Reef Kinetics Lab Discussion

[Bruceh]

I have similar problem, tried a bunch of test kits with differant issues:
Red sea MG working decently vs red sea manual test,
red sea calcium at first agreed with manual test 500 ppm but low results after a week or 2, ie 300 vs 500 w/ manual test
api nitrate at first got 3 ppm which compared favorably with salífert manual test but this degenerated to 0 ppm over a couple weeks vs 7 ppm salífert manual test
Alkalinity I have 2 tests. Red sea and salífert.. Salífert initially made sense then degenerated red sea gave me a lower result vs salífert manual ie 5.9 vs 8.3 dkh. I tested my water at 90% concentration and got a corresponding reduction in red sea to 5.3 so maybe just need a correction factor, it would not read at lower concentrations ie 75%
I will try other kits.

Regarding red sea calcium: the component B mixed with C, loses color over a couple weeks. I added component "B" again to titrant "C" and that did the trick. I am am reading 470 which makes sense However I will eventually run out of component B.. I contacted red sea in the hope they can sell provide more of the component B indicator so I don't have to keep buying new kits. Its important to use the smaller 20 ml bottles since every couple weeks need to add more B indicator powder

 

[BeanAnimal]

I hav unplugged the unit and am going to seek a refund. I have spent now close to $1500 on test kits and reagents. Nice idea, but nowhere near stable or trustworthy. I have spent weeks and count;ess hours screwing with this thing. Not what I expected for the price. Maybe one day they will get it sorted out, but unless something drastic changes in the next few days, I am moving on.

 

[Bruceh]

I thought I would give an update.

At this point, I am unable to get consistent testing results, so I am unable to use the test results to manage my tanks both units have the same issues.

The tropic Marin Nitrate test consistently gives a result of over 20ppm Hanna shows around 2ppm consistently along with the Redsea test kit, last week the test were matching with reefbot. I don't know if it is reagents or calibration, but it just doesn't work consistently ( I have tried changing reagents).

The week before PO4 was not consistent with Hanna's results. This week it has been spot on with nothing changing it all leaves me scratching my head.

The Sailfert ALk test was fixed so it gives good results, MG is testing well, and calcium is hit or miss. The API Calcium reagents don't work due to their viscosity and the inability to mix them well with the agitator and the Red sea experimental setup is erratic, and the reagent only lasts 14 days before expiring so you throw away a lot of reagents for inaccurate/inconsistent test results.

There are some software issues. If you schedule 2 manual tests in the queue, the second test will always fail and return an error "make sure device is online" and then proceed to run the test again with the same failed result, this ties up the machine for hours and just wastes reagents and lots of RO/DI water.

The unit requires about 3L of RO/DI water a day to run just a couple of tests which is expensive and inconvenient.

With the limited # of test kits available in the USA due to the lack of Fauna Marin and Colombo test kits, you are limited in what you can test. I have a Trident already and the idea of running PO4, Nitrate, Iodine, and maybe Fe test was appealing, but I am down to PO4 and NO3 and these are not reliable enough to be of use for day-to-day management.

I know the Reefbot people are working of software solutions all the time and hopefully these issues will be resolved over time.

I have gone through over a $300 worth of reagents to date.

I share your frustration:
My current results/experience with reefbot lab:
- Red sea Magnesium hi resolution working decently vs red sea manual test,
- red sea calcium works if every couple weeks I add more component B indicator to the original titrant component C, but will run out of the indicator quickly and have to buy new kits often ie very expensive
- salífert calcium unsuccessful
- api nitrate currently not giving expected results vs salífert manual test. Ie; 0 ppm vs 7ppm.. This is not useful as I didn't catch nitrates rise over last few weeks and lost a couple of sps coral frags. Note 1st weeks results gave 3 ppm which made sense.
- Red sea alkalinity normal resolution possibly useful multiplying result by a factor of around 1.25 ish? Vs salífert manual test. (5.9 vs 7.3) couldnt measure approximately 15 % lower than this) I am not yet confident with this test so still exploring options and performing tests.
- red sea alkalinity hi resolution unsuccessful
- Phosphate I still use hanna phosphorous checker which measures in ppb
- Considering purchase of api calcium, fauna marin nitrate and an alkalinity alternative
- Would appreciate input as to who has success with which nitrate, alkalinity and nitrate kits, thanks
- note: i greatly appreciate Hady's support and hard work through all of this, and I think the unit has good potential but I have to comment that based on my experience and what I have read online, the reefbot lab is still in the beta test stage.

 

[Bruceh]

I share your frustration:
My current results/experience with reefbot lab:
- Red sea Magnesium hi resolution working decently vs red sea manual test,
- red sea calcium works if every couple weeks I add more component B indicator to the original titrant component C, but will run out of the indicator quickly and have to buy new kits often ie very expensive
- salífert calcium unsuccessful
- api nitrate currently not giving expected results vs salífert manual test. Ie; 0 ppm vs 7ppm.. This is not useful as I didn't catch nitrates rise over last few weeks and lost a couple of sps coral frags. Note 1st weeks results gave 3 ppm which made sense.
- Red sea alkalinity normal resolution possibly useful multiplying result by a factor of around 1.25 ish? Vs salífert manual test. (5.9 vs 7.3) couldnt measure approximately 15 % lower than this) I am not yet confident with this test so still exploring options and performing tests.
- red sea alkalinity hi resolution unsuccessful
- Phosphate I still use hanna phosphorous checker which measures in ppb
- Considering purchase of api calcium, fauna marin nitrate and an alkalinity alternative
- Would appreciate input as to who has success with which nitrate, alkalinity and nitrate kits, thanks
- note: i greatly appreciate Hady's support and hard work through all of this, and I think the unit has good potential but I have to comment that based on my experience and what I have read online, the reefbot lab is still in the beta test stage.

Update : My salífert high resolution alkalinity is working well now

 

[Bruceh]

Regarding red sea calcium: the component B mixed with C, loses color over a couple weeks. I added component "B" again to titrant "C" and that did the trick. I am am reading 470 which makes sense However I will eventually run out of component B.. I contacted red sea in the hope they can sell provide more of the component B indicator so I don't have to keep buying new kits. Its important to use the smaller 20 ml bottles since every couple weeks need to add more B indicator powder

My high resolution salífert alkalinity is working correctly now

 

[Bruceh]

I hav unplugged the unit and am going to seek a refund. I have spent now close to $1500 on test kits and reagents. Nice idea, but nowhere near stable or trustworthy. I have spent weeks and count;ess hours screwing with this thing. Not what I expected for the price. Maybe one day they will get it sorted out, but unless something drastic changes in the next few days, I am moving on.

Can you share any tests that have worked for you? Am seeking a nitrate and better calcium.
Salífert high res alkalinity is working for me as well as red sea magnesium either normal or hi res depending on tank concentration
Red sea calcium is good if u don't mind adding more B indicator every couple weeks

 

[reefie]

Can you share any tests that have worked for you? Am seeking a nitrate and better calcium.
Salífert high res alkalinity is working for me as well as red sea magnesium either normal or hi res depending on tank concentration
Red sea calcium is good if u don't mind adding more B indicator every couple weeks

Tropic Marin nitrate test has been working well for me and I’ve been using API Calcium which is close enough.

 

[Bruceh]

Tropic Marin nitrate test has been working well for me and I’ve been using API Calcium which is close enough.

Thanks, appreciate the reply!
I just received those kits and so far they work (I have fauna marin which is similar to tropic marin)
Ps: I think it's important that people know that not all kits work well.. It had been a long 2 months figuring this all out

 

[Bruceh]

I hav unplugged the unit and am going to seek a refund. I have spent now close to $1500 on test kits and reagents. Nice idea, but nowhere near stable or trustworthy. I have spent weeks and count;ess hours screwing with this thing. Not what I expected for the price. Maybe one day they will get it sorted out, but unless something drastic changes in the next few days, I am moving on.

 

[Bruceh]

My high resolution salífert alkalinity is working correctly now

Just installed fauna marin nitrate and api calcium.. Initial tests working. See how they hold out

 

[Browser]

Can you share with us which reagents work well ??

 

[reefie]

For me, other than the above, Red Sea ALK, MG, and Po4 have been pretty spot on. I was using Fauna Marin Po4 but it was hit or miss and went back to Red Sea. I’m still using the Neptune Trident for auto dosing but test using Reefbot from time to time to make sure it’s not drifting.

 

[Browser]

For me, other than the above, Red Sea ALK, MG, and Po4 have been pretty spot on. I was using Fauna Marin Po4 but it was hit or miss and went back to Red Sea. I’m still using the Neptune Trident for auto dosing but test using Reefbot from time to time to make sure it’s not drifting.

Thanks.

What about nitrates?

 

[reefie]

Thanks.

What about nitrates?

Tropic Marin for Nitrates and also API Calcium are my goto’s.

 

[BeanAnimal]

For me, other than the above, Red Sea ALK, MG, and Po4 have been pretty spot on. I was using Fauna Marin Po4 but it was hit or miss and went back to Red Sea. I’m still using the Neptune Trident for auto dosing but test using Reefbot from time to time to make sure it’s not drifting.

What are you checking results against? And what are you considering acceptable repeatability?

 

[reefie]

What are you checking results against? And what are you considering acceptable repeatability?

I have a hanna ulr phosphate, nitrate hr checker, and salefert alk, calcium, and mg I use to test from time to time manually if the numbers look off. They’ve been pretty close lately.

I’ve been testing phosphates nightly and it’s been pretty consistent. When my phosphate reaches .12-.16, I’ll change my GFO and that night, it’ll lower to .08-.12 then hovers around .04-.08 for about a month or so until it reaches above .12. I can usually tell from seeing the GHA starting to grow again then I’ll change the GFO again. Rinse and repeat.

 

[Mooses]

Been a few months guys. Curious how things have been with the unit since.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I took mine offline - results were not reliable in either precision or accuracy. Their only help was endless "can you recalibrate and try again, maybe you need new reagents".

 

[DatsoonDave]

Man, I just set up my Bot, and I can't even get the WiFi to work, let alone run a test to see if mine is accurate. I submitted a ticket. Says it's connected but I have flashing blue lights still.

 

[MyFirstCar]

I took mine offline - results were not reliable in either precision or accuracy. Their only help was endless "can you recalibrate and try again, maybe you need new reagents".

Honestly, I got mine about a month ago and I can see myself getting to this point. 1 in 3 Alk tests actually is readable, and when it does I don't know if I can trust the number. Really cool idea, and I think the team is working hard at it, but it needs another round of polishing.