Automatic testers for nitrate/phosphate?

[L/B Block]

Hanna’s Video:

Demo of how I do it, but I find it easier to pour out if I crease it.

Thanks for posting this. Much appreciated!

 

[rygh]

Anyone using any auto testers for nitrate and phosphates? After spilling reagent outside the tube (again) for the Hanna I am just like..ugh.

I found this online. Seems kinda pricey though!

ReefBot Lab *New Batch* - Reef Kinetics

The ReefBot Lab is the latest ReefBot model with enhanced design and features, including 12 vial slots for more testing options.

www.reefkinetics.com

I found another couple devices in development -but I can’t find the link on my phone at the moment.

I used the ReefBot. Original version.
It worked great for maybe 2 years. Lots of tests, quite repeatable, cheap reagents.
But then things started failing...
The inside was very DIY, cobbled together, and parts were bending, loosening, and so on.
I would definitely not recommend the old one.

But it does look like there is a new version, so perhaps they have fixed that.

 

[rygh]

I also don't get the philosophy of dosing N and P. Just feed more and more often. Reef beef said something recently that resonated with me. Corals eat food, not nitrates or phosphates.

As for the powders, I never had any issues with cutting along the dotted lines, folding and making a funnel out of the foil pouch. If you are losing 1-5% of the powder, I bet the results are still usefull.

If you have a strong Algae Scrubber, dosing N does seem to help. I have at times.
Two main reasons:
1) If Nitrate is too low, corals do seem to suffer.
2) Algae scrubbers remove N+P at a fixed ratio. That can end up with N=0, but P fairly large, if your food has a different ratio with higher P.
High P with low N is a recipe for Cyano.

 

[Coral reefer]

If you have a strong Algae Scrubber, dosing N does seem to help. I have at times.
Two main reasons:
1) If Nitrate is too low, corals do seem to suffer.
2) Algae scrubbers remove N+P at a fixed ratio. That can end up with N=0, but P fairly large, if your food has a different ratio with higher P.
High P with low N is a recipe for Cyano.

But why have an algae scrubber if you have to add nitrate?