PRESS RELEASE
Neptune Systems acquires rights to automated alkalinity monitoring
invention in their quest for the holy grail of reef keeping
Morgan Hill, October 28, 2016
For a number of years, Neptune Systems sought to crack the code and provide their customers with a
device capable of regular, automated alkalinity monitoring for marine aquariums. With this
announcement, Neptune Systems believes that they are finally on the right track with an acquisition of the
patent pending technology and methods from inventor Jim Welsh of Angwin, CA.
Importance of Alkalinity
For marine aquarium enthusiasts, and specifically those who keep living reefs, the monitoring aquarium of
alkalinity is arguably the most important thing after salinity and temperature. Without proper and stable
alkalinity, corals and other invertebrates will neither thrive nor grow. Until now, measuring alkalinity required
breaking out a test kit, counting drops, watching colors change, and looking up numbers on a chart. This
level of inconvenience meant that for most hobbyists, frequency of testing was at best twice a week.
While this may not seem to be an obvious problem, in fact, alkalinity can fluctuate dramatically in a matter
of hours, not days. Improving that frequency of alkalinity testing to twice a day would change not just the
understanding of what the aquarium needs, but enable more refined adjustment of the aquarium, using
alkalinity supplementation methods such as auto-dosing or a calcium reactor. “By far the most asked
question we get from our customers is ‘when will my Apex be able to measure alkalinity’”, said Terence
Fugazzi, Neptune Systems Vice President of sales and marketing.
Enter Jim Welsh
As an avid reef keeper, Jim had for years contemplated how to do ongoing alkalinity measurement of his
aquarium. In early 2016, Jim set himself a goal -- he would build an alkalinity monitoring device and bring it
to MACNA (Marine Aquarium Conference of North America) that same year. Jim has an extensive
background in information technology and software development. As is often the case with inventors, Jim
found himself having to expand his base of knowledge along the way. He succeeded in building the
device, and, after much testing and refinement, he put it into the hands of Richard Ross (Senior Biologist,
Steinhart Aquarium and MASNA Aquarist of the Year 2014) to test on his 300-gallon reef aquarium. Rich
recently had this to say about his experience with Jim’s invention: “This thing is dreamy. In reef keeping, the
benefits of continually monitoring alkalinity are obvious and important, but honestly we don’t yet even
know how great this could be. It opens so many doors for so much automation and stability. I have run this
prototype for a couple months and I'm blown away at its ease of use, not to mention its accuracy and
precision. No you can't have it back!”
NEPTUNE SYSTEMS ACQUIRES RIGHTS TO AUTOMATED ALKALINITY MONITORING INVENTION IN THEIR QUEST FOR THE
HOLY GRAIL OF REEF KEEPING PAGE 2
MACNA
Jim finished his project on time and made the trek to MACNA. Through private meetings, public
demonstrations, and filmed interviews, he showed that the device provided reliable, accurate and precise
alkalinity measurements of marine aquarium water. News of the device was the buzz of the event.
Jim Welsh, Neptune Systems and the path forward
After MACNA, Jim and Neptune Systems came to an agreement; Neptune Systems obtained the exclusive
rights to develop, build, and market an automated alkalinity monitoring solution based on Jim’s invention.
Terms of the agreement will not be disclosed. Jim will also work closely with Neptune Systems as a private
consultant to assist in moving the project forward. At this point there is no official product being announced
related to this technology acquisition. When/if a related product is put onto the product roadmap,
Neptune Systems may provide additional insight at that time.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Founded in 1996 in San Jose, CA, Neptune Systems is the market-leader in aquarium monitoring and
automation. Its Apex AquaController® monitoring and control system, combined with the Apex Fusion
cloud-based interface, keeps tens of thousands of aquariums running safely worldwide. In recent years,
Neptune Systems has branched out into providing other key aquarium components such as dosing systems
and water moving pumps that tightly integrate into its Apex ecosystem.
For more information go to
www.neptunesystems.com or email
pr@neptunesystems.com.
