Ion Director Reference fluid pricing announced.

[AZMSGT]

Reference fluid pricing and info
One of the goals in the development of the ION Director is keep the cost per measurement as low as possible.

By working alongside a German producer of chemicals, we have succeeded in developing a very precise, yet cost-effective reference fluid: 1 liter of reference fluid will cost only $24.90

For each test (all supported parameters), 2 reference fluids are needed. The maximum fluid used per test is 10 ml. This results in a maximum cost of 50 cents for a simultaneous measurement of Ca, Mg, K, Na and NO3. Compared to solutions from other vendors which require a minimum number of daily measurements, the IOND user can freely determine their own daily costs: The number of daily automatic measurements is adjustable between 0 (then only manual measurements) and 24.

We are currently working on further reducing the amount of fluid required - without compromising measurement accuracy - which will further reduce the cost per measurement.

OUCH!
Well, I know one way to reduce costs.. Use only 1 size bottle. Ditch the 500ml bottles.. Only go with 1L bottles. Using a standard size should help reduce costs. No need for varied shipping boxes of each... Also no one post purchase will likely be able to purchase the 500ml anyway. Just like the KH D

But honestly, $25 is pretty expensive, considering we need 2 different "reference fluids". So each time we have to order that's $50. If we get it in a 4 pack that's $200... Yea, it adds up fast.

How about a 4L bottle that we can buy at a discount. Still.. $100ish for 1gallon of anything is crazy expensive.

 

[AnacapaReefs]

OUCH!
Well, I know one way to reduce costs.. Use only 1 size bottle. Ditch the 500ml bottles.. Only go with 1L bottles. Using a standard size should help reduce costs. No need for varied shipping boxes of each... Also no one post purchase will likely be able to purchase the 500ml anyway. Just like the KH D

But honestly, $25 is pretty expensive, considering we need 2 different "reference fluids". So each time we have to order that's $50. If we get it in a 4 pack that's $200... Yea, it adds up fast.

How about a 4L bottle that we can buy at a discount. Still.. $100ish for 1gallon of anything is crazy expensive.

So its more expensive then the trident...

 

[ddrueckh]

And...you still need a KH Director. Between needing to buy the Ion Director and KH Director as well as the price of reagent/reference fluids...I would rather use the Trident. The GHLproducts end up being much more expensive. I also don't see the excitement of having no reagents for the Ion Director...you need reference fluids instead. Its basically the same thing. One uses the fluid before the test and one during the test. The only difference is how the test is performed and I still have not seen if the Ion method is really anymore accurate. I do appreciate the innovation but don't see this being any easier or cheaper than the Trident system. Technically, you could buy a standalone apex for $400 and the Trident for $600. For approx $1,000 you are up and running.

 

[Kyl]

GHL needs to provide more detail on probe longevity other than “6 – 18 months, depending on use”. What real-world figure is that? Is it 6 months at once a day, 18 months at once a week? The probe cost is not inconsequential, $130 USD for something potentially degrading in 6 months.

Unlike alkalinity these parameters would typically not crash a tank quickly, as such I don’t think many with an objective mindset would put as much cost for value focus on it as they do alkalinity monitoring. This is the same general marketing and thinking that put me off of the Trident, 'but you get xyz per test!', well, I actually only care about one of those parameters to keep an eye on it with a degree of regularity, but must test for all of them equally.

Cost per test on this unit seems to be adding up quite quickly, but at least it has no reagents!

 

[i_am_mclovin]

And...you still need a KH Director. Between needing to buy the Ion Director and KH Director as well as the price of reagent/reference fluids...I would rather use the Trident. The GHLproducts end up being much more expensive. I also don't see the excitement of having no reagents for the Ion Director...you need reference fluids instead. Its basically the same thing. One uses the fluid before the test and one during the test. The only difference is how the test is performed and I still have not seen if the Ion method is really anymore accurate. I do appreciate the innovation but don't see this being any easier or cheaper than the Trident system. Technically, you could buy a standalone apex for $400 and the Trident for $600. For approx $1,000 you are up and running.

Plus you have to buy two 2.1 dosers.

 

[robbyg]

And...you still need a KH Director. Between needing to buy the Ion Director and KH Director as well as the price of reagent/reference fluids...I would rather use the Trident. The GHLproducts end up being much more expensive. I also don't see the excitement of having no reagents for the Ion Director...you need reference fluids instead. Its basically the same thing. One uses the fluid before the test and one during the test. The only difference is how the test is performed and I still have not seen if the Ion method is really anymore accurate. I do appreciate the innovation but don't see this being any easier or cheaper than the Trident system. Technically, you could buy a standalone apex for $400 and the Trident for $600. For approx $1,000 you are up and running.

The Ion method is very accurate. Much more accurate than reagents or even reflective Dye. The only problem is the life expectancy. As the probe is slowly degrading as it is bombarded by Ions. I agree with the other poster that it would be nice if GHL clarified what equates to 6 months and what level of testing yields 18 months

 

[vangvace]

1L equals 100 tests or... in theory 100 days of testing at 50 cents a day? I need to look at the various testing cost threads floating around.

 

[robbyg]

1L equals 100 tests or... in theory 100 days of testing at 50 cents a day? I need to look at the various testing cost threads floating around.

Is anybody seriously buying this thing for one test per day? I would say a minimum of two tests is needed to justify the expense of the unit itself. I would be a lot happier with four.

 

[Gaël]

I also don't see the excitement of having no reagents for the Ion Director...you need reference fluids instead. Its basically the same thing. One uses the fluid before the test and one during the test. The only difference is how the test is performed

I see a big difference, with the reagent if the calibration of the dosing pump is bad or changed, the test result will be wrong, with ION Director we cannot have a bad calibration. With the KHD we measure the precise amount of KH in the entire volume of water sample while with the IOND we measure the ion concentration only.

 

[robbyg]

I see a big difference, with the reagent if the calibration of the dosing pump is bad or changed, the test result will be wrong, with ION Director we cannot have a bad calibration. With the KHD we measure the precise amount of KH in the entire volume of water sample while with the IOND we measure the ion concentration only.

Yes that is true. The ion probe only needs to be immersed in order to get a correct reading. The dosing pumps don’t need to be precise.

 

[chema]

Is anybody seriously buying this thing for one test per day? I would say a minimum of two tests is needed to justify the expense of the unit itself. I would be a lot happier with four.

Why would you need to test calcium or magnesium four times a day?

 

[AZMSGT]

Why would you need to test calcium or magnesium four times a day?

The unit does more than just those two test. I honestly would do two a day initially to establish a good baseline and see my consumption and pollution levels. But after I get it running good, I could see my unit only testing 1 a day at the most.

 

[AZMSGT]

Is anybody seriously buying this thing for one test per day? I would say a minimum of two tests is needed to justify the expense of the unit itself. I would be a lot happier with four.

Nope, I’m buying it because I don’t like to do the testing. It’s all about convenience... I’m lazy

 

[Emre_Temur]

Is it using 10 ml fluid for all tests or 10 ml per parameter?

 

[MabuyaQ]

Is it using 10 ml fluid for all tests or 10 ml per parameter?

10ml for all tests, it is a reference for calibration. So when calibrating for a test run (all test at once with one ion probe) it will use max. 10ml of each of the 2 reference fluids. So the 50ct per test is for all parameters tested, so will get lower once they add other parameters to future probes.

 

[vangvace]

Is anybody seriously buying this thing for one test per day? I would say a minimum of two tests is needed to justify the expense of the unit itself. I would be a lot happier with four.

It is more testing than I do in a month. ;Sorry

Also, I am not sure how much these parameters sway over the course of the day.

 

[User1]

Cost per test on this unit seems to be adding up quite quickly, but at least it has no reagents!

So much reagent hate and yet they work perfectly fine...go figure.

 

[User1]

Is anybody seriously buying this thing for one test per day? I would say a minimum of two tests is needed to justify the expense of the unit itself. I would be a lot happier with four.

That is an interesting note. Actually it also raises a note to consider if one is going to try and compare costs. First comparing this to the Trident isn't apples to apples so not sure I'd even go there. However, I like the point you raised about cost vs the hobbyist number of tests per say.

If someone was to try and ballpark a cost one would think it is a good idea to do the minimum for whatever you are comparing the cost per test to. Example trident is minimum 4/2/2. Not that it matters but I liked your point about overall cost vs return of value on a number of tests.

Edit: to clarify - I only posted this because your point about cost, test, was interesting. Not one product vs the other.

 

[User1]

Why would you need to test calcium or magnesium four times a day?

Probably for the same reason people wanted to test every 15 minutes or in near real time.

I personally am content with 1 x per day but stuck at 4/2/2. To be fair with any automated test the more sample points you have the better your data will be for trending. Hobbyist configuration of course.

 

[robbyg]

I could live with two tests but one test means that if something has gone haywire with Dosing etc. you will not catch the problem for 24 hours. A lot can go wrong in 24 hours.