ReefBot water tester Review

[rygh]

This is an ugly hack, but what about putting a beefier peristaltic pump like the 50 mL/min BRS pumps drawing from the waste container? Run it for X seconds (or minutes) per day to a larger waste container/drain of your choice. It won't mind sucking air, so just set it to run longer than needed. Doesn't fix the software issue, but at least you won't have to empty the container.

I like that idea. Good point about no big deal sucking air.

 

[rygh]

Well, the ReefBot stopped working.
No tests being performed. Status LED is red.
We shall see how customer support goes...

 

[sfsuphysics]

ouch.

 

[Flagg37]

Uh oh. That was short lived.

 

[jccaclimber]

We should give them some time to respond, it could well be an easy fix.

 

[rygh]

Yes, I do not expect instant response from any vendor, especially a small startup in Lebanon, where it is already Friday night.

 

[rygh]

I have to admit - I am totally hooked on automatic daily testing now.
Having it go down makes it obvious.

 

[Flagg37]

Yeah, I could see how it’s one of those things that you don’t know how much you like it until it’s gone.

 

[rygh]

FYI:
Customer support did respond quickly, on the weekend. Nice!
Seems like it is a firmware corruption problem. Need to reprogram the SD card.
Stay tuned.

 

[rygh]

Fixed. Pretty easy to reload flash.

 

[Flagg37]

Fixed. Pretty easy to reload flash.

That’s good news.

 

[rygh]

Update: Died again.
They are shipping me a new flash SD card.
Support is quick. Just not having the best luck.

 

[rygh]

Put the new SD card in ... and .... not quite fixed.
It booted up nice and ran tests, but results were all blank.
Waste was clear also, so no reagents going in.

Seems that some crud in the syringe dried out while it was down for a couple of weeks, and clogged.
Easily replaced needle, and now working again.

While annoying - the fact is that for me, all those fixes are faster and easier
than packing the machine up in a box and shipping it off to be worked on.

So:
If you are a DIY type, this product is still quite good.
If not, you do NOT want version 1 of this thing. It needs some serious refinement.

 

[sfsuphysics]

Hearing about all this makes me look forward to the new testers coming out that don't use reagents at all.

 

[rygh]

Hearing about all this makes me look forward to the new testers coming out that don't use reagents at all.

Yes, I think my plan now is to wait for version 2.0 of one of those. Reefbot should be worn out by then.
Because V1 will assuredly have problems.

 

[Coral reefer]

Which tester(s) are we talking about with no reagents?

 

[jccaclimber]

Which tester(s) are we talking about with no reagents?

The only one that comes to mind is Mindstream, but it still needs discs. Even dissolved O2 probes require frequent membrane replacement.

 

[sfsuphysics]

Which tester(s) are we talking about with no reagents?

Here are 2 that are public. And being as they both look like they use the same technology wouldn't surprise me if other companies came out with their own as well.

GHL Ion Director Monitors Calcium, Magnesium & Nitrate with NO Reagents! | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

The Ion Director by GHL is a very promising new device that brings the aquarium world one step closer to robotic reefing. GHL released the KH Director at a time when many different manufacturers were…

reefbuilders.com

 

[Coral reefer]

Oh cool, thanks. That sounds interesting. Haven’t been keeping up with reefbuilders much for awhile.

 

[rygh]

Actually, I don't think the problem is reagents.
The problem is OVER PRICED SINGLE SOURCE reagents.

The reefbot reagents are not a problem.
I just set up amazon prime to automatically ship me a cheap API test kit every 2 months.