ReefKinetics reef bot experience

[Ncord]

Hello all!!

I like many saw the you tube MACANA reviews of this system and was willing to try it. I ordered my reef bot as soo. As it became available in the U.S. i wish i could tell you that this has been a great product, which it has not. It seems I might have purchased a lemon, and for the price that they ask for this product, the support and fallow through are not there. I have been plagued with calibration issues I which to much water from my tank, and Ro water over fills the chambers, resulting in water every where. I have been in contact with the manufacturer attempting to fix this, which is like trying to get child support from someone. So if you are in the market for one, BUYER BEWARE!! I have seen posts of people who are having no problems and are enjoying their purchase.

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[billdogg]

$900?

Thanks, but I can test my parameters for probably 20 years using Salifert kits and still come in under that. Sure, I only test every few weeks, but c'mon.

 

[Ncord]

I agree with you that's testing the water with one of the testing manufacturers is at times not as time consuming as we might think, however like some within our hobby, we travel for work or pleasure, I am one of them, the fact that this product can be set up to run on a schedule and keep a digital record of the tank water quality levels helps, and since it can be accessed remotely is what sold this to me, granted there are other systems that can this, the still run in the same price range, and more complex. yes this can be argued that this not a must have pice of equipment, however it takes the guesswork out of having someone test water quality, and then trying to dose Upon those results. After all, when you buy fish and coral, the ultimate goal is to have thrive and grow within our tanks.
I have been in contact with the manufacturer and have since been given trouble shooting tips to correct the issues I have been experiencing, granted I am away from my tank, I m planning on fallowing there instructions as soon as I'm able to do so. I still believe and optimistic that this manufacturer, if able to iron out some of these issues like those I m having, can help future reefers that are new to the hobby, avoid some of the costly mistakes that we have all made.


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[ReefWreak]

I didn't even know this existed... I've been patiently waiting for the Neptune Trident. This is a pretty slick device though for many tests, vs the current pack of alk-only, pH and ammonia (and a nitrate estimate based on that - seneye), or othe automated testing methods out there. This reminds me of some of the automated stations we have at work for genetic sequencing application that cost >$500,000. Really cool that they could use 3D printing and some other modern tools and technologies to make this more accessible and affordable (for what it does, this is affordable; many people have plopped down for an alkatronic, kh guardian, or kh director for process between $600-$1,000).

Give us an update once you have it up and running. It sounds like a Kickstarter project sized operation currently, so hopefully they scale up and improve their CS and consistency with volume production and roll-out time.

 

[Ncord]

Updat!

Can not be more pleased with ReefKinetics support team and Carol Harb who step by step help got my reef bot up and running! My test have been right on the money with that of manual testing. The app is user friendly once you get accustomed to it.

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[2_zoa]

So.....you went from don't buy this to it works and it's great once you get used to it..........all with in 2 weeks....
Which is it?


For 9 bills I can get a lot more.....

 

[ReefWreak]

For 9 bills I can get a lot more.....

You can get a lot more that don't automatically test your tank (though it would probably cover a year of tank maintenance, though I don't actually know the cost).

Most of the other testers out there only test one parameter for 9 bills. The Neptune one coming out tests three parameters for $600, but the upkeep looks to be somewhere on the range of $200-$250/year for the reagents.

This is an exciting development that is long overdue. I really appreciate Ncord providing an update, and even better that it's a positive one and he stuck in there to make it work out.

 

[Joe0813]

do you have to use the crappy API test kits?

 

[2_zoa]

You can get a lot more that don't automatically test your tank (though it would probably cover a year of tank maintenance, though I don't actually know the cost).

Most of the other testers out there only test one parameter for 9 bills. The Neptune one coming out tests three parameters for $600, but the upkeep looks to be somewhere on the range of $200-$250/year for the reagents.

This is an exciting development that is long overdue. I really appreciate Ncord providing an update, and even better that it's a positive one and he stuck in there to make it work out.

If he's happy then he's happy. That's what is important.

For me, a testing system that runs itself that requires a fairly precise amount of reagent to be dosed to the sample not to mention the sample size. I'll stick to manual testing. Calcium reactors, dosing pumps, tank controllers have been out a long time and they still crash tanks for various reasons. However that's not what this thread is about.

I still don't think a 2 week time frame is long enough for anyone to say that something works great directly after they had issues with it. Jeabo dosers work great for 2 weeks. The fact that calibration was the issue and water going everywhere doesn't make me want to run out and buy this product. Regardless of what kind of value based on number of tests it performs. ICP testing is cheap and can be used to reference the manual tests done in between.

I also believe that an issue these auto testers are going to have is hazing on the test vials and test results will start to sway off track. Given the test will be done without any interaction from the aquarist. The results will be tracked and everything will look just fine on the plot chart. We all know test kits go bad. We all know bad reagents exist. These systems will not be immune to these issues. Or other issues given the balance of things that have to happen every time.

I appreciate your optimism in the future and technology. That's what keeps things growing and new support businesses to open. I myself tend to fall on the backside of the bell curve. Rotary phones worked just fine in my opinion. I work on the front edge of laser welding everyday. I absolutely hate the constant glitches that I have to solve because some sensor doesn't want to read right each time. The code I have to write programs in is just dumb to me. All this technology and computers can't read common text and act on that?? It's early and I'm getting off track again.

 

[Ncord]

If he's happy then he's happy. That's what is important.



For me, a testing system that runs itself that requires a fairly precise amount of reagent to be dosed to the sample not to mention the sample size. I'll stick to manual testing. Calcium reactors, dosing pumps, tank controllers have been out a long time and they still crash tanks for various reasons. However that's not what this thread is about.



I still don't think a 2 week time frame is long enough for anyone to say that something works great directly after they had issues with it. Jeabo dosers work great for 2 weeks. The fact that calibration was the issue and water going everywhere doesn't make me want to run out and buy this product.

First, yes two weeks is not enough time to say this is great and works perfectly! I agree, but as noted I had issues with the ReefKinetics ref bot draining the calibration chamber and reaction chambers. Which I will say that despite the time difference from where they are located and we're I am in Texas, they walked me through the steps needed to get me on track, therefore I can attest to their customer support as being very supportive and friendly!

So since I have been using ReefKinetics reffbot, I can say that I have manually tested my water, and have had no difference between the test results and those that I have done manually. I have set up my bot to test once a week, weather iam home are not, iam now able to know the health of my tank. This saves time for me with my personal schedule. Okay sure the price is high, but be honest, so are the prices for other products in this hobby. Sure you can use other testing products, such as Red Seas and other as stated on the ReefKinetics web site. As to why I have been using API, that's what I had on hand and wanted use it up rather then let us set and waste away. I do plan on using other testing products once I have used up what I have on hand.

Overall I am very pleased with this product, and it has improved my ability to maintain healthy reef, I am by far no expert, nor pro at this hobby. I highly recommend this product for those you who are interested in it, for me it was money well spent. Attached is the last testing I had done.