pH probe for used pinpoint

[ReefOT]

Hi all,

I am currently assembling a calcium reactor for my 120g tank that I am slowly starting to convert from LPS to SPS. I am not super rich so I have been scouring ebay for deals. Today I just scored an American Maine Pinpoint pH controller for super cheap. From reading various posts it seems that RC followers prefer this controller hands down. The controller does not include the probe, but I would probably get a new one anyway because many have complained about inaccuracy with used probes.

My question is should I buy the American Marine Pinpoint probe or an aftermarket one? There are no name probes on ebay that will work with 4-5 different brands of controllers and sell for half the price of the Pinpoint probe ($19 vs $50 dollars). From my limited understanding about how these probes work it seems that the aftermarket should work. But then again you never know with these thing, there could be issues with getting it calibrate or something else. Does anyone have experience with using these aftermarket probes? The difference in price could be a new frag:dance:

I don't know if this is the right forum - but I figured that SPS keeper are the ones who use this equipment and would know - so my apologies in advance.

Thanks

James

 

[natsak1]

I bought a couple of cheap probes off eBay. For me, it's not worth the aggravation. They were harder to calibrate, and I didn't trust the readings. One lasted about 6 months, while another lasted a week. I have only used the replacement Pinpoint probes since then. They don't seem to have the calibration issues that I had with the cheap ones. The Pinpoint probes definitely have a better build quality. You get what you pay for.