Kh Carer or alkatronic?
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Alkatronic has a longer track record, but it also has a few notable 'improvements' that could be made. Users have recorded probe 'drift' where over time the local reading changes while the actual measurement does not. Meaning the Alkatronic will report, say, 10.2, while an accurate and correctly used test kit will report 8.5. It is speculated that this has something to do with the way it flushes the test chamber.
KH carer is still very new, and I don't have much hands on experience with them, so unfortunately I cannot give much guidance on that.
I will say however that I would own an Alkatronic myself if I thought the readings would be reliable, as it is part of the HYDROS ecosystem, albeit indirectly.
Whichever you go with, periodically 'sanity check' your devices measurements, as even the Apex Trident auto tester is known to produce inaccurate results from time to time.
KH carer is still very new, and I don't have much hands on experience with them, so unfortunately I cannot give much guidance on that.
I will say however that I would own an Alkatronic myself if I thought the readings would be reliable, as it is part of the HYDROS ecosystem, albeit indirectly.
Whichever you go with, periodically 'sanity check' your devices measurements, as even the Apex Trident auto tester is known to produce inaccurate results from time to time.
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I´m using GHL KH director by myself and also did it at in work (when I worked) I am pleased with it although I am currently having problems with mine. I have used Alkatronic at work and it was mostly reliable as well. I found some review of KH carer here. I have no own experiences of it.
However - if I've learned anything during my time using automated testing, it's to do checks with manual testing from time to time. Things can break
Sincerely Lasse
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I've owned an Alkatronic for more than 3 years. I love this device. Is it perfect, no. But is it ******* - YES.
The only time I have had the device lose accuracy is when I get lazy and don't clean the lines and calibrate the pH Probe. I do this only 2x a year, If you did it 3 or 4x a year you would probably always be on the money.
Also when the results drift from being accurate. They don't just drop, they just slowly drift. So it's not a dramatic shift to your system. If you are auto dosing based on the results, then it slowly raises or lowers the alk in the system. If you chase numbers and are a lazy maintenance person this could become an issue.
If you are concernced about stability, and you have the time to keep your equipment up to snuff - Then Alkatronic is a champ.
I run mine on a large system - 1500g. I have 2 outdoor frag tanks. And the sun drives the alk consumption of my system. With the frag tanks full, the system can drop .5dkh per hour during the spring and summer. With the alkatronic not only do I control my dosing daily, but also whether the sun is up or down - the rate of dosing changes.
Being able to monitor alk as frequently as every 60 mins has revealed some really neat things. I can see how when I go in and frag my display tank that the entire system stops consuming alk for maybe 2 or 3 days to get back to normal consumption.
I can see if I do one of my annual water changes, how the water change - and vacuuming all the crap out of the sump upsets the corals and then how they bounce back.
I can also see the effect of coral foods on alk consumption.
I make my own reagent, I use a gallon every 5 weeks. I start with a gallon of Distilled water from Smart & Final for $3 and mix my reagent - And the final cost for 5 weeks of testing every 2 hrs 24/7 is about $3.03. In four years I have replaced the pH probe 2x and the tubing 2x - Total maintenance for 4 years under $200.
I also invested in the Mastertronic. Which is an amazing device as well. But it requires more patience to keep operating properly than I have and a friend took it off my hands. But if you are a techno geek with patience the Mastertronic is amazing as well.
Dave B
The only time I have had the device lose accuracy is when I get lazy and don't clean the lines and calibrate the pH Probe. I do this only 2x a year, If you did it 3 or 4x a year you would probably always be on the money.
Also when the results drift from being accurate. They don't just drop, they just slowly drift. So it's not a dramatic shift to your system. If you are auto dosing based on the results, then it slowly raises or lowers the alk in the system. If you chase numbers and are a lazy maintenance person this could become an issue.
If you are concernced about stability, and you have the time to keep your equipment up to snuff - Then Alkatronic is a champ.
I run mine on a large system - 1500g. I have 2 outdoor frag tanks. And the sun drives the alk consumption of my system. With the frag tanks full, the system can drop .5dkh per hour during the spring and summer. With the alkatronic not only do I control my dosing daily, but also whether the sun is up or down - the rate of dosing changes.
Being able to monitor alk as frequently as every 60 mins has revealed some really neat things. I can see how when I go in and frag my display tank that the entire system stops consuming alk for maybe 2 or 3 days to get back to normal consumption.
I can see if I do one of my annual water changes, how the water change - and vacuuming all the crap out of the sump upsets the corals and then how they bounce back.
I can also see the effect of coral foods on alk consumption.
I make my own reagent, I use a gallon every 5 weeks. I start with a gallon of Distilled water from Smart & Final for $3 and mix my reagent - And the final cost for 5 weeks of testing every 2 hrs 24/7 is about $3.03. In four years I have replaced the pH probe 2x and the tubing 2x - Total maintenance for 4 years under $200.
I also invested in the Mastertronic. Which is an amazing device as well. But it requires more patience to keep operating properly than I have and a friend took it off my hands. But if you are a techno geek with patience the Mastertronic is amazing as well.
Dave B
