Automatic water testing / Monitor

[Reef Dweller]

HI All, 

 

looking to get an automated water testing system.  These are the current options I am looking at, but if you have advise or experience with any of them your input would be appreciated.  

 

1. Alkatronic 

2. Apex + Trident

3. GHL +Ion + KH Director

 

Thanks,

 

Reef Dweller

 

[lynn.reef.nerd]

The Alkatronic only tests alkalinity. If you are considering others (phosphate, calcium, etc.) are you looking at adding the Mastertronic. 

 

I really like the alkatronic. The reagent is cheap and it works well for my needs. No complaints.

The mastertronic is super convenient when you are too lazy to do hand testing. The unit depends on reagents from other brands so you are not stuck having to use their "proprietary" brand. You can also vary the test interval (weekly, daily, etc.). The unit is bulky so that's a definite negative. Not exactly the most user friendly equipment and requires some tinkering at times. 

 

Both does not require any additional unit to work (i.e. Must have Apex to use Trident). 

Units are not readily available. Tend to be sold out. 

 

Both connects with CoralVue Hydros. 

[wildcrazyjoker81]

As Lynn already stated the Alkatronic and Mastertronic are a set just as are the KH Director and Ion Director from GHL. The Mastertronic and ION Director are near impossible to find at times. I know personally the ION Director is still working through the people who pre-ordered the units last year.

 

Neptune Trident is the most available out of the group, but is a different animal in that you need to have an APEX to use it which definitely adds to the up front cost and it only does testing with no option for dosing correction unless you buy a separate Neptune doser as well (referring to ALK specifically). The KH Director, Alkatronic, and the not mentioned KH Guardian (The KH Guardian is the cheapest up front ALK tester/doser available) all have the capability to test and dose to correct low alkalinity in a standalone form. The KH Director and Alkatronic both have cheap DIY reagents and supposedly so does the KH Guardian, but I have heard the KH Guardian can possible be bricked due to some dye coloring in their reagents. 

 

The trident only does three tests (ALK/CAL/MAG) vice the Mastertronic and ION Director which test more. Heck you could also even throw the Reefbot into the mix if that is still around since its is a big testing machine.

 

All in all I guess you just need to decide what is most important to you or the direction you are going to head since they all are very capable units. Personally I like the look, feel, and phone app of the GHL units (hard to beat a good German engineered product) and don't like the shape/design/orange color of Neptune stuff which consequently also ruled out the Alkatronic/Mastertronic for me too. The only big perk for me with the Alkatronic/Mastertronic is they are all fairly concealed so while bulky, definitely do have a clean look. Also the GHL setup is the only one of the group that can be added to a controller later on if wanted that is tried and true. The Hydros still has bugs to work out so I don't even see that as an option yet when compared to Apex/GHL. 

 

Just my 2 pennies.

 

[cpeguero]

I just got the KH director in December, and I love it. I’ll eventually be adding the Ion Director as well. Already have profilux, maxi doser, and power bar. Obviously I decided on GHL. For me, solid reputation for hardware was the most important. The app/software doesn’t appear to be quite as slick as apex, but I personally care more about the hardware and am willing to deal with quirks/inconvenience on the software side. I do like the app a lot, and any issues have been minor. I know tons of people are happy with their apex and trident.

I haven’t tried to diy the reagent yet, though for testing cost, it’s $99 for 3 liters of reagent fro GHL. I think they estimate you can get 3 months of testing 4 times per day (maybe it’s 2) from 1 liter. That means it’s about $11 per month for reagent. That’s roughly 120 tests per month. I haven’t looked, but I dont think that’s too bad compared to doing that many tests with a manual test kit, and, honestly, I’m not diligent enough to test that often manually.

With the KH director, you can also test as many (or as few) times per day as you like. Dont know how the others stack up, though I think the trident is minimum of 4 per day.

It’s a great thing to have so many options. Hopefully others can chime in with their experiences with other testers.


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[Reef Dweller]

I really appreciate everyone's responses.  I like the Idea of GHL I was leaning that way sturdy build, stand alone that can be put into a full controller suite when I get to it, however when I looked at a setup tutorial I was immediately turned off as it seemed over complex.  How did you find the set up experience for the GHL that is really my only concern ? 

 

Thanks again everyone! 

[cpeguero]

The KH Director does take some time to set up, but the instructions are thorough. Their video instructions are also quite thorough. It may seem daunting, but they walk you through pretty well. It may have taken me about an hour or so to set up - tough to tell for sure, since there were frequent interruptions from the family. Just be sure to follow the instructions carefully.

 

If you do end up going with GHL, one tip - for some of the tubing runs, you need to know the volume of liquid that will fit in the tube. You can go nuts measuring or do what I did. Fill the tube with water (dunk it in a bucket). Make sure it is completely full. Then, use one finger to plug one end of the tube. Lift the tube by that end. Then, hold the tube vertically over a graduated cylinder. Then you release your finger and all the liquid goes into the cylinder. Voila, you have your volume in the tube.

[ReefAddict]

I have not been happy with GHL’s software.  The user experience leaves a little to be desired imo.

[kngfisher]

Yes I do wish it was more flexible but I would not switch back to apex. Is ghl as user friendly…no but my ghl has been rock steady and never just dumped my configurations or rebooted corrupting the config in the middle of the night. I won’t even go into the issue with the eb8 and misc sockets not working, their batch of temp probes that were not watere proof.

Yes, ghl is a pain to get setup and they really need to support a wired network not just wireless (2.4ghz only) but it has been very stable for me.


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[lynn.reef.nerd]

59 minutes ago, kngfisher said:

Yes I do wish it was more flexible but I would not switch back to apex. Is ghl as user friendly…no but my ghl has been rock steady and never just dumped my configurations or rebooted corrupting the config in the middle of the night. I won’t even go into the issue with the eb8 and misc sockets not working, their batch of temp probes that were not watere proof.

Yes, ghl is a pain to get setup and they really need to support a wired network not just wireless (2.4ghz only) but it has been very stable for me.


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Will agree on never going back to APEX. 

[cpeguero]

Agreed on GHL UI needing some work. It definitely takes a bit of effort to get to what you want to do (though that’s true of many control systems), but once it’s set, I don’t worry about it at all.

I did do the DIY reagent for the KH director. Easy as you please and a LOT cheaper - $50 for a gallon of 1M HCl and I’m set for 2 years (maybe a bit more).


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[YHSublime]

I don't have any controllers or testing at the moment, but I am manually testing my alk every day, and in the same boat as the OP here. Also looking. 

 

@Reef Dwellercheck out Wesley's Reef, this post is timely:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cbc_r8IsvKW/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

[lowsingle]

Hi, I used the Alkatronic and was overall pleased with it.  I still use the Dosetronic and love it.  Like others have said, I am not an apex fan and over time have moved to a less automated set up.  I think alkalinity and pH are the only parameters I would need to track daily and even then it is overkill.  I needed it early on when “dialing” in my system but nowadays I check alk once a week along with nitrate phosphate and salinity.  I check calcium and magnesium every two weeks and find little change in them…..I can’t imagine a scenario where I would need to know that type of information daily.  If a tank is moving around that quickly you have bigger problems…..my recommendation would be to take that money and invest it in making easier / more water changes.  That has been probably the best money I have spent on my tank.

 

Darren