pdxmonkeyboy Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 I think ammonia is only an inference to how fast the nitrate levels are rising..it doesn't measure fixation or other export of nitrate. I can't imagine that there salinity probe is that accurate. The apex probes are pretty high quality and they are prone to errors. My salinity readings are all over the place and I have the probe in a location with no bubbles. 400 gallons fluctuating .04 in an hour and then back again? I doubt it. The thing is that it is PRICEY for what it is. Only one stepper motor, syringe, and optical sensor. I am not complaining, I get it, but even if it was just $200 less I would be soo much more inclined to bite. Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 14 minutes ago, TheClark said: Continuous salinity monitoring is huge. How many tanks over the years have crashed due to RODI overrun or skimmer overflow? The o2 monitoring has never been available to us realistically (700 probe on apex, rumored to not be reliable, test kits are a pain and hard to read). The one thing I wish it had was nitrate, but maybe ammonia is enough to tell the tank nutrient levels? Fascinating shoot out going on... I'm amazed that nobody has come out with a simple water depth probe. They are common in commercial settings like public works and refineries. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdxmonkeyboy Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 I'm amazed that nobody has come out with a simple water depth probe. They are common in commercial settings like public works and refineries. Cough...float switch....cough. True water depth gauges are pretty pricey as they read pressure. Plus you actually need two of them. One to read water pressure the other to read atmospheric pressure to continuously calibrate the water sensor. At least that is what we do with piezometers that record ground water levels. Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 31 minutes ago, pdxmonkeyboy said: Cough...float switch....cough. True water depth gauges are pretty pricey as they read pressure. Plus you actually need two of them. One to read water pressure the other to read atmospheric pressure to continuously calibrate the water sensor. At least that is what we do with piezometers that record ground water levels. Cough...A float switch only tells you when water reaches a certain level, not the specific depth at a point in time...cough. DIY people have easily done it, including dual pressure sensors to compensate for real atmospheric pressure. I'm hoping for a consumer product that can interface with the Apex. See: https://www.designnews.com/gadget-freak/hows-your-water-level-build-wireless-depth-detector/16531323856938?fbclid=IwAR1QYQGjo1VTziyZk4Lnw_Ag0goqqQCz7fmjja84M9ZTVuHW-zdf8I4R4pQ My reason for wanting this it to automate the replacement of skimmate loss. I know the exact volume of my skimmate locker, so if I had a depth sensor I could program my DOS to add a specific volume of saltwater when my skimmate locker reaches 25%, then add more when it reaches 50%, then 75%, etc. For now I need to periodically check it and manually dump in water, or wait until it's full and by then the salinity had dropped more than I want. The Apex salinity probe is not accurate enough to be able to program against for this scenario. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted July 18, 2019 Author Share Posted July 18, 2019 10 hours ago, SuncrestReef said: Cough...A float switch only tells you when water reaches a certain level, not the specific depth at a point in time...cough. DIY people have easily done it, including dual pressure sensors to compensate for real atmospheric pressure. I'm hoping for a consumer product that can interface with the Apex. See: https://www.designnews.com/gadget-freak/hows-your-water-level-build-wireless-depth-detector/16531323856938?fbclid=IwAR1QYQGjo1VTziyZk4Lnw_Ag0goqqQCz7fmjja84M9ZTVuHW-zdf8I4R4pQ My reason for wanting this it to automate the replacement of skimmate loss. I know the exact volume of my skimmate locker, so if I had a depth sensor I could program my DOS to add a specific volume of saltwater when my skimmate locker reaches 25%, then add more when it reaches 50%, then 75%, etc. For now I need to periodically check it and manually dump in water, or wait until it's full and by then the salinity had dropped more than I want. The Apex salinity probe is not accurate enough to be able to program against for this scenario. You might be able to pull that off with multiple float switches, but they might get gunked up in a skimmate locker. Our septic uses a transponder for depth like a boat's depth finder, but I don't know if thats going to be accurate in a skimmate locker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 1 hour ago, TheClark said: Our septic uses a transponder for depth like a boat's depth finder, but I don't know if thats going to be accurate in a skimmate locker. Yeah, my guess is that you would be asking for trouble in that arrangement. Would love to see some sort of side by side comparison of these automated testing options if anyone ends up having time/access to put one together. Seems like with most things, there will be pluses and minuses for all of them. I do like the idea of the broad range of testing options but apex integration could be a real plus for people using DOS. Will be exciting to have more of these units in use by club members for some "real world" feedback. Keep us posted @TheClark 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 Here's a pretty good walkthrough of setting up the ReefBot and showing it in action: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 Here's a list of compatible test kits for the ReefBot. While it's cool that it can test many different parameters, it's too bad the number of tests before needing refilling is so low for many of them. Additionally, I'm surprised at how long each test takes! The Trident can run approximately 100 tests before needing to replace reagents, and each test takes between 10 - 20 minutes. Source: https://reefkinetics.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/43000508730-what-is-the-estimated-duration-for-each-test-brand-and-parameter- 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 6 minutes ago, SuncrestReef said: Here's a list of compatible test kits for the ReefBot. While it's cool that it can test many different parameters, it's too bad the number of tests before needing refilling is so low for many of them. Additionally, I'm surprised at how long each test takes! The Trident can run approximately 100 tests before needing to replace reagents, and each test takes between 10 - 20 minutes. That is interesting. Being familiar with some of those tests in the "by hand" mode, both the reagent consumption and time for completion are way different (higher) so would be curious as to what drives that. Probably the kind of thing that will require some direct experience with the unit and it's design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdxmonkeyboy Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 14 hours ago, SuncrestReef said: Cough...A float switch only tells you when water reaches a certain level, not the specific depth at a point in time...cough. DIY people have easily done it, including dual pressure sensors to compensate for real atmospheric pressure. I'm hoping for a consumer product that can interface with the Apex. See: https://www.designnews.com/gadget-freak/hows-your-water-level-build-wireless-depth-detector/16531323856938?fbclid=IwAR1QYQGjo1VTziyZk4Lnw_Ag0goqqQCz7fmjja84M9ZTVuHW-zdf8I4R4pQ My reason for wanting this it to automate the replacement of skimmate loss. I know the exact volume of my skimmate locker, so if I had a depth sensor I could program my DOS to add a specific volume of saltwater when my skimmate locker reaches 25%, then add more when it reaches 50%, then 75%, etc. For now I need to periodically check it and manually dump in water, or wait until it's full and by then the salinity had dropped more than I want. The Apex salinity probe is not accurate enough to be able to program against for this scenario. I think the easiest thing to do in this situation is to get the dual pressure sensors and have the atmospheric sensor download real time atmospheric data from NOAA to calibrate your atmospheric sensor. This information would upload to a data cloud for storage and subsequent analysis and then transmitted to a DIY Apex module that is programmed with open source code allowing wireless connection to a standby computer that is continually running a regression analysis that accounts for pressure differentials and the effect of water depths due to temperature fluctuations. This data is then plugged into a photogrammetry produced point cloud map of your aquarium rockwork to identify salinity changes in the display tank due to to influx of water from your sump and its flow patterns so that you can model the time for the DT salinity to reach a stasis point based on the exportation of salt water in your skimmate (you can use apex flow meters to inform the model). Once these calculations are made, a stand by peristaltic pump will dispense the appropriate amount of water based on a time weighted average calculated to minimize temporal disruptions in salinity patterns. Finally, the results of the above steps are beamed to GLONASS satellites and then relayed to your phones position to notify you that hourly additions of saltwater have been completed. BTW, you now owe me one lunch break. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 32 minutes ago, pdxmonkeyboy said: BTW, you now owe me one lunch break. I was actually wondering how long it took you to put that together... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optimusprime3605 Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 I think the easiest thing to do in this situation is to get the dual pressure sensors and have the atmospheric sensor download real time atmospheric data from NOAA to calibrate your atmospheric sensor. This information would upload to a data cloud for storage and subsequent analysis and then transmitted to a DIY Apex module that is programmed with open source code allowing wireless connection to a standby computer that is continually running a regression analysis that accounts for pressure differentials and the effect of water depths due to temperature fluctuations. This data is then plugged into a photogrammetry produced point cloud map of your aquarium rockwork to identify salinity changes in the display tank due to to influx of water from your sump and its flow patterns so that you can model the time for the DT salinity to reach a stasis point based on the exportation of salt water in your skimmate (you can use apex flow meters to inform the model). Once these calculations are made, a stand by peristaltic pump will dispense the appropriate amount of water based on a time weighted average calculated to minimize temporal disruptions in salinity patterns. Finally, the results of the above steps are beamed to GLONASS satellites and then relayed to your phones position to notify you that hourly additions of saltwater have been completed. BTW, you now owe me one lunch break. [emoji4] Again, you lost me at "I think the easiest thing to do..." [emoji39]Carry on... Sent from Atlantis 🤙 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted July 23, 2019 Author Share Posted July 23, 2019 Another one joining the fray at some point... I think waiting until Christmas might be my best bet! https://reefbuilders.com/2019/07/17/mastertronic-is-a-new-water-testing-machine-under-development/?fbclid=IwAR0W_uOmyXpkuLh3dgSVYCa3rPS0HPEV69UaLS0xHxBJoWZuM6BZu-IUIag Quote The most complimentary elements to the carbonate hardness measured by the Alkatronic include Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphate and Nitrate and this is precisely what is on the roadmap for the Mastertronic. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdxmonkeyboy Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 This will probably come to market at the same time the Moi robot cleaner does. Lol Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.