Neptune Aquatics

Apex Trident Pros and Cons

Coral reefer said:
Mastertronic? Does that mean they are adding more testing capabilities?
Click to expand...

There is a new device about to be released from Focustronic...makers of Alkatronic. It is based on a similar principle as the Reefbot..automating the testing using standard test kits. The tests must be a liquid based test kit. Nearly all of our parameters can be tested with a liquid based approach...with various vendors providing the reagents in a liquid form. The tests that Mastertronic are targeting are nitrate, phosphate, calcium, mg. I am sure there will be others as the kits are validated. The prototype has been made and they are working on it...
 
Scott Sweet said:
There is a new device about to be released from Focustronic...makers of Alkatronic. It is based on a similar principle as the Reefbot..automating the testing using standard test kits. The tests must be a liquid based test kit. Nearly all of our parameters can be tested with a liquid based approach...with various vendors providing the reagents in a liquid form. The tests that Mastertronic are targeting are nitrate, phosphate, calcium, mg. I am sure there will be others as the kits are validated. The prototype has been made and they are working on it...
Click to expand...
Awesome. The more the merrier!
 
Scott Sweet said:
There is a new device about to be released from Focustronic...makers of Alkatronic. It is based on a similar principle as the Reefbot..automating the testing using standard test kits. The tests must be a liquid based test kit. Nearly all of our parameters can be tested with a liquid based approach...with various vendors providing the reagents in a liquid form. The tests that Mastertronic are targeting are nitrate, phosphate, calcium, mg. I am sure there will be others as the kits are validated. The prototype has been made and they are working on it...
Click to expand...
I mean, I know they already have the alkatronic, but hopefully they’ll include alkalinity with those others.
 
Flagg37 said:
I mean, I know they already have the alkatronic, but hopefully they’ll include alkalinity with those others.
Click to expand...

Think you are misunderstanding. Alkalinity will remain with the Alkatronic. The Mastertronic will do the others in a different manner. The Alkatronic works by titrating a mild acid and then correlating that with a dKH measurement. The tests for Mastertronic will be using standard test kits and automating what we do manually to ensure better accuracy and consistency of any one test kit. The Mastertronic will not do alkalinity.
 
Yup, now the trend from equipment vendors is to have a dedicated kh tester since kh is the most wanted and needed, then another device to test for others.
Which I think is the right strategy from customer stand point. Kh tester is the entry to test automation in my openion. Many reefers will find themself happy with kh testing alone if they are giving the choice.
 
Last edited:
Scott Sweet said:
Think you are misunderstanding. Alkalinity will remain with the Alkatronic. The Mastertronic will do the others in a different manner. The Alkatronic works by titrating a mild acid and then correlating that with a dKH measurement. The tests for Mastertronic will be using standard test kits and automating what we do manually to ensure better accuracy and consistency of any one test kit. The Mastertronic will not do alkalinity.
Click to expand...
that down side though is that you one would still need to manually read and interpret the test. Unless the device can be calibrated to read different tests (likely not... due to variability and scalability). I would save me from dripping reagents and collecting samples but it won't save me the pain of deciding what shade goes with what numbers, and the extrapolation of results in between...

(full disclosure: I hate trying to interpret color readings... )
 
NanoCrazed said:
that down side though is that you one would still need to manually read and interpret the test. Unless the device can be calibrated to read different tests (likely not... due to variability and scalability). I would save me from dripping reagents and collecting samples but it won't save me the pain of deciding what shade goes with what numbers, and the extrapolation of results in between...

(full disclosure: I hate trying to interpret color readings... )
Click to expand...
Uh..no. I am not sure what you mean. The Mastertronic will be calibrated to work with specific brands of test kits...say Red Sea Phosphate. When you schedule a test, the device knows it has the Red Sea Phosphate test reagent in the system. It will draw the proper tank water volume, put in the reagent, exactly, mix..wait and then read the color using a colorimeter type device...similar to how Hanna does it. The result will be recorded and then provided to you on a smartphone application.

There is no manual doing of anything nor reading of anything. Does this make sense?

It is similar to the ReefBot by ReefKinetics.com. I have both the ReefBot and the Alkatronic...and anxiously awaiting for the Mastertronic. The kinds of tests the Reefbot can do is likely to be bigger than the Mastertronic upon release...but the Mastertronic will have the key ones we all want...CA, Mg, Nitrate, Phosphate.

@JVU maybe you want to do a meeting on these technologies for club members? I am a tech junkie LOL. Zoom or live...whichever makes sense :). My tank is fully automated...I do manual checks to verify, but I don't actively do many manual tests as I rely on automation/technology :).
 
ofzakaria said:
Yup, now the trend from equipment vendors is to have a dedicated kh tester since kh is the most wanted and needed, then another device to test for others.
Which I think is the right strategy from customer stand point. Kh tester is the entry to test automation in my openion. Many reefers will find themself happy with kh testing alone if they are giving the choice.
Click to expand...
Yes..you are right. Further...you want to control dosing based on the testing. I dose Core7 and it is controlled by the measured dKH of the Alkatronic with the Dosetronic :). It also adjusts the amount of dosing based on the measured dKH as it changes.
 
Scott Sweet said:
Yes..you are right. Further...you want to control dosing based on the testing. I dose Core7 and it is controlled by the measured dKH of the Alkatronic with the Dosetronic :). It also adjusts the amount of dosing based on the measured dKH as it changes.
Click to expand...
That's the way to go. I do the same using the khg for years.
 
Scott Sweet said:
Uh..no. I am not sure what you mean. The Mastertronic will be calibrated to work with specific brands of test kits...say Red Sea Phosphate. When you schedule a test, the device knows it has the Red Sea Phosphate test reagent in the system. It will draw the proper tank water volume, put in the reagent, exactly, mix..wait and then read the color using a colorimeter type device...similar to how Hanna does it. The result will be recorded and then provided to you on a smartphone application.

There is no manual doing of anything nor reading of anything. Does this make sense?

It is similar to the ReefBot by ReefKinetics.com. I have both the ReefBot and the Alkatronic...and anxiously awaiting for the Mastertronic. The kinds of tests the Reefbot can do is likely to be bigger than the Mastertronic upon release...but the Mastertronic will have the key ones we all want...CA, Mg, Nitrate, Phosphate.

@JVU maybe you want to do a meeting on these technologies for club members? I am a tech junkie LOL. Zoom or live...whichever makes sense :). My tank is fully automated...I do manual checks to verify, but I don't actively do many manual tests as I rely on automation/technology :).
Click to expand...
Aaaah.... ok. Didn't realize they would have settings for different tests. So are they going to sell calibration solution that's been fully standardized?
 
NanoCrazed said:
Aaaah.... ok. Didn't realize they would have settings for different tests. So are they going to sell calibration solution that's been fully standardized?
Click to expand...
No. You use the actual test kit. You pour the reagents in to vials that the system will use as if you were doing the test manually. The system basically does what you would do manually...just exactly the same way every time.
 
Scott Sweet said:
No. You use the actual test kit. You pour the reagents in to vials that the system will use as if you were doing the test manually. The system basically does what you would do manually...just exactly the same way every time.
Click to expand...
So my original point holds then. You get a system that performs the steps to create consistency but you would have to perform the reading visually yourself... so the device doesn't perform readings like a hanna. Correct?
 
NanoCrazed said:
So my original point holds then. You get a system that performs the steps to create consistency but you would have to perform the reading visually yourself... so the device doesn't perform readings like a hanna. Correct?
Click to expand...
No...the machine does the collecting, mixing and reading for you. You schedule with your smartphone...and when completed...view the final numbers on your phone....ie. 0.15ppm
 
Scott Sweet said:
I used to have a KHDirector. I hated the s/w. The way you get the KH Director to manage dosing is so not intuitive. I really like their dosing pumps though.
Click to expand...
Yeah I can see that happening. Setup has not been intuitive, but I think the functionality will be worth it. I need to spend some time learning it
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top