I have been meaning to sit down and do this review for a long time. I didn’t want to do it to early and harp on any negative issues(or miss any) that could be fixed nor praise to early before I could really see how it operates over time. Also wanted to see how RK would handle any issues I had. I did not receive my lab for free, discounted or any of the like for my review. I didn’t even purchase it from RK directly as I bought it from another member here on Reef2Reef. I have been active and vocal in these forums, Bot’s FB group and via DMs to Hady. Also, some of this review will be opinionated and I may harp on some points that are of inconsequential to you and that is fine. I just want to get my whole experience and thoughts out so others can make an informed decision on the Bot and if it will fit into their system builds. I will also update this review more as time goes on and I have more info and experience to share.
RESEARCH
Let me start off by saying I completed exhaustive research on automated testing. I researched everything from the Trident, Mastertronics, GHL, and even the history (and fail) of Mindstream. I wanted to see all options available and make an informed decision on what I would add to my DIY ecosystem. I wanted to avoid proprietary systems as much as I could with my tank build, hence I made my own controller with Raspberry Pi. I was not keen on any of the aforementioned testers, but the Reefbot peeked my interest as it used off the shelf reagents and for the most part didn’t require anything proprietary to maintain. The exceptions to this was the needles and cloud dependency, but I will touch more on these items later.
After building my own controller and becoming familiar with the Raspberry Pi and seeing that the Bot uses one, a Pi Zero 2 W specifically, and that I am comfortable with repairing things like this should the need every arise. When I looked into the large group of reagents that could be used and I wouldn’t have to worry about an issue like early adopters of the Mindstream did. My research did find that the needles were specific to the Lab, 23g x 50mm. I did find similar needles, but most were blunt tips. In the end I knew I could acquire something that would work should the RK branded ones disappear. Also, since using this device longer I have realized a slightly longer needle would probably be better so more of the reagent can be utilized before being “empty” (for the 60ml bottles it is around 20-30ml remaining) and requires refill. In my opinion, this is a horrible over sight in the design to not be able to utilize that much reagent before needing to refill.
What was the biggest red-flag for me was the cloud dependency. Should something happen to RK like what happened to the makers of the Mindstream, then the Lab would be a $1300 paperweight. I discussed this with Hady on a couple occasions and was told even if that did happen we could use AWS (Amazon) services on our own to keep things running. This didn’t help as I would not have a right to use RK’s hosted software and functions even if they disappeared. Based of this issue and reading another members issues with failed tests (cloud issues) and overall test consistency, I held back but would follow to see how/if they corrected and improved the Bot as it had the most potential of the limited testers on the market.
PURCHASE
It wasn’t until I was offered an amazing deal from someone on the forums that recently purchased one, but ended up not needing it as they ran a FOWLR tank. They had no test issues and it was the “geek” in him that led to the impulse purchase. Along with the great price, which was less than the previous sale that included the 60ml bottles, it came with ~$500 in reagents. The deal ended up offsetting the financial risk enough to where I pulled the trigger.
PHYSICAL OVERVIEW
The overall build from the outside, while large, looks appealing to the eye and would not be unsightly in plain view except for the horribly bright LED strip that can not be controlled in any way. Supposedly on the new models this has changed. The LED's let you know the status of your Bot, i.e. Red=Offline, Green=Testing, Blue=Connected to wifi and ready. I was able to fit mine into the stand of my aquarium, but my stand also holds a 8’ 300g tank so I have a larger than normal stand. The reagent locations are marked with numbers to ensure you load them in the app correctly.
One of the biggest issues with the housing is the acrylic panels. They will fall off if you look at them wrong. They have an extended piece on the bottom that is supposed to fit into a cutout in the frame, but the problem is the part of the acrylic is to short and doesn’t really sit in the cutout. I got tired of having put 3 back on every time I took one off, so I left them all off except for the one that covers the test chamber as it seems to splash some during its test cycle.
Another big detractor, for the premium price point, is the 3D printed parts. While you can’t see them unless you are doing maintenance or are frustrated with the side panels and leave them off, but at $1300 one could expect a premium look inside and out as well. Don’t get me wrong as I have a printer and I use it for all kinds of things, and I’m not knocking the capabilities of one, but without any post processing they can look unsightly. This is just my opinion and does not affect functionality in any way. This is just something I felt needed to be pointed out for anyone researching. Additionally, the 60ml bottles stick out too far and will push against the side panels when installed., they will still go on without issue, but it can cause the panels to bulge slightly. Note, If you use the 20ml bottles you would have to refill them quite frequently with some test, namely the titration type. They are good for reagents that have a small bottle, i.e. Tropic Marin NO2/NO3 kits or JBL Iron.
Performance & App
The app is not bad, but not as good as it could be, in my opinion. While functional, it could use a overhaul for streamlining and to add customization options for personal preference. To load up the reagents and assign them to slots is pretty straightforward. Once you explore(again, lack of documentation) and find the correct place in the app, you select the test type, i.e. Calcium, and then select which brand, i.e. API. Then select which position reagent A is in, what size bottle (medium is 20ml and large is 60ml), and then repeat for any remaining reagents.
To start a manual test once you have all your reagents loaded, from your aquarium dashboard select which test you want and hit “test”, then you will have a window popup that has all the particulars and if it is one with a normal and high resolution test you can switch to one or the other.
What I would like to see done with the app is to get rid of the “Aquarium” (whatever you name it during setup, mine is 300g) and the “Reefbot Lab”. You have to switch between the two depending what you are doing. It would be nice if the two were just tabbed out at the top of the screen to jump between the different sub menus(which are at the bottom of the window). Also, I would like the ability to customize the view of the dashboard. The main dashboard has a graph that plots all your test results. You can easily filter out specific test quickly by tapping on the names in the legend. I would like to see a line that connects that data points to plot out each test’s results, at least an option to select to or not. The graphs for the individual test graphs do this and looks very clean, plus would be easier to follow/read. Sometimes I prefer the web dashboard over the app, but some thing don’t work via the webpage. One example is setting the reagent levels manually, important when you only get a partial fill.
Also, there are no guides on the App and it has things that are not so apparent on what they do or affect, such as “Safe Margins” and “Alarm History”. I’m sure the safe margins affect the graph, but there are things listed like CO2, PAR, and Current that do not make sense as to why there are even there as the Bot can not test any of those.
For the most part, my test results have been within a margin of error vs manual testing with the same reagents in the bot and versus different brands. I will get a random test every so often that fails and I don’t know why, I’ll manually start a new test and it will be fine. The exception for me has been API Calcium it has been consistently ~100 low per the Bot. By this I mean, I get a 330 result from the Bot vs a 430 from a manual test. I have verified this with two LFS. One used an API Aquaspin and the other RedSea Pro. I have also used two different API test kits, and did manual test utilizing the same reagents that were in the bot. Additionally,when I compare the test chart to the results given, it seems to pick the purple color before the blue “end point”. This only results in a 20ppm difference, still ~80 low overall. I was told there were others reporting issues with API calcium as well. Yet, in the 2-3 months that has passed I see no changes in results or feedback on the issue. There has been talk of adding an “offset” feature into the dashboard, but that was 5+ months ago and still nothing. Also, that really should only be for use when a test kit is off consistently, not the Bot returning low results.
Also, in the app there is a “Solutions” in the main menu,from what I’m told is that is for use with the RK Doser that is supposedly in-work, and if memory serves me, was mentioned as far back as 2019 and still has not come to fruition. Although, I would never want the Bot to adjust my doses based off results any ways. I would like to be able to hide it if no Doser is loaded into the app. Side note, it does not show up in the browser version of the dashboard.
There are no change logs or update notes for any changes pushed to the bots, test functions or anything. Your test, schedule or anything could start acting strange and you would not know if it was because there was an update that messed something up, or if you have a problem with your Bot. Sometimes a message will come out when a new reagent has been added, but the most popular update given, is for the Bot sales.
My biggest complaint and what initially held me back from buying the Bot, was the aforementioned cloud dependency. The Bot has a Pi W 2 and it could easily process all the testing locally and transmit results to the cloud as a backup database storage for results/settings and to submit API request for those who don’t have a local VPN into their home networks for remote usage.
Which leads me to my last point in this category...API access. When I was researching the Bot and asked a bunch of questions, one being API access. I was told they were in place, working, and others were already using them. So once the deal for my Bot came up and I got it, I applied for the API access right away, this was back in August. Myself and one other forum member applied, he was a week or two prior to my request, and from last I heard he had not received access either. When I inquired about the status, first thing I was told, was they were working hard on new products and didn’t have the resources to process the request. Not sure about AWS permissioning, but granting API access can’t take THAT much time. Especially when other companies have products with API access out of the box and don’t require personal setup. Later I was told AWS changed some things, next they were swapping from the Raspberry Pi controller in future versions (for what I don’t know) and that caused issues, but long story short I still don’t have access, which was a major selling point for me as my setup is all DIY and I want to integrate as much as I can into Home Assistant for a “one stop” for all the controls and information.
While I have been working on getting all my experience and thoughts down for this review over the past couple week and today I received word that the API system was scrapped. This is severely disappointing to me, and while I understand not many people would use or need access to APIs, but do not understand how it went from the API was there, ‘100s’ others were using it to it no longer exists, and they don’t have the resources to ‘recreate’ the APIs. I’ll admit I’m not well versed in AWS and their IoT system, but it just has me scratching my head. Also, this has caused me to question the trustworthiness of RK in general going forward.
COMPANY
The company has made an amazing product with great potential. Hady seems to be, even if it isn’t his position, the face of the company. He goes out of his way to help an assist users when they have issues. I think there would be far more negative reviews if it wasn’t for his efforts. On the flip side of this, they don’t seem to like to discuss or troubleshoot in the open and want to do it in DMs. I think it would benefit everyone to keep it public, so should someone else have a similar problem later, they can find the information, and hopefully whatever corrected the issue before. Also, it also shows the companies involvement and how they strive to help their customers, just my opinion though.
Does seem to be a lot of talk from RK about wanting to take feedback and improve things, and numerous users have provided input, but it seems almost nothing happens past that. With the exception of some physical updates (i.e. LED control) that only fix issues for future Bot sales, nothing from the app/software side to benefit everyone. Well, the exception to this is the testing and adding of new test reagents. Which is great as it opens up the door for more choices based off availability, price and personal preference. I would like to see more communication from RK on things like released updates, upcoming changes and/or additions that are in work/planned instead of just sales on the Bot Lab itself. Overall, sometimes it just seems like RK is pushing to the next sale, instead of polishing and perfecting what is already sold.
SUMMARY
Let me start off with saying, I’m overall happy with the test results and testing capabilities of the Bot. While I feel like there is room for improvement, as is the case with almost any product, but even more so at the current price point. Additionally, I feel there is significant risk should the company close it’s doors or stop supporting the Bot as without their AWS cloud service it will not function at all.
Just to reiterate, I only purchased mine because I got a very good second hand deal that has me invested at far less than half of the current price of retail, especially after accounting for all the extras that came with mine. Knowing everything I know now, would I purchase one still? For the deal I got, yes...full price no. The absolute single reason is the cloud dependency. It 100% relies on the AWS connectivity to function and with out it you won’t be able to do anything. In my personal opinion, I think these things would fly off the shelves if they didn’t depend on the cloud. The market is to niche and small, plus of that market not many will spend $1300 on an automated tester that only has a life expectancy as long as the company(in this case,a small overseas) has. To many people either got burned or saw what happened with Mindstream and will be a little gun shy to jump on board with another tester. This is only compounded by the lack of information to be found.
Bottom line is, if they don’t sale more Bot’s, they can’t afford to keep the AWS servers going and that means end of life for the Bot. Then the customers would have to hope the software can be reprogrammed to work offline, but with all the test being completed server side, all the processes would have to be built from the ground up. This goes back to this being part of a small niche market, and the pool of people who would and could tackle the project even smaller.
In the end, I hope RK is able to continue on and innovate this corner of the market and raise the bar for other companies to emulate. I think the Bot is an amazing product with a LOT of potential, and I think it could easily be the top automated tester. With it being able to use so many off the shelf reagents and free, for the most part, from proprietary requirements. They only need step up their game with integration capabilities into other controller ecosystems, but developers and users can’t help without APIs. Second, remove the cloud dependency for user piece of mind, guaranteed longevity and decreased chances of failed tests. Lastly, they need to do better to advertise and get their product seen and heard of, as 90% of the information on the Bot is here in this forum. I had only stumbled across the name when I was looking into Apex, GHL and Mastertronic. In my opinion, those three things could significantly boost their sales. Although, after seeing the lack of communication, lack of progress with development on existing products, and the API issue, I would be even more hesitant to purchase a RK product in the future. At least without seeing improvements or long term reviews. This review might seem more negative than positive, but the negatives are all things that can still be fixed and I do enjoy what the Bot is able to do for me.
PROS:
• Uses off the shelf reagents
• 12 total spots for reagents
• Numerous off the shelf reagents to chose from and more being added/tested
• Test what you want, from normal aquarium chemistry and even not so normal like Iron, Iodine and more
• Test when you want
• Test how often you want
• Create testing schedule to automate everything
• Free cloud access, can program schedule, initiate manual test and see results from. anywhere.
• Notifications for test results, when reagents are getting low, or need to replace syringes.
• Has great potential as it’s testing capabilities exceeds anything else currently on the market.
• Hady is the most active in terms of support and seems to truly care.
CONs:
• Cloud dependent. Cloud goes down or services are stopped/shutdown Bot will not. function.
• App is a little confusing when trying to navigate and could use streamlining and overall. polishing.
• API capabilities were removed
• No integration with any popular ecosystems (Apex, Hydros, etc.)
• Needles can’t reach all reagent and is “empty” at about 20-30ml remaining in a 60ml. container
• Needles are proprietary length 23g x 50mm, typical 23g needle is 40mm.
• Little to no open communication from company on anything other than product sales. (this excludes support and Hady, and is pointed at updates in general)
• Poor documentation on how to use App and explain all the features.
Does not look as “premium” as the price suggests
RESEARCH
Let me start off by saying I completed exhaustive research on automated testing. I researched everything from the Trident, Mastertronics, GHL, and even the history (and fail) of Mindstream. I wanted to see all options available and make an informed decision on what I would add to my DIY ecosystem. I wanted to avoid proprietary systems as much as I could with my tank build, hence I made my own controller with Raspberry Pi. I was not keen on any of the aforementioned testers, but the Reefbot peeked my interest as it used off the shelf reagents and for the most part didn’t require anything proprietary to maintain. The exceptions to this was the needles and cloud dependency, but I will touch more on these items later.
After building my own controller and becoming familiar with the Raspberry Pi and seeing that the Bot uses one, a Pi Zero 2 W specifically, and that I am comfortable with repairing things like this should the need every arise. When I looked into the large group of reagents that could be used and I wouldn’t have to worry about an issue like early adopters of the Mindstream did. My research did find that the needles were specific to the Lab, 23g x 50mm. I did find similar needles, but most were blunt tips. In the end I knew I could acquire something that would work should the RK branded ones disappear. Also, since using this device longer I have realized a slightly longer needle would probably be better so more of the reagent can be utilized before being “empty” (for the 60ml bottles it is around 20-30ml remaining) and requires refill. In my opinion, this is a horrible over sight in the design to not be able to utilize that much reagent before needing to refill.
What was the biggest red-flag for me was the cloud dependency. Should something happen to RK like what happened to the makers of the Mindstream, then the Lab would be a $1300 paperweight. I discussed this with Hady on a couple occasions and was told even if that did happen we could use AWS (Amazon) services on our own to keep things running. This didn’t help as I would not have a right to use RK’s hosted software and functions even if they disappeared. Based of this issue and reading another members issues with failed tests (cloud issues) and overall test consistency, I held back but would follow to see how/if they corrected and improved the Bot as it had the most potential of the limited testers on the market.
PURCHASE
It wasn’t until I was offered an amazing deal from someone on the forums that recently purchased one, but ended up not needing it as they ran a FOWLR tank. They had no test issues and it was the “geek” in him that led to the impulse purchase. Along with the great price, which was less than the previous sale that included the 60ml bottles, it came with ~$500 in reagents. The deal ended up offsetting the financial risk enough to where I pulled the trigger.
PHYSICAL OVERVIEW
The overall build from the outside, while large, looks appealing to the eye and would not be unsightly in plain view except for the horribly bright LED strip that can not be controlled in any way. Supposedly on the new models this has changed. The LED's let you know the status of your Bot, i.e. Red=Offline, Green=Testing, Blue=Connected to wifi and ready. I was able to fit mine into the stand of my aquarium, but my stand also holds a 8’ 300g tank so I have a larger than normal stand. The reagent locations are marked with numbers to ensure you load them in the app correctly.
One of the biggest issues with the housing is the acrylic panels. They will fall off if you look at them wrong. They have an extended piece on the bottom that is supposed to fit into a cutout in the frame, but the problem is the part of the acrylic is to short and doesn’t really sit in the cutout. I got tired of having put 3 back on every time I took one off, so I left them all off except for the one that covers the test chamber as it seems to splash some during its test cycle.
Another big detractor, for the premium price point, is the 3D printed parts. While you can’t see them unless you are doing maintenance or are frustrated with the side panels and leave them off, but at $1300 one could expect a premium look inside and out as well. Don’t get me wrong as I have a printer and I use it for all kinds of things, and I’m not knocking the capabilities of one, but without any post processing they can look unsightly. This is just my opinion and does not affect functionality in any way. This is just something I felt needed to be pointed out for anyone researching. Additionally, the 60ml bottles stick out too far and will push against the side panels when installed., they will still go on without issue, but it can cause the panels to bulge slightly. Note, If you use the 20ml bottles you would have to refill them quite frequently with some test, namely the titration type. They are good for reagents that have a small bottle, i.e. Tropic Marin NO2/NO3 kits or JBL Iron.
Performance & App
The app is not bad, but not as good as it could be, in my opinion. While functional, it could use a overhaul for streamlining and to add customization options for personal preference. To load up the reagents and assign them to slots is pretty straightforward. Once you explore(again, lack of documentation) and find the correct place in the app, you select the test type, i.e. Calcium, and then select which brand, i.e. API. Then select which position reagent A is in, what size bottle (medium is 20ml and large is 60ml), and then repeat for any remaining reagents.
To start a manual test once you have all your reagents loaded, from your aquarium dashboard select which test you want and hit “test”, then you will have a window popup that has all the particulars and if it is one with a normal and high resolution test you can switch to one or the other.
What I would like to see done with the app is to get rid of the “Aquarium” (whatever you name it during setup, mine is 300g) and the “Reefbot Lab”. You have to switch between the two depending what you are doing. It would be nice if the two were just tabbed out at the top of the screen to jump between the different sub menus(which are at the bottom of the window). Also, I would like the ability to customize the view of the dashboard. The main dashboard has a graph that plots all your test results. You can easily filter out specific test quickly by tapping on the names in the legend. I would like to see a line that connects that data points to plot out each test’s results, at least an option to select to or not. The graphs for the individual test graphs do this and looks very clean, plus would be easier to follow/read. Sometimes I prefer the web dashboard over the app, but some thing don’t work via the webpage. One example is setting the reagent levels manually, important when you only get a partial fill.
Also, there are no guides on the App and it has things that are not so apparent on what they do or affect, such as “Safe Margins” and “Alarm History”. I’m sure the safe margins affect the graph, but there are things listed like CO2, PAR, and Current that do not make sense as to why there are even there as the Bot can not test any of those.
For the most part, my test results have been within a margin of error vs manual testing with the same reagents in the bot and versus different brands. I will get a random test every so often that fails and I don’t know why, I’ll manually start a new test and it will be fine. The exception for me has been API Calcium it has been consistently ~100 low per the Bot. By this I mean, I get a 330 result from the Bot vs a 430 from a manual test. I have verified this with two LFS. One used an API Aquaspin and the other RedSea Pro. I have also used two different API test kits, and did manual test utilizing the same reagents that were in the bot. Additionally,when I compare the test chart to the results given, it seems to pick the purple color before the blue “end point”. This only results in a 20ppm difference, still ~80 low overall. I was told there were others reporting issues with API calcium as well. Yet, in the 2-3 months that has passed I see no changes in results or feedback on the issue. There has been talk of adding an “offset” feature into the dashboard, but that was 5+ months ago and still nothing. Also, that really should only be for use when a test kit is off consistently, not the Bot returning low results.
Also, in the app there is a “Solutions” in the main menu,from what I’m told is that is for use with the RK Doser that is supposedly in-work, and if memory serves me, was mentioned as far back as 2019 and still has not come to fruition. Although, I would never want the Bot to adjust my doses based off results any ways. I would like to be able to hide it if no Doser is loaded into the app. Side note, it does not show up in the browser version of the dashboard.
There are no change logs or update notes for any changes pushed to the bots, test functions or anything. Your test, schedule or anything could start acting strange and you would not know if it was because there was an update that messed something up, or if you have a problem with your Bot. Sometimes a message will come out when a new reagent has been added, but the most popular update given, is for the Bot sales.
My biggest complaint and what initially held me back from buying the Bot, was the aforementioned cloud dependency. The Bot has a Pi W 2 and it could easily process all the testing locally and transmit results to the cloud as a backup database storage for results/settings and to submit API request for those who don’t have a local VPN into their home networks for remote usage.
Which leads me to my last point in this category...API access. When I was researching the Bot and asked a bunch of questions, one being API access. I was told they were in place, working, and others were already using them. So once the deal for my Bot came up and I got it, I applied for the API access right away, this was back in August. Myself and one other forum member applied, he was a week or two prior to my request, and from last I heard he had not received access either. When I inquired about the status, first thing I was told, was they were working hard on new products and didn’t have the resources to process the request. Not sure about AWS permissioning, but granting API access can’t take THAT much time. Especially when other companies have products with API access out of the box and don’t require personal setup. Later I was told AWS changed some things, next they were swapping from the Raspberry Pi controller in future versions (for what I don’t know) and that caused issues, but long story short I still don’t have access, which was a major selling point for me as my setup is all DIY and I want to integrate as much as I can into Home Assistant for a “one stop” for all the controls and information.
While I have been working on getting all my experience and thoughts down for this review over the past couple week and today I received word that the API system was scrapped. This is severely disappointing to me, and while I understand not many people would use or need access to APIs, but do not understand how it went from the API was there, ‘100s’ others were using it to it no longer exists, and they don’t have the resources to ‘recreate’ the APIs. I’ll admit I’m not well versed in AWS and their IoT system, but it just has me scratching my head. Also, this has caused me to question the trustworthiness of RK in general going forward.
COMPANY
The company has made an amazing product with great potential. Hady seems to be, even if it isn’t his position, the face of the company. He goes out of his way to help an assist users when they have issues. I think there would be far more negative reviews if it wasn’t for his efforts. On the flip side of this, they don’t seem to like to discuss or troubleshoot in the open and want to do it in DMs. I think it would benefit everyone to keep it public, so should someone else have a similar problem later, they can find the information, and hopefully whatever corrected the issue before. Also, it also shows the companies involvement and how they strive to help their customers, just my opinion though.
Does seem to be a lot of talk from RK about wanting to take feedback and improve things, and numerous users have provided input, but it seems almost nothing happens past that. With the exception of some physical updates (i.e. LED control) that only fix issues for future Bot sales, nothing from the app/software side to benefit everyone. Well, the exception to this is the testing and adding of new test reagents. Which is great as it opens up the door for more choices based off availability, price and personal preference. I would like to see more communication from RK on things like released updates, upcoming changes and/or additions that are in work/planned instead of just sales on the Bot Lab itself. Overall, sometimes it just seems like RK is pushing to the next sale, instead of polishing and perfecting what is already sold.
SUMMARY
Let me start off with saying, I’m overall happy with the test results and testing capabilities of the Bot. While I feel like there is room for improvement, as is the case with almost any product, but even more so at the current price point. Additionally, I feel there is significant risk should the company close it’s doors or stop supporting the Bot as without their AWS cloud service it will not function at all.
Just to reiterate, I only purchased mine because I got a very good second hand deal that has me invested at far less than half of the current price of retail, especially after accounting for all the extras that came with mine. Knowing everything I know now, would I purchase one still? For the deal I got, yes...full price no. The absolute single reason is the cloud dependency. It 100% relies on the AWS connectivity to function and with out it you won’t be able to do anything. In my personal opinion, I think these things would fly off the shelves if they didn’t depend on the cloud. The market is to niche and small, plus of that market not many will spend $1300 on an automated tester that only has a life expectancy as long as the company(in this case,a small overseas) has. To many people either got burned or saw what happened with Mindstream and will be a little gun shy to jump on board with another tester. This is only compounded by the lack of information to be found.
Bottom line is, if they don’t sale more Bot’s, they can’t afford to keep the AWS servers going and that means end of life for the Bot. Then the customers would have to hope the software can be reprogrammed to work offline, but with all the test being completed server side, all the processes would have to be built from the ground up. This goes back to this being part of a small niche market, and the pool of people who would and could tackle the project even smaller.
In the end, I hope RK is able to continue on and innovate this corner of the market and raise the bar for other companies to emulate. I think the Bot is an amazing product with a LOT of potential, and I think it could easily be the top automated tester. With it being able to use so many off the shelf reagents and free, for the most part, from proprietary requirements. They only need step up their game with integration capabilities into other controller ecosystems, but developers and users can’t help without APIs. Second, remove the cloud dependency for user piece of mind, guaranteed longevity and decreased chances of failed tests. Lastly, they need to do better to advertise and get their product seen and heard of, as 90% of the information on the Bot is here in this forum. I had only stumbled across the name when I was looking into Apex, GHL and Mastertronic. In my opinion, those three things could significantly boost their sales. Although, after seeing the lack of communication, lack of progress with development on existing products, and the API issue, I would be even more hesitant to purchase a RK product in the future. At least without seeing improvements or long term reviews. This review might seem more negative than positive, but the negatives are all things that can still be fixed and I do enjoy what the Bot is able to do for me.
PROS:
• Uses off the shelf reagents
• 12 total spots for reagents
• Numerous off the shelf reagents to chose from and more being added/tested
• Test what you want, from normal aquarium chemistry and even not so normal like Iron, Iodine and more
• Test when you want
• Test how often you want
• Create testing schedule to automate everything
• Free cloud access, can program schedule, initiate manual test and see results from. anywhere.
• Notifications for test results, when reagents are getting low, or need to replace syringes.
• Has great potential as it’s testing capabilities exceeds anything else currently on the market.
• Hady is the most active in terms of support and seems to truly care.
CONs:
• Cloud dependent. Cloud goes down or services are stopped/shutdown Bot will not. function.
• App is a little confusing when trying to navigate and could use streamlining and overall. polishing.
• API capabilities were removed
• No integration with any popular ecosystems (Apex, Hydros, etc.)
• Needles can’t reach all reagent and is “empty” at about 20-30ml remaining in a 60ml. container
• Needles are proprietary length 23g x 50mm, typical 23g needle is 40mm.
• Little to no open communication from company on anything other than product sales. (this excludes support and Hady, and is pointed at updates in general)
• Poor documentation on how to use App and explain all the features.
Does not look as “premium” as the price suggests
