Mindstream in the house!

[ddrueckh]

End of June. I was part of the original KickStarter backing way back when.
Happy to update and report levels HAVE stabilized to almost the same as manual measurements including KH Director.

That’s great. How long did it take to stabilize? I think they mention 4 hours somewhere.

 

[doggydoc10]

I believe a little less than 6 hours to stabilize.

 

[Bleigh]

Thanks for sharing. I'm glad to see my original thoughts weren't too far off. It does seem smart to directly measure the ion that is changing concentration in the water, rather than the total of alk contributing ions and then manage the total by only adding one. Learned a lot about alk this week! I love this hobby! Now off to make my students take off their shoes, and explain the syllabus! ;Joyful

Have you guys seen this?

The MindStream Monitor Measures Carbonate Alkalinity

Did you know that the MindStream Monitor measures carbonate alkalinity: the only form of alkalinity needed by your corals to grow? Total alkalinity is a measure of primarily carbonate, bicarbonate, and borate, as well as many additional ions in your water whereas carbonate alkalinity is a...

www.reef2reef.com

So, by taking out an extraneous value (hydroxide) [borates and other ions as well] we can get a much more precise and (more importantly) controllable value of alkalinity. When you want to increase alkalinity, you add Carbonate, not hydroxide ions [or other ions]. Corals are also uptaking carbonates [not uptaking directly, but used in a reduction pathway], not hydroxide ions [or other ions as far as I know]. So carbonates are really the thing shifting into the alkalinity equation [unless salt mixture changes].

Google

Search the world's information, including webpages, images, videos and more. Google has many special features to help you find exactly what you're looking for.

www.coalgeology.com

 

[reef_ranch]

Quick update on my Mindstream. Locating the unit makes a difference:

I first had it in my overflow box and was concerned that it was too turbulent. I was getting odd spikes in the salinity readings which I attributed to a random bubbles.

I moved it to my return section of my sump and my alk and CO2 readings shot up. Aha! I had placed it right next to where my calcium reactor effluent is dosed.

Last evening I moved it to the main section of my sump and now all the parameters are rock solid (so far -- its been less that 24 hours) and the alk more closely tracks my Alkatronic.

 

[ddrueckh]

Quick update on my Mindstream. Locating the unit makes a difference:

I first had it in my overflow box and was concerned that it was too turbulent. I was getting odd spikes in the salinity readings which I attributed to a random bubbles.

I moved it to my return section of my sump and my alk and CO2 readings shot up. Aha! I had placed it right next to where my calcium reactor effluent is dosed.

Last evening I moved it to the main section of my sump and now all the parameters are rock solid (so far -- its been less that 24 hours) and the alk more closely tracks my Alkatronic.

When you say “more closely tracks my Alkatronic,” how do the values compare? I don’t expect them to match but just curious. Is the value always the same distance off? Maybe it is too soon to tell that and who knows which is correct.

 

[doggydoc10]

I can’t comment on Alkatronic, but I can certainly comment about kH Director.
After 24 hrs in the tank I gotta day I am impressed. Director measures 7.4 to 7.5 and MS measures between 7.6-7.7.
So honestly I am very impressed.

I have mine placed in my display tank right before the overflow box.
So honestly no turbulence to deal with

Very very happy so far.

 

[reef_ranch]

When you say “more closely tracks my Alkatronic,” how do the values compare? I don’t expect them to match but just curious. Is the value always the same distance off? Maybe it is too soon to tell that and who knows which is correct.

They measure alk differently, the Alkatronic measures total alk, the Mindstream carbonate alk. As described elsewhere in this thread, there is no direct correlation that allows for a conversion from one to the other. The Mindstream is measuring a bit higher.

 

[Eryeal]

Anyone that was one of the original backers sent a 30% off code that you aren't going to use?

 

[mr9iron]

Thanks for sharing this with the community. I’m kind of excited about this device but already have a ton of money wrapped up in my apex.

 

[MnFish1]

Yes, you can submerge them entirely. They work just fine in the sump. But if you lose your return pump, it won't likely detect an issue whereas if it is in the tank it could show O2 going down and the temperature changing if conditions warrant, as an example.

That is a great point!!!

 

[MnFish1]

You could probably isolate it on it's own VLAN, crack the subscription feature, then just connect to the VLAN local to view stats.

I think you're misunderstanding 'the subscription feature' - from what I understand - you aren't 'booted off' or you data 'is not lost' if you stop subscribing - its just that your readings as time go on - are not as likely to be 'accurate'.

 

[Bleigh]

Thanks for sharing this with the community. I’m kind of excited about this device but already have a ton of money wrapped up in my apex.

I suspect they’ll have integration eventually. They do say something cryptic about talking with control companies. If this is a hit (which I suspect it will be), I’d imagine apex would Be actively seeking integration. But I may be wrong.

 

[doggydoc10]

Any updates on their carbonate alkalinity levels on people with MS?
According to my MS my Alk Is 7.7-7.8 and both kh Director and salifert manual kit measure approx 7.2 to 7.4. I know there is a diff between Carbonate Alkalinity and Total Alkalinity, but wondering how other MS users measure up!

 

[Darrell Brady]

I would have thought total alk would read more than carbonate alk.

 

[hart24601]

I would have thought total alk would read more than carbonate alk.

Yea it should be. That's odd.

 

[ddrueckh]

How long has yours been running? From initial reports I have seen, it seems to measure a bit high for the first day and then settle down to match other testing.

 

[doggydoc10]

Mine has been running for 5 days

 

[Macdaddynick1]

Hmm. Here’s a thought - since mindstream doesn’t require any calibration you can pretty much use it as a test kit if you have several tanks, and then place it back to your main tank.

 

[Chakluki]

Hello Everyone,
I was an original backer and just put my Mindstream in the water. Here are a few of my observations.

* My monitor is in the main tank of a Red Sea 250, right next to the overflow. Its big, but against a black backdrop not too intrusive. The only thing I don't like about the look is that the status light is pretty large and glows green/flashes when measuring. I talked to Mindstream and they said this might be configurable in an upcoming update.

* Setup was super easy. The device took about 6 hours to calibrate and it has been extremely reliable so far. The Web app is highly configurable and easy to use.

* Mg, Ca, pH, temp, salinity are all right on where my Red Sea pro or other manual testing showed. This has really made life a lot easier.

* I talked to Mindstream about the Alk. Alex is very helpful there. His suggestion was to use the manual monitor to calculate a ratio. So my MS was reading 7.0dkh, and my RedSea and Hanna tests were showing 7.8 -- so about 10% higher. (I use balling method so keep alk a bit low). As long as you dont change your salt mix, that 10% ratio should stay fairly constant and give you a good view of carbonate alk vs. total alk. Although as many here have said stability probably more important than the actual number.

* Yes, it's expensive. I had the 30% off discount so that was good, and it's 35/mo to get the new test kit. The build quality seems very high and only time will tell if the device is long lasting in a reef environment. For me, it has cleared a dining room table of test equipment (good for marriage!) and probable saves me a good hour a week. To each their own, but 35/mo is worth it to me for all that.

I think SAI have done a great job. I hope they are able to have success and keep the product going. All I need now is nitrates

 

[bam123]

To get a trident you need an apex. Together we are talking minimum of 1500 dollars and I don't need an apex for controlling my wavemaker (have tunze controller), lights (orphek has its own controller), skimmer (backup overflow turnoff monitor costs 60), or temp (backup turnoff monitor plug costs 60 bucks). Alkatronic costs 900 dollars. I don't want an auto doser. I don't want to deal with all the reagents and probes that need callibrating of the other auto testers. As for the mindstream, I am bothered by having to pay up front for a product that doesn't arrive for two months as it makes me think the company is on poor financial grounds. How do I get my money back if they go bankrupt? Just as bad, I have a useless piece of crap if they can't manufacture their discs. I don't mind the subscription service. At this point, going to do some wishful watching (unless they lower the price for early adapters).