Renton's Evolution from 200 to 440 gallons

bubbaque · Nov 19, 2018

A want to see that batch of photos!

You had no issues with the alkatronic? I was watching a video with Mike Paletta and he used the KH guardian and was saying it was only good at first but then started having issues.

justingraham · Nov 19, 2018

bubbaque said:
A want to see that batch of photos!

You had no issues with the alkatronic? I was watching a video with Mike Paletta and he used the KH guardian and was saying it was only good at first but then started having issues.

I saw that there is no other info other then that I can find

Renton777 · Nov 20, 2018

I have not had any issues with the Alktronic, it has been absolutely awesome for me.

Renton777 · Nov 20, 2018

Update on the Homewrecker

Renton777 · Nov 20, 2018

One more for today because I couldn't wait to share this picture.

Red Devil

bubbaque · Nov 20, 2018

Wow, you got the multicolored polyps going on. I'm just starting to get that.

Renton777 · Nov 21, 2018

Fire Emeralds (or something like that)

Renton777 · Nov 21, 2018

Random Acro Frags ( left with the crazy yellowish green and red is the PC Rainbow, top middle is the Raspberry Limeade Hyacinthus, middle center is the Bubble Bath Unicorn)

justingraham · Nov 21, 2018

Looks Way different from my unicorn
Mine is also a frag

Pola0502ds · Nov 21, 2018

@Renton777 you mentioned that the alkatronic is not meant to be your main doser, why is that? Can it be?

I thought that was the whole point, if its low the alkatronic will dose if its high it wont dose. So since its not your main doser, does this alkatronic tell your main doser when to dose? Or do you just basically look at the results and dose manually?

To me that defeats the purpose of spending so much money on this device? If im spending $900 or so on a device i want it to test my alkalinity and make the correction for me being my main doser, for alkalinity only obviously.

Or maybe i don’t understand how its meant tk be used or how you use it.

Renton777 · Nov 21, 2018

I would say the Alkatronic is designed to be an automated Alk tester/monitor (not a doser). The fact that it will dose when the reading is below your stated range is a bonus imo. The price tag was worth it for me just as an automatic testing unit (and it has proven itself worthy of it).

You could probably use it as your stand alone doser, but I feel I have better control for tweaking levels with my apex controlling dosing pumps. You may be surprised by how much Alk fluctuates through the day and I like having Alk dosed every hour. I dont want to run the Alkatronic hourly due to reagent use, eventual wear and tear, waste water reservoir ect.

For me it has operated exactly as I had hoped. It tests, sends my phone notifications after each test of its readings, I can make any adjustments to the dosing schedule via apex remotely when needed (which is rarely needed now that I have hourly alk demand dialed in), and it quickly becomes apparent if I have run dry in the alk reservoir saving me from a multiday alk plunge.

My acros have thanked me for the steady Alk. Obviously people can get by just fine without the Alkatronic, but stable alk was a problem I would run into a few times a year due to the high alk demand of my tank and my occasionally hectic life (darn kids and wife!). I was hopeful the Alkatronic could help me and it sure has!

So those were my expectations and how I have implemented it.

Pola0502ds said:
@Renton777 you mentioned that the alkatronic is not meant to be your main doser, why is that? Can it be?

I thought that was the whole point, if its low the alkatronic will dose if its high it wont dose. So since its not your main doser, does this alkatronic tell your main doser when to dose? Or do you just basically look at the results and dose manually?

To me that defeats the purpose of spending so much money on this device? If im spending $900 or so on a device i want it to test my alkalinity and make the correction for me being my main doser, for alkalinity only obviously.

Or maybe i don’t understand how its meant tk be used or how you use it.

Pola0502ds · Nov 21, 2018

Well, that actually makes a lot of sense based on how you explained it. Thanks for responding and helping me out with that.

Where did you purchase it from, no one seems to have stock of them?

Renton777 · Nov 21, 2018

I got mine from CoralVue, but as you said, looks like they are currently out of stock.

Renton777 · Nov 21, 2018

A side note, the makers of Alkatronic were working on a dosing pump unit that works in some way with the Alkatronic. I have not followed that much and dont know where in the development stage it is now, but it was certainly interesting.