Has anyone that pre-ordered seen their ION Director yet?

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

I seen no value in this device, or any other automatic tester, if all your tank needs is weekly testing. It just doesn't make financial sense, including the time it takes to perform manual testing. Which is my situation, I only test weekly. I do test more often on an as needed basis.

You may not see the value, but with an infant, a three year old, a wife that hates the hobby, and a business to run/law practice, i assure you that every 20 minutes i save is worth more than hundreds of dollars; it can be the difference between being a part of this hobby or not... and the for some of us the money is less of an issue than the time

 

[ingchr1]

I wonder if probe life is actually related to the number of tests performed or just a function of length of time the probe is submerged in that particular tank water?

 

[elcapitan1993]

I seen no value in this device, or any other automatic tester, if all your tank needs is weekly testing. It just doesn't make financial sense, including the time it takes to perform manual testing. Which is my situation, I only

And to each his own. I tend to test every other day. I don't need this. But I do get tired of manually testing. So.......I splurged.

 

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

I wonder if probe life is actually related to the number of tests performed or just a function of length of time the probe is submerged in that particular tank water?

me too!

 

[ingchr1]

Good comment. Would be good to know the expiration of reference solutions after opening. That may drive your refill needs over running out.

Also if they have a shelf life, general expiration date.

 

[robbyg]

I wonder if probe life is actually related to the number of tests performed or just a function of length of time the probe is submerged in that particular tank water?

Since GHL has not stated an amount of tests in Its warranty it is pretty safe to assume that it is more time related.

 

[elcapitan1993]

Since GHL has not stated an amount of tests in Its warranty it is pretty safe to assume that it is more time related.

Hopefully they get it fixed to where it at least lasts 1-2 years, especially at the price point of a replacement probe.

 

[Gaël]

Hi,

FAQ: ION Director – GHL (International)

www.aquariumcomputer.com

What determines the lifespan of the IOND sensor?​

The lifespan of the sensor is determined by various factors, water quality being the most important one. If the sample water contains high levels of organics and nutrients, the sensor may experience more wear. On the other hand, if the water quality is good, the sensor will see a lengthier life. The frequency of tests performed also play a role in the lifespan of the probe.

To put it into perspective, if one tests 500 times with “dirtier” water compared to 500 times with “cleaner” water, the lifespan of the sensor will not be the same.

Nonetheless, the minimum 6 month period still applies.

Gaël

 

[Gaël]

Regarding the reference solutions, once opened they are subject to evaporation, even if the iond is supplied with pierced caps limiting the passage of the air as much as possible, it seems to me illusory to hope to keep bottles open in operation for a year, their values will no longer be good.

Also, the software does not allow automatic testing less than once a day, I myself do not have the firm and definitive answer if the fact of only doing manual tests spaced out over time has a negative impact or not on the sensor.

Gaël

 

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

the software does not allow automatic testing less than once a day.

If this is confirmed, i'll try to cancel my order.... I have no need (and who the hell would???) to test these parameters once a day...

 

[Gaël]

If this is confirmed, i'll try to cancel my order.... I have no need (and who the hell would???) to test these parameters once a day...

I said automatically, but you can turn off the automatic measurement schedule by setting it to 0 and clicking the start manual measurement button.

Measuring once a day or more makes sense for those using dosing ajustements. In order to achieve stable water parameters, ION Director can automatically readjust dosing quantities of supplied liquids depending on the measurement result.

Gaël

 

[elcapitan1993]

If this is confirmed, i'll try to cancel my order.... I have no need (and who the hell would???) to test these parameters once a day...

Hey there,I would be one of those people lol

 

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

Hey there,I would be one of those people lol

why, lol

 

[elcapitan1993]

why, lol

I just like to know what all my parameters are on a daily basis and can watch for any spikes or drops in parameters and possibly fix a issue before it causes any damage , I have my kh director testing 24 times a day at the moment lol, plus I have always like the tech aspect of this hobby

 

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

I said automatically, but you can turn off the automatic measurement schedule by setting it to 0 and clicking the start manual measurement button.

Measuring once a day or more makes sense for those using dosing ajustements. In order to achieve stable water parameters, ION Director can automatically readjust dosing quantities of supplied liquids depending on the measurement result.

Gaël

That works i guess, it's just another GHL whatever... (i am less than enthusiastic about GHL software options, ease of use, reliability to connect, usage, intuitiveness, or likeability) ...

Why not at least have an option to mimic the frequency most(?) people test these parameters at, e.g., once a week, once a month? Not one of these parameters, except say sodium--and you'll know right away if that is off without a test--need frequent testing whatsoever..

If it's just to sell reagent and probes, that's just another reason to get off this train and to use my GHL for target practice... lol

 

[Gaël]

That works i guess, it's just another GHL whatever... (i am less than enthusiastic about GHL software options, ease of use, reliability to connect, usage, intuitiveness, or likeability) ...

Why not at least have an option to mimic the frequency most(?) people test these parameters at, e.g., once a week, once a month? Not one of these parameters, except say sodium--and you'll know right away if that is off without a test--need frequent testing whatsoever..

If it's just to sell reagent and probes, that's just another reason to get off this train and to use my GHL for target practice... lol

Honestly, I don't think the reason is to sell more reference solutions ...

Gaël

 

[elcapitan1993]

That works i guess, it's just another GHL whatever... (i am less than enthusiastic about GHL software options, ease of use, reliability to connect, usage, intuitiveness, or likeability) ...

Why not at least have an option to mimic the frequency most(?) people test these parameters at, e.g., once a week, once a month? Not one of these parameters, except say sodium--and you'll know right away if that is off without a test--need frequent testing whatsoever..

If it's just to sell reagent and probes, that's just another reason to get off this train and to use my GHL for target practice... lol

Well it seems to me it would be a huge waste of money if I could only use it to test once a week or once a month , if I’m going to spend that amount of money on something I’m going to want to use it as often as possible

 

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

I just like to know what all my parameters are on a daily basis and can watch for any spikes or drops in parameters and possibly fix a issue before it causes any damage , I have my kh director testing 24 times a day at the moment lol, plus I have always like the tech aspect of this hobby

To each there own... And i don't doubt the piece of mind... these are expensive tanks...

But that's not needed in anyway... am i wrong there?

in other words, i doubt the numbers/parameters tested by the ion director will vary on the ion director over the course of week if you're even in the ball park for dosing and nutrient control...

I mean my salinity does not change... and the GHL already monitors that (inaccurately for sure), which i assume is what the "sodium" test is...

my nitrate only does if something is odd and that's not exactly an emergency parameter...

my calcium and magnesium are always basically the same tested every few months... (if your alk is good, and you have magnesium in your dosing/calcium reactor, these will be fine too....)

potassium i have never tested and i think probably the only real important time to test it would be when you make up a new batch of salt to make sure its not a bad batch... (and who is going to have ion director in their salt water bin, lol)

Well it seems to me it would be a huge waste of money if I could only use it to test once a week or once a month , if I’m going to spend that amount of money on something I’m going to want to use it as often as possible

To be fair and use your own logic here, isn't testing 24 ALK times a day waste of money? I have never heard of such a thing. That reagent is not cheap with that testing schedule is it?

And for the reagent price, isn't testing ion testing parameters once a day a "waste" of money--since that frequency is not needed?

Again, to each there own, not being critical.... we all waste money by definition in this hobby....lol

But the attractiveness of this device to me was simply a time saver and not pulling out a test kit. I was NOT looking for something test more often--on these parameter--than i already do... I was looking to throw away manual test kits, save drawer space, and spend an extra 20 minutes with my kids instead of testing nitrate, etc.

 

[Scdell]

To each there own... And i don't doubt the piece of mind... these are expensive tanks...

But that's not needed in anyway... am i wrong there?

in other words, i doubt the numbers/parameters tested by the ion director will vary on the ion director over the course of week if you're even in the ball park for dosing and nutrient control...

I mean my salinity does not change... and the GHL already monitors that (inaccurately for sure), which i assume is what the "sodium" test is...

my nitrate only does if something is odd and that's not exactly an emergency parameter...

my calcium and magnesium are always basically the same tested every few months... (if your alk is good, and you have magnesium in your dosing/calcium reactor, these will be fine too....)

potassium i have never tested and i think probably the only real important time to test it would be when you make up a new batch of salt to make sure its not a bad batch... (and who is going to have ion director in their salt water bin, lol)


To be fair and use your own logic here, isn't testing 24 ALK times a day waste of money? I have never heard of such a thing. That reagent is not cheap with that testing schedule is it?

And for the reagent price, isn't testing ion testing parameters once a day a "waste" of money--since that frequency is not needed?

Again, to each there own, not being critical.... we all waste money by definition in this hobby....lol

But the attractiveness of this device to me was simply a time saver and not pulling out a test kit. I was NOT looking for something test more often--on these parameter--than i already do... I was looking to throw away manual test kits, save drawer space, and spend an extra 20 minutes with my kids instead of testing nitrate, etc.

I'm with you on all this. He's testing alk 24 times a day. That's once an hour. Overkill for sure. But it's what he wants to do. I bought it to lessen manual tests also. I can't for the life of me figure out the need to test more than every other day. And I'm also looking for trends at that rate. But I'm also not running dosers for anything. I run a calcium reactor and a protein skimmer. Kiss..... Keep it simple......
I'm not into total automation. I will find testing for potassium useful though.

 

[pigmo]

we also test alk 24x a day -- try it over a week or 2 and observe the fluctuations. granted our system is pretty loaded with biomass.

has anyone gotten their ion d? we have not.