Would you invest a grand for a KH Guardian?

[iiluisii]

This is kind of cool thought. 75% are definite no and the other 25% are maybe or yes. I was not expecting such rounded results.

This product is not for everybody and not everybody is going to be able to afford it. As they say, not everybody can afford a Lexus. But as multiple people have pointed out, it is amazing how far the hobby has come and to have an automatic KH controller in the hobby is very darn cool!

You are right this hobby has come a long way and also has come to straight jerkery. One question? How does this compare to a Lexus IS it because you are setting a high price from the beginning to make it look like a Lexus but is actually a Kia?

 

[rockworm]

If you ask 1000s of people about any products this is what you will get. And how does this classify as a luxury item. Is it because coral vue has already decided on the higher price making it seem like is luxury???

A luxury item is anything that is not necessary to survive. A hobby of any type is a luxury. Do I need an alk monitor to maintain my tank? No. Am I willing to pay the price if I consider it valuable enough to me? Yes. If the price of something is too high for you, don't buy it. Solved.

 

[iiluisii]

I expect you to say the same thing on threads where vendors here are selling photoshopped acros for 1k.

Maybe.

 

[Scott.h]

Neptune Apex has been trying to release a flowmeter for the last two years and that is build by a manufacturer for other industries. I bet it takes them at least two years maybe three to release an ALK monitor LOL

im betting by next years end on this one

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/n...mated-alkalinity-monitoring-invention.271653/

 

[iiluisii]

A luxury item is anything that is not necessary to survive. A hobby of any type is a luxury. Do I need an alk monitor to maintain my tank? No. Am I willing to pay the price if I consider it valuable enough to me? Yes. If the price of something is too high for you, don't buy it. Solved.

Lol. No one said I was going to buy it. But a question was asked and we can answer. You think is worth it and I don't think it is. What makes your opinion better? Is not just like my opinion is not better than yours. Again IMO a waste of money.

 

[rockworm]

Lol. No one said I was going to buy it. But a question was asked and we can answer. You think is worth it and I don't think it is. What makes your opinion better? Is not just like my opinion is not better than yours. Again IMO a waste of money.

Not sure where you get the idea that I said your opinion is wrong. You won't buy it at a grand. Nothing wrong with that. I might. Nothing wrong with that either. To each his own.

 

[danmhippo]

What is the margin of error on this machine? Are you 100 percent sure that the reagent will never degrade.

And for your post the answer is simple. How many times a day do you stop and look at your tank ? If you are like most reefers then you have time to use a Hana checker daily. Hell I even though my fiancé how to use the Hana checker. IMO is a waste of money for $1000 when it's only testing alkalinity.

Good question, and the answer is I don't know. The company that designed it said the accuracy is +/-0.33 dKH. I don't know if I have any test kits to verify +/- 0.33 dKH. Even if I do have it, I am probably too lazy to use it. I am not a maker of the product, so I will skip your question if the reagent will 100% not degrade. Heck, I don't know if there are any product out there that are 100% effective. Now you could even throw your phone and use like a bomb, what else can be 100% reliable? Is your car 100% reliable? How about an airplane, will it ever drop out of sky?

I don't know what is "most reefers" are like. But I am out 14 hours a day, sleeps 6 hours roughly, and would rather be a couch potato than stand by the sink jerking my hand on the test tube. And that is if I am not away on biz trips.

I probably spend less than 15 min a day in front of my tank, and if I do, I'd rather just sit there and let my head go blank.

 

[gus6464]

Lol. No one said I was going to buy it. But a question was asked and we can answer. You think is worth it and I don't think it is. What makes your opinion better? Is not just like my opinion is not better than yours. Again IMO a waste of money.

So is keeping a reef tank.

 

[Carlos@CoralVue]

You are right this hobby has come a long way and also has come to straight jerkery. One question? How does this compare to a Lexus IS it because you are setting a high price from the beginning to make it look like a Lexus but is actually a Kia?

From reading your posts I can tell that you are very passionate about the hobby. I love that! Hopefully one day (sooner than later) we at CoralVue can come out with a product that meets your standards. I look forward to having you on our corner!

Family time now!

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Why would someone recommend to throw the waste from this device to the skimmer cup. We all know skimmers overflow and if it hasn't happened it will. What happens when all the waste from this devices gets dumped in the tank?

Someone else suggested you just have a designated waste collector container that this flows into. If it were me (it won't be me at this price point, but if it were), I'd just use a vinegar jug next to my sump or somewhere close by and empty it when I empty my skimmer cup.

 

[Squamosa]

This goes against the KISS principles of reefkeeping that so many seem to advocate.

Another piece of equipment added to the already growing list just waiting to fail and don't say it won't.
Anything 'set and forget' in this hobby is just waiting to fail.

This is great for the 'elite' of reefkeeping or the sponsored!

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Guys and gals, I've had to edit out profanity/vulgarity from several posts. Please remember that this is a family-friendly forum. Keep your comments clean. Thanks.

 

[Rob's Reef]

Goodluck with your product, it's just not for me. especially at that price...

I'm saving my luxury Money for a mindstream that eliminate's Multiple tests..

 

[Sangheili]

Way more hostility in this thread then I expected, a bit disappointing seeing this from the reefing community when the vendor is simply gauging interest as I am sure they need to decide if the product is worth them carrying and support (Coralvue are not the manufacturer as I understand it).

As many have said, this is not a requirement for a successful tank. It does however in my mind greatly increase the chances of success and in detecting/mitigating failure. Those of you who dose Alk (ex: 2 part) and run SPS-heavy tanks know that the longer the time interval between checking Alkalinity, the higher the risk of an unseen catastrophe happening.

Hopefully this does not come off sounding rude or condescending (certainly not intending to) but I would also like to mention that those who have said they need calcium monitoring should research the relationship between alk/calc/mag in coral calcification, if you have not already. For most tanks, alkalinity consumption will tell you calcium and magnesium consumption. If you are dosing -balanced- two part (such as BRS/Triton/Balling) you can easily go weeks/months between testing Calcium/Magnesium. I have done it myself on 4 different systems, I almost never test Cal/Mag. It's also worth noting the margin of error (precision) on calcium test kits is quite large and even with the best kits you can get +/- 20ppm from one test to the next. These testing errors can lead to big swings and constantly trying to chase numbers which in reality may not have changed. Alkalinity tests such as the Hanna are much more precise (but not that accurate).

Priced at $1000? I would probably pass.
Priced below $600? Yes. Might buy 3 of them for our systems.

Don't need the automation, as others have mentioned thats adding a bit more risk of systems that rely on each other. It would be easy for me to monitor the results every few days and adjust my doser.

Will there be email/text alerts when levels fall out of a configured range? That would be a killer feature IMO. Seems like Apex integration could be easily achieved with the same method as the alk monitoring unit that Neptune purchased the rights to, by just having an output BNC cord that plugs into a free pH probe outlet on an Apex (or other controller for that matter).

 

[Rick.45cal]

I'm interested. The price is steep, especially if there is no way to integrate it to also dose the other two parts in the true balling method. You definitely have my attention. I'm not revealing whether I would pay $1,000+ without more information about it, and all it's consumables.

 

[danmhippo]

Someone else suggested you just have a designated waste collector container that this flows into. If it were me (it won't be me at this price point, but if it were), I'd just use a vinegar jug next to my sump or somewhere close by and empty it when I empty my skimmer cup.

I let the purge tube go right back into my tank. The testing chamber holds very little volume, I am guessing probably around 20ml.
My machine takes about 8 tests daily, that would be 160ml liquid of pH 4.0. It makes miniscule impact on my tank of 500L.

If anyone knows about titration test of typical KH test kits, you would probably have guessed what the reagent is. I have yet to see any adverse effect on my system with the reaction liquids goes back to my tank. Of course, you can let it go down the drain if anyone want to be safe.

I'd like to send a message to the maker of the KHG if they are watching this thread.............please make this unit Apex ready. I have not received any reply back on this issue yet.

 

[Robert Scott]

At this time I am most interested in "knowing" what my Alk level is when I'm away for a week or so. Not so much the dosing feature. Using APEX I can currently adjust Calcium reactor, Kalk reactor, dosers remotely IF I knew the Alk level. With a big, SPS tank Alk can change quickly if something goes wrong. As far as 1k goes...I'd probably purchase a product that delivers at market price.

 

[Robert Scott]

Another thought, with a large SPS tank, when I'm home I measure daily and adjust accordingly. I wouldn't spend a penny if I couldn't monitor/control remotely.

 

[JMLewis]

I'm in the same mindset as alot of folks have expressed. I think it's amazing, exciting, and revolutionary.

BUT... I'd rather have a device that would continually monitor my DKH and NOT dose it for me. Especially of it doesn't control my CA dosage to match.

My initial concern was that I'd have to find a way to match the CA dosage to keep my CA and ALK in balance. Which means continual CA testing to make sure the chemistry is not getting out of whack.

Most people who would purchase a unit like this already have a system in place for dosing and when they see their DKH dropping can simply increase the amount they're dosing until it stabilizes. It also give them the ability to keep using whatever 2 part they like.

For me personally it's doing too much, like others have said I'd happily pay $500 for a unit to ONLY test my DKH and let me control my dosage. Heck, 90% of the time it's the only test I do anyways, nitrates, phosphate, and CA only get tested a couple times a month but ALK for me is usually around 3 times a week.

 

[DanP-SD]

A lot of the comments in this thread start with the premise that we all have dosers already. In my experience that rarely stops reefers from buying the next shiny new toy and this definitely qualifies. A good doser can cost $400 to $600. It's hard to tell from the pics but it looks like this is a 3-channel doser with a KH monitor added. If it's made with quality motors and really works, I think a lot of us would spring for the price.

The real key is going to be the implementation-- how easy it is to use, how accurately it tests, how finished it feels on release, etc. If early reviews suggest it's a beta with obvious room for improvement in a next generation, I'll likely wait for the 2.0 version or a competitor to take it to the next level unless there's much lower intro price.