ION Director unbiased review

[robbyg]

They are sort of committed at this point, no?

I have no idea!
How many of the pre-orders have they shipped? If it is just a couple of hundred then he might be better off cutting his loses and refunding everyone. The question is does he have the money to refund everyone and if he doesn't have it then his only option is to keep this going as long as possible.

After all the BRS buyout stuff I do not want to see the controller market dwindle down to one main player but on the other hand this IonD probe delay stuff has gone way past the ridiculous stage.

 

[robbyg]

A review of the review?…hmm

And also seems to be an Ion Director Distributor.

 

[Lucas815]

Holly Crap!
They must have let Mathias out of his Lab
Now that's the guy I remember from 12 years ago, I would bet my house that the response to Parker was from him Directly. He is so lucky that it was someone like Parker who is cheerful and does not get emotional who did that review. For him to basically say it was a biased hit Job on GHL is just crazy.

Mathias if your reading this, the whole Ion Probe thing just does not seem to work. No one has gotten it to work, the other companies have given up. Your on Version 15 and still knocking your head on a brick wall.

My IonD works great

 

[robbyg]

My IonD works great

Please make a video of it and do some live comparisons to test kits. A lot of people have said it works great but everyone who has done a video either provides no real data to compare it against or they just stick to an unboxing and set up video.

I think Parker is the only one who has actually put real numbers out there and reference data to compare it against.

I really stood up for GHL over the last year on this one but there comes a point when time is up and you either have a FINISHED product or you don't.
Right now your using a Probe that is already being replaced with an upgrade. Are you getting an upgraded one for free? I would be ticked if I just got the thing a few months ago and I am left with the older version probe.

 

[areefer01]

Please make a video of it and do some live comparisons to test kits. A lot of people have said it works great but everyone who has done a video either provides no real data to compare it against or they just stick to an unboxing and set up video.

I think Parker is the only one who has actually put real numbers out there and reference data to compare it against.

I really stood up for GHL over the last year on this one but there comes a point when time is up and you either have a FINISHED product or you don't.
Right now your using a Probe that is already being replaced with an upgrade. Are you getting an upgraded one for free? I would be ticked if I just got the thing a few months ago and I am left with the older version probe.

It is GA, right (general availability)? Just a back order or line to work through. Or at least that was my impression.

New probe? Is this documented anywhere? I know those who received the public kits have had probes being replaced but that that was due to shipping.

Just wondering.

 

[Lucas815]

Please make a video of it and do some live comparisons to test kits. A lot of people have said it works great but everyone who has done a video either provides no real data to compare it against or they just stick to an unboxing and set up video.

I think Parker is the only one who has actually put real numbers out there and reference data to compare it against.

I really stood up for GHL over the last year on this one but there comes a point when time is up and you either have a FINISHED product or you don't.
Right now your using a Probe that is already being replaced with an upgrade. Are you getting an upgraded one for free? I would be ticked if I just got the thing a few months ago and I am left with the older version probe.

I wont do that.

I was gonna suggest you read my feedback posts, but I see that you already did, so there's your data.

Frankly, I dont see much value in comparing the IonD data with hobby grade manual test kits.
There are so many variables with these kits that can affect the result that it's just impossible to compare them and expect precise and reliable values.
It would be better with Hanna testers, but I dont own for any for the parameters tested by the IonD.

One thing I still need to do is test with the GHL Multi reference solution. It's a bit of a hassle since I have to empty the tubes, but i'll get to it someday.

I also had to refill my original reference solution 500ml bottles, since I was down to 15% remaining.
As I already said somewhere else, this thing is VERY expensive to run.
With the probe expected to last about 18 months, and 1L bottles lasting about 3 months at 1 test per day, i'm looking at about 500$ CAD per year to run the unit, and that's not counting any replacement parts for the doser.
The price would go down a lot if GHL permitted in the app to go longer than once per day between tests.

I still love it though and I see value in the data it gives me.

Probe is still at 100% health.

Here is my latest graph.

The increase in value from July 6th is expected, as I had just finished a Chemiclean treatment and stepped up my automated water changes.
On July 11th, I switched my 3-part dosing from AF 123 to Fauna Marin Balling light, which is a lot more concentrated and i'm still tuning it.

 

[IKD]

I wont do that.

I was gonna suggest you read my feedback posts, but I see that you already did, so there's your data.

Frankly, I dont see much value in comparing the IonD data with hobby grade manual test kits.
There are so many variables with these kits that can affect the result that it's just impossible to compare them and expect precise and reliable values.
It would be better with Hanna testers, but I dont own for any for the parameters tested by the IonD.

One thing I still need to do is test with the GHL Multi reference solution. It's a bit of a hassle since I have to empty the tubes, but i'll get to it someday.

I also had to refill my original reference solution 500ml bottles, since I was down to 15% remaining.
As I already said somewhere else, this thing is VERY expensive to run.
With the probe expected to last about 18 months, and 1L bottles lasting about 3 months at 1 test per day, i'm looking at about 500$ CAD per year to run the unit, and that's not counting any replacement parts for the doser.
The price would go down a lot if GHL permitted in the app to go longer than once per day between tests.

I still love it though and I see value in the data it gives me.

Probe is still at 100% health.

Here is my latest graph.

The increase in value from July 6th is expected, as I had just finished a Chemiclean treatment and stepped up my automated water changes.
On July 11th, I switched my 3-part dosing from AF 123 to Fauna Marin Balling light, which is a lot more concentrated and i'm still tuning it.

Thanks for sharing. I did want to ask about the probe. You’ve been running since June 20th and the probe is still 100%? That is pretty impressive especially compared to what others have experienced to date.

 

[Lucas815]

Thanks for sharing. I did want to ask about the probe. You’ve been running since June 20th and the probe is still 100%? That is pretty impressive especially compared to what others have experienced to date.

June 5th actually.
It's a but suspicious though that it's still at 100%, so until it goes down to 99%, I'll stay a bit worried that it'll suddenly drop to 0% overnight.

According to GHL, probe lifespan is directly related to the nutrients level in the system.

 

[robbyg]

Thanks for sharing. I did want to ask about the probe. You’ve been running since June 20th and the probe is still 100%? That is pretty impressive especially compared to what others have experienced to date.

I Thank him also but this is kind of an insane investment. We have one video from a reputable independent person and that is really the only thing that we have at this point. I would have thought by now we would have had half a dozen videos of people doing Hanna checker comparisons!

I honestly don't know if we have a mass case of "Regret Avoidance" going on or there is some serious quality control issues and a few people got lucky or is GHL taking care of the those who don't complain by offering an endless supply of updated probes and discounted reagents.

It's all just very strange and has dragged on for to long.

 

[Lucas815]

I Thank him also but this is kind of an insane investment. We have one video from a reputable independent person and that is really the only thing that we have at this point. I would have thought by now we would have had half a dozen videos of people doing Hanna checker comparisons!

I honestly don't know if we have a mass case of "Regret Avoidance" going on or there is some serious quality control issues and a few people got lucky or is GHL taking care of the those who don't complain by offering an endless supply of updated probes and discounted reagents.

It's all just very strange and has dragged on for to long.

The supply chain is an absolute nightmare currently, so there are probably not that many units in the wild. It's even worse if they had to replace damaged probes.

It seems like they also avoided to give free units to YouTubers and influencers, so not much going on with the marketing side.
But then, you don't want to promote an item you can't build...

The timing was just atrocious to release a new product, but it couldn't be helped I guess. We can only wait for things to settle down and hope for the best.

 

[robbyg]

The supply chain is an absolute nightmare currently, so there are probably not that many units in the wild. It's even worse if they had to replace damaged probes.

It seems like they also avoided to give free units to YouTubers and influencers, so not much going on with the marketing side.
But then, you don't want to promote an item you can't build...

The timing was just atrocious to release a new product, but it couldn't be helped I guess. We can only wait for things to settle down and hope for the best.

I agree with you about the Supply chain but lets be totally honest and not try to sugar coat anything.

If anyone with a Good Product was facing the problems that GHL is facing they would get some of the limited supply of the product into the Hands of Reviewers\Influencers and reputable reefers to try and calm the public fears and buy for some more time.

In the case of the ionD they have done the exact opposite. It seems like they have gone to great lengths to make sure that active YouTube vBloggers don't get their hands on one and the only person that did get one they tried to shut him up.

I find all of it to be really odd.

 

[Lucas815]

I agree with you about the Supply chain but lets be totally honest and not try to sugar coat anything.

If anyone with a Good Product was facing the problems that GHL is facing they would get some of the limited supply of the product into the Hands of Reviewers\Influencers and reputable reefers to try and calm the public fears and buy for some more time.

In the case of the ionD they have done the exact opposite. It seems like they have gone to great lengths to make sure that active YouTube vBloggers don't get their hands on one and the only person that did get one they tried to shut him up.

I find all of it to be really odd.

Let's not forget that GHL people in Germany are from a different culture than North Americans, and probably view things differently.

What might seem "best" for us in North America is probably very different than what is seen as "best" in Europe, which is their main market.

 

[Lucas815]

I tested manually Cal, Mag and Nitrate today.

Mag (IonD) : 1387ppm
Mag (Salifert test kit) : 1395ppm

Cal (IonD) : 452ppm
Cal (Red Sea test kit) : 460ppm

Nitrate (IonD) : 7
Nitrate (Hanna HR tester) : 17ppm

Besides nitrate, I can safely say that I trust this thing 100% now.

 

[IKD]

Today I noticed that BRS lists the ION Director as “Discontinued” versus Out of Stock, so I reached out to customer service and here is what they shared.

Thanks for reaching out to us! It appears that we have discontinued this product as GHL kept pushing back the ETA on these and was over 5 months past due on our latest expected shipment. For the time-being these have been discontinued on our site and our product team will revisit it if GHL can increase their production.

I hope the pre-order queue is shrinking. It doesn’t look good for a product to be shown as Discontinued.

 

[IKD]

I tested manually Cal, Mag and Nitrate today.

Mag (IonD) : 1387ppm
Mag (Salifert test kit) : 1395ppm

Cal (IonD) : 452ppm
Cal (Red Sea test kit) : 460ppm

Nitrate (IonD) : 7
Nitrate (Hanna HR tester) : 17ppm

Besides nitrate, I can safely say that I trust this thing 100% now.

Thanks for sharing. Nitrate would be the primary reason for me to get this product. appreciate the regular updates!

 

[areefer01]

Premium aquatics also shows it as discontinued.

 

[Lucas815]

Thanks for sharing. Nitrate would be the primary reason for me to get this product. appreciate the regular updates!

Note that I'm not using High precision more, which would probably improve nitrate readings.

This mode does use a significantly higher quantity of reference fluid though.

 

[robbyg]

Today I noticed that BRS lists the ION Director as “Discontinued” versus Out of Stock, so I reached out to customer service and here is what they shared.

Thanks for reaching out to us! It appears that we have discontinued this product as GHL kept pushing back the ETA on these and was over 5 months past due on our latest expected shipment. For the time-being these have been discontinued on our site and our product team will revisit it if GHL can increase their production.

I hope the pre-order queue is shrinking. It doesn’t look good for a product to be shown as Discontinued.

Not a good sign.

 

[Lucas815]

Well that went downhill fast... Sensor got from 100% to 28% in a matter of days, and will now no longer take measurements because of "bad sensor performance".

I'm away from home for the week and cannot take corrective steps currently. I'm returning home on Thursday.

I will open today a ticket with GHL.

 

[Lucas815]

Ghl recommends as a common step in the troubleshooting documentation to use the "prepare measurement cell" function, and wait at least 6 hours.

I just did that since it can be done remotely with myGHL.

Seems like air bubbles is the bane of the IonD, and extra care needs to be taken to avoid them.

Preparing the measurement cell will flush the system, and hopefully evacuate air bubbles.

I'll see how that went tonight at my usual 8pm measurement.