must make sure no air bubbles get in while filling or results will be off. Then all you do next is put the disk in the test machine, put a black cover disk on top, and close the lid. The blocker cover helps the sensors read the samples independently. Then all you need to do is push a button, and 2 mins later you have your 8 test results.
So that's the basics. So is this unit worth it? Yes and no. It has some shortcomings I have found. First is cost. $900 for a handheld tester is not for everyone. Second $3/test is steep as well. That is the main reason these are marketed for professionals, where time can be money. These will be attractive to stores since they can pass off the $3/test fee to the customer and get them decent results in only 2 mins. In addition the API system even emails the results to the customer along with product suggestions.
Now some data. I have only had this unit for a day and initial testing I've done has fallen short from my expectations. First off you'll notice Phosphate only measures to 1 dec point. I missed this during my research of the unit. Most of my tanks run between 0.04 and 0.10, but this unit will not tell you that resolution. That was a HUGE disappointment. Also I reached out to LaMotte and they said they had no plans to update that test to have anymore resolution. Next I wanted to see how close results were from test to test. So I ran 10 tests one right after another from the same tank water. Here are the results:
ALK (PPM/dKh) CALC PHOS NITRATE MAG PH NITRITE AMO 164/9.17 431 0.1 13 1426 8.3 0 0 159/8.89 434 0 11 1445 8.3 0 0 161/9.00 440 0 11 1438 8.3 0.1 0 159/8.89 449 0 11 1419 8.3 0 0 157/8.78 435 0 11 1482 8.3 0 0 160/8.95 462 0 10 1398 8.34 0 0 161/9.00 436 0 17 1411 8.3 0.1 0 157/8.78 435 0 11 1426 8.3 0 0 164/9.17 428 0 12 1407 8.3 0 0 166/9.28 463 0 11 1448 8.3 0 0
To compare, I also ran my 2 APEX Tridents while doing this test and they returned: ALK 8.8/8.86, CAL 413/415, and MAG 1273/1279. Also I ran my Hannah Phos tester 2x and got 0.05 and 0.06.
So you will see most data trends around the same values but outliers do appear. The precision on some of these tests concerns me, esp for $3/test. So first impressions of this tester have it falling short of where I'd love it to be.
I am going to spend so more time using the machine but here are my initial thoughts:
Pros:
- 8 test results in only 2 mins!
- Super easy to use, no clean up
- Results seem decent for ball parking issues in a reef tank (great for stores/customers)
- Reagent disks have 1-2 year shelf life
- Link the unit via bluetooth to cell for data transfer
- Firmware is updatable
Cons:
- Cost, both the unit and reagent disks. Huge con.
- Phosphate measurements are useless for those who need 2 dec places
- Precision of test data is questionable for some tests, can't run reagent disk twice (I tried, values are way off)
- Limited retail outlets for purchase (I've only found 2).
I will try to post more as time goes on. I honestly don't know at this point if I will keep it and use it as part of my weekly test regime or ditch it due to running costs.
Oh yeah and one last thing, you can also get freshwater test disks as well that run on the same unit.
Similar threads
