GHL KH Director or Focustronic Alkatronic

[Queen City Reefs]

Debating whether to go for the GHL KH Director or the Focustronic Alkatronic. I see the reagents the Alkatronic sold out a lot though?


So here are my thoughts? Initially I was going more for the Alkatronic but then read about the recommendation of the lines not to be longer than 3 ft? That definitely is a no go for me since I'd need to mount this on the outside of the tank and the line for pulling sample water from the sump would be about 5, maybe 6 ft. The reagent may be no more than 3 ft but waste one may be longer too. Then I am reading about noise issues. Then the device is BIG (from what I can see on videos) compared to GHL. But this one I read you can use a generic sulfuric acid from Amazon and Pay less than 2 cents per test.


I have the Trident now and like it but 100 bucks every 3 months is really getting to me. I do realize you can test 3 parameters though vs 1. I would get another Trident but I don't want or need a controller for this tank. And it doesn't work standalone. I am also a gear Junkie so at the same time would like to have a different product to try out. So if I ever got another controller, it would be the hydros one with the new power supply that's coming out.


Now on to the GHL. It looks sleek! It will fit on this specific shelf I have on the control board that I already have set up. And the main reason is that if the ION Director is EVER launched, I would want to get it and would be happy that I have the two products to look sleek stacked all on each other. But I hear that the app is clunky? Not sure how much easier or harder it would be to set up. You have to replace the heads every 12 months? How about on the Alkatronic? No notifications to your phone when it is high reading or low? Maybe I watched old videos.


Who has either of these or both? Pros and Cons on each? Would you purchase the one you have now again or would you go for the other one? Why?


Oh and when us the KH Reef Keeper Plus coming to the US? I mean this one looks small and inconspicuous, right?


I mean if the mastertronic was available, I'd probably go for that instead and but would have to do research on how long the reagents would last after I decide how often to test and cost of reagents etc etc. At the end of day. I'd rather have the one that I can spend minimum on reagents and/or replacement parts.


I know, I know. This was a lot. Thanks for reading through this and giving me your opinion.

 

[Poochaku]

Highly recommend the alkatronic if you can figure out placement closer to the tank. If not, it seems your decision is made for you? I also like how you can return the test water back to the tank. 1 less container to keep track of.

 

[paul01609]

Had ghl moved to alkatronic whish I had gone with alatronic first time round

 

[Viva'sReef]

Debating whether to go for the GHL KH Director or the Focustronic Alkatronic. I see the reagents the Alkatronic sold out a lot though?

I have the Alkatronic so natuarally I will recommend it (Since I really like it)

The reagent is dirt cheap. As you mentioned, I purchased the diluted Acid on Amazon and mix my own. Easy to mix up with 800ml acid and 200ml RO water.

It was loud, the newer ones are not as loud but still very audible if you are in the room and it's not in a cabinet. Mine is out in the open on display and I don't even notice it anymore and if I do, I still look foward to the result....every single time

I like being able to route the waste water right back into the tank also.

The Alkatronic 100% does send notifications to your phone for High/Low and all readings.

If you do go Hydros, the Alkatronic talks to it so that's another plus.

 

[Queen City Reefs]

Highly recommend the alkatronic if you can figure out placement closer to the tank. If not, it seems your decision is made for you? I also like how you can return the test water back to the tank. 1 less container to keep track of.

Thanks for your input! Any specific reason why?

 

[Queen City Reefs]

Had ghl moved to alkatronic whish I had gone with alatronic first time round

Thanks for your input! How come though?

 

[Queen City Reefs]

I have the Alkatronic so natuarally I will recommend it (Since I really like it)

The reagent is dirt cheap. As you mentioned, I purchased the diluted Acid on Amazon and mix my own. Easy to mix up with 800ml acid and 200ml RO water.

It was loud, the newer ones are not as loud but still very audible if you are in the room and it's not in a cabinet. Mine is out in the open on display and I don't even notice it anymore and if I do, I still look foward to the result....every single time

I like being able to route the waste water right back into the tank also.

The Alkatronic 100% does send notifications to your phone for High/Low and all readings.

If you do go Hydros, the Alkatronic talks to it so that's another plus.

Thanks for your input! Are you following the 3 ft sample line rule for the line that gets sample water from your tank? And do you have a link to the specific sulfuric acid you use from amazon?

 

[chema]

Actually both Alkatronic and KH Director are based on the same titration (pH measurement). You can use diluted hidrochloric acid in both
systems (0.1 N HCl with the Director) and you may return the waste sample to the tank, also (it is just acidified salt water)

 

[Queen City Reefs]

Actually both Alkatronic and KH Director are based on the same titration (pH measurement). You can use diluted hidrochloric acid in both
systems (0.1 N HCl with the Director) and you may return the waste sample to the tank, also (it is just acidified salt water)

With the diluted acid (0.1 N HCI), do I get to use it as is or am I doing the same of mixing a specific amount of RODI w/ a specific amount of that solution? If so, what is that ratio? Above someone references 4 part solution to 1 part RODI but for whatever reason, I thought that was the other way around.

 

[Borat]

Buy both! Actually 2 of each - in case one of them goes wrong...

 

[Borat]

DIY the thingstronic!

Project AlKx : DIY Alkalinity Monitor + DIY Magnetic Stirrer

Hello fellow reefers.. Following a number of successful projects this year: - DIY light bar (https://www.ultimatereef.net/threads/diy-light-bar-100w-100cm-3-channels-pwm-dimming-temperature-control-active-cooling.890640/) - Calcium reactor...

ultimatereef.net

 

[Borat]

More reliable than ever! I run 7 tests a day and it's been running like a clock since I made it!

 

[Poochaku]

Actually both Alkatronic and KH Director are based on the same titration (pH measurement). You can use diluted hidrochloric acid in both
systems (0.1 N HCl with the Director) and you may return the waste sample to the tank, also (it is just acidified salt water)

I saw that the kh director uses a blue solution for reagent. I thought that ghl recommends not returning it to your system?

 

[paul01609]

Both can run off hydrocloric acid

 

[paul01609]

Thanks for your input! How come though?

I found results inconsistent,very poor app only think I found better about ghl is was very quiet compared to alkatronic

 

[Viva'sReef]

Thanks for your input! Are you following the 3 ft sample line rule for the line that gets sample water from your tank? And do you have a link to the specific sulfuric acid you use from amazon?

My intake line is about 4ft from Alkatronic to sump. Not sure exactly what the negative effects of it being longer than 3 feet is? Perhaps its stale water in the line? Because the Probe needs to stay wet it keeps water in the beaker at all times and pumps it all back out into the tank and pulls a new sample so I dont think it's because of stale water. There might be some buffer length built into that 3ft but don't quote me on that. I get very consistant readings every time and I've bumped it down to only testing 4x per day from the 6x I started with.

Here is what I've used. I have about 2L still left of the unmixed solution after about 8 months of use.

Amazon product

 

[chema]

I saw that the kh director uses a blue solution for reagent. I thought that ghl recommends not returning it to your system?

If you perform a lot of tests daily in a small tank I guess there may be some reduction of pH. I do three tests daily in a 125 g tank and I did not observe any effect on pH when I returned the waste water to the tank. Now, the waste sample goes to a deposit but that is just to keep up with salinity.