Auto Testers: What's your take? Yay or Nay?

[Dennis Cartier]

only thing i wished is that the apex could test for po4 and no3 , im all fans of hanna testers but the amount of regent that goes on the floor is just sad the tester vial is pathetic

I also found it challenging getting the powder out of the sachet cleanly for years. Then someone mentioned how to do it, and I no longer struggle. Are you cutting the packet along 2 edges following the dotted lines? Then pulling each flap apart to form a funnel makes it really easy to pour the powder into the vial. I usually lightly tap the packet with a finger to help the powder slide.

 

[Tankkeepers]

Does the mastertronic connect to the dose tronic?

 

[October Sky]

I also found it challenging getting the powder out of the sachet cleanly for years. Then someone mentioned how to do it, and I no longer struggle. Are you cutting the packet along 2 edges following the dotted lines? Then pulling each flap apart to form a funnel makes it really easy to pour the powder into the vial. I usually lightly tap the packet with a finger to help the powder slide.

Any chance you can explain this like I'm five? I just got my first Hanna checker and the first thing I thought was "There has to be a better way to do this?" when I opened the reagent package. I just cut the top off, squeezed it so it was open, bent one side to a "v" and dumped it in the vial. I may be describing what you are with different terms, but if there's a better way, then I'm all ears.

 

[JimmyV]

I think it is a great thing. I've been in this hobby for almost 20 years ,and I have to say testing is annoying but needed. Automated seems it would makes life easier. But until I hit the lottery I'll be sticking with the old fashioned way.

 

[Wasabiroot]

Any chance you can explain this like I'm five? I just got my first Hanna checker and the first thing I thought was "There has to be a better way to do this?" when I opened the reagent package. I just cut the top off, squeezed it so it was open, bent one side to a "v" and dumped it in the vial. I may be describing what you are with different terms, but if there's a better way, then I'm all ears.

That's pretty much it. One thing I also do is flick it several times along the edge I'm about to cut so that all the powder moves to the bottom of the packet. Otherwise it poofs everywhere when you cut into it.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Many of us who have been in the hobby for more than the last few years remember when the idea of auto testing seemed like a pipe dream. Well, now for the last several years, this dream has become a reality! With auto testers like the Trident, GHL Kh Director, GHL Ion Director, Alkatronic, Mastertronic, Reefbot, and others, innovation has made testing much less work (although that time saved certainly comes at a premium).

So my questions for today's discussion are:

What's your take on auto testers in general? Are you a fan?
Which ones have you had experience with?
Do you think these have been the step forward that we hoped they would be?
What considerations/cautions would you give others considering using these?

Photo: @W.vreeswijk

I have a kH keeper that monitors the tank while I'm away.

It doesn't dose anything - if needed I adjust dosing remotely with the Kamoer x4 Pro doser.

Automated Phosphate testing would be good, but I have no need to auto test Ca, Mg, K, I, NO3 as they are all stable.

 

[Dennis Cartier]

Any chance you can explain this like I'm five? I just got my first Hanna checker and the first thing I thought was "There has to be a better way to do this?" when I opened the reagent package. I just cut the top off, squeezed it so it was open, bent one side to a "v" and dumped it in the vial. I may be describing what you are with different terms, but if there's a better way, then I'm all ears.

That's pretty much it. One thing I also do is flick it several times along the edge I'm about to cut so that all the powder moves to the bottom of the packet. Otherwise it poofs everywhere when you cut into it.

That's the way I originally did it, because it is the most obvious way. As it turns out, the way they intend you to do is different.

To easily see it, grab a packet and have it in front of you. Notice that there is a dotted line along 2 edges, connected at the corner. They want you to cut from one end of the dotted line, along one edge, turning the corner and cutting along the second edge. The piece cut off should be V or L shaped. Then grab the 2 flaps where you turned the corner and pull them away from each other. Form one of the flaps into a nice chute and pour away.

I always tap each side that will not be cut on a hard surface to move the powder away from the two edges that will be cut (like @Wasabiroot does).

I did the single side way for years until I saw someone from Hanna mention the correct way.

 

[Auquanut]

I'm sure that in the right hands, automated testing can be an invaluable tool. Unfortunately, I consider myself a TM (Technical Moron). If there is any possible way of screwing it up, I'll find it. And for those who think that their controller is idiot proof, you've never met an idiot like me.

Besides, I kind of like the hands-on approach to testing. Makes me feel closer to the reef. If that makes any sense.

 

[GBRsouth]

How do I stop these unwanted notifications for these unwanted post like this one?

@BeMoto

On any thread you are not interested in receiving notifications for, go to the top right side of any page in the undesired thread and look for the unwatch tab. (dark grey background with white writing) Click on unwatch, then it will bring up a tab saying are you sure you want to unwatch? Click on that unwatch tab and then you're done.

 

[jda]

About 15 years ago, I had this car that had an oil level sensor in the little computer thingy - the manual said that it was Ok to trust it and not to use the dipstick, which was hidden away and hard to use. It would tell people that their oil was OK. Right after a whole pile of them got out of warranty at 60k miles, engines started to spin bearings, knocking and throw rods. Not only did this cause about a 16-20k engine replacement for those who did not check their oil, for those of us who did, the sensor was about $4500 to replace, or $300 and 14 hours if I did it myself, but we got lucky since it just said that it was OK and did not throw any codes or lights. Nowadays, the same line of car has a sensor on the screen, but it also warns you to check the dipstick, which is again more prominent and easy to check.

My point is that you, as a human, are the only truly smart thing that watches over your tank. Even Salifert alk, calcium and magnesium test kits are cheap and easy to use, so don't get too far away from checking on things and trusting a robot/machine.

 

[Sean Clark]

About 15 years ago, I had this car that had an oil level sensor in the little computer thingy - the manual said that it was Ok to trust it and not to use the dipstick, which was hidden away and hard to use. It would tell people that their oil was OK. Right after a whole pile of them got out of warranty at 60k miles, engines started to spin bearings, knocking and throw rods. Not only did this cause about a 16-20k engine replacement for those who did not check their oil, for those of us who did, the sensor was about $4500 to replace, or $300 and 14 hours if I did it myself, but we got lucky since it just said that it was OK and did not throw any codes or lights. Nowadays, the same line of car has a sensor on the screen, but it also warns you to check the dipstick, which is again more prominent and easy to check.

My point is that you, as a human, are the only truly smart thing that watches over your tank. Even Salifert alk, calcium and magnesium test kits are cheap and easy to use, so don't get too far away from checking on things and trusting a robot/machine.

This is 100% true.

You would think that "dip stick" would be a more positive nickname.

 

[Marks38]

When I had a larger tank I had a couple of sensors to monitor PH and ORP. My take away is that sensors still need to be cleaned and calibrated. And if you don't keep up on them dosing will be done incorrectly. Also the cost of some of these systems is way out of my budget range. If need to go through all that maintenance I can do some water testing and be a lot more accurate and consistent. Maybe its because I do industrial maintenance for a living and don't want to do it at home too.

 

[HuduVudu]

Having come from a background of hardware control, I can say that this is the worst thing to happen to this hobby.

People absolutely do not know what they are playing with. A near miss (if they are lucky) usually is enough to convince people that this is a bad idea. For people unfamilar with how this all works they ASSUME that it will all work in the real world. No engineer worth their salt would EVER think this. The real world is a messy place and there is no place for this kind of testing or thinking.

I am more amenable to this tech as one direction testing but inevitably an inexperienced person gets the wonderful idea to use this for automation. Like anything that has catastrophic effects (hello ATO) it is usually too late before a person realizes that this has problems.

Sadly people feel ashamed for the obvious understandings that they should have made and won't tell anyone of their catastrophe. Thus re-inforcing the failings of using this type of system.

 

[Sump Crab]

To each there own but IMHO it’s just another unnecessary and expensive gadget.

 

[Wasabiroot]

That's the way I originally did it, because it is the most obvious way. As it turns out, the way they intend you to do is different.

To easily see it, grab a packet and have it in front of you. Notice that there is a dotted line along 2 edges, connected at the corner. They want you to cut from one end of the dotted line, along one edge, turning the corner and cutting along the second edge. The piece cut off should be V or L shaped. Then grab the 2 flaps where you turned the corner and pull them away from each other. Form one of the flaps into a nice chute and pour away.

I always tap each side that will not be cut on a hard surface to move the powder away from the two edges that will be cut (like @Wasabiroot does).

I did the single side way for years until I saw someone from Hanna mention the correct way.

Yes, I missed that the post mentioned cutting the top off. You want to trim along the entire dotted line.

 

[bestfishes]

I have been reefing for 30 years. I just got a trident and I believe its a game changer. I have always been a set it and forget it kind of tank owner. I rarely tested in the past, and I am sure some of my failures were due to poor PH, alk and Cal management. I relied on regular water changes to keep things in balance and it worked for what I kept which was mostly a carpet anemone/softy/zoo dedicated set up. It all depended on the mix of salt I used and it varied quite a bit over the years until recently. In December I decided to go mixed reef with a new build and I love that I get all this data to keep things running smoothly. To those mentioning calibration, I agree. You actually have to calibrate it each time you change the reagent.It must be sent in after I believe 2 years for factory refurb. I tested against three different kits and they all test differently but within a similar range. I ended up feeling the Apex was the most accurate. In the end I felt the trident is less prone to error than me producing perfect drops each time and counting correctly with two kids distracting me often times. One cool thing is you can have it dose cal/mag/kh based on the test results or set up a daily amount you want dosed. Once its stable, you dont worry about it that much anymore and it becomes easy to adjust if you are away from the house with the app. I can adjust dosing on or off on vacation based on test results. I went with the trident because it has proved to be stable and easy to use with Apex. Apex and its modules are expensive, and I understand its not for everyone. There is risk of catastrophic failure if it decides to dose all the calcium at once as an example but I have let go and am trying to trust it at this point as it has not glitched in anyway so far. I feel I will be more successful managing stony corals this way.

 

[October Sky]

For all those Hanna Checker people discussing the packets...


They didn't show the cutting, but you can make sense of the rest of it. Thanks everyone for brining this to my attention!

 

[Kfactor]

i think it would be awsome but for the cost i dont think it is . i would like the trident but wish it was a stand alone

 

[jtichenor]

Finally went on vacation for 7 days after setting up a controller. I felt much more comfortable being away from the tank knowing I can see the critical functions working as well as monitor my temp and ph. I could also access my temp controllers and dosing pumps remotely. However, I could not tell if my Alk was drifting and that alone was causing me some anxiety. I am planning to get an Alkatronic as soon as they become available again so I can see this missing critical piece of information on my system while away. It will also be very nice to not have to manually test my alk daily like I have been doing.

 

[Spieg]

Seems like a lot of cash for something that may break after a year or two. I have a dosing routine with weekly testing that works fine for me. No need to fix what already works.