The latest in automated reef tank testing - Reefbot Lab!
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- čas přidán 26. 08. 2024
- I recently did a video review on the automated aquarium water tester from Reef Kinetics called the "Reefbot". Since that video, the team have been hard at work making a bunch of improvements and have now released the Reefbot Lab.
In this first part of the review, we'll unbox, setup and see how the unit works. Stay tuned for part 2 where I go over the pros and cons of it.
So how does the Reefbot Lab stack up? Is it overpriced junk, or the next 'essential' reefing bit of gear?
For more information on the Reefbot, please check out their website here:
www.reefkineti...
And for $100USD off the pre-order price, be sure to use discount code "Parkersreef"
Had mine for about 2 months now and I already can’t live without it! It is indeed the future of automated testing, with the 60ml vials I only put my hands on it once to replace the needle when it crossed the 60 tests
Great bit of gear!!
@@ParkersReef sure is! Any upcoming video about it? I like seeing other users’ feedback
@@nidaadasina4091 not anytime soon sadly, I don't have the time for videos at the moment
I am a store owner... Can advice if this can be use as Testing Station for Different Tank? Or is per one tank only?
I'm also looking for API Aquaspin & Hanna Marine Master... Any thoughts?
@@austinjt4264 sure, just insert the inlet tube to the water sample and that’s it. Can’t think of any tester better for this use. Aquaspin I don’t have a great experience with it and neither do most of people who tried it, hanna is good but a lot of work and considering you’re a store owner as well you might want a more time saving approach. I suggest you just go with the reefbot lab honestly
It looks good, lets hope it holds up to your testing. Looking forward to your update on this bud
Time will tell!
No one explains reef gadgets better than you. I like the fact that this bot uses circular motion instead of horizontal motion to reach each vials which makes the design simple and effective. I just ordered one and saved 100 using your code, thanks for that plus free shipping.
My pleasure, hope you enjoy it!!
Awesome concept, and a nice kit. Can’t wait to see the future of this and testing. Thank you for sharing
Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment :)
looks better built then last one great vid as always sam
I think so too, cheers mate!
Thanks Sam. Looking forward to the follow up. I'm sure you already plan to, but a high level comparison against alternative options on the market would be super interesting.
😎
You bet!!
Looking forward to this
Thanks mate
Love these automated tester videos... hope you give us a 6month update!
glad you enjoy them!
It looks cool! Be waiting to hear your overall thoughts , it looks expensive . Thanks Sam!
Yeah not cheap, $1300USD
Not cheap and quite big but looks a real nice piece of kit. I'm sure for the right audience this will be well received. Thanks for the video!
There is certainly a market for it!
Well, I used your discount code and pre-ordered. Total cost for unit/tax/shipping with discount code is $1,412 dollars if anyone is wondering. It says it will ship in 4 weeks, so will see.
fantastic, I am sure you will enjoy the reefbot lab!
@@ParkersReef Thanks!
I am a big admirer of you and your channel. I really enjoy your videos and find them very helpful.
I am not a big fan of manual testing not just because of it being tedious, but the inconsistency as well. I prefer automating anything I can.
My only fear with the Reefbot lab is it being over seas and getting support if needed. Hope it all works out well.
@@joshdoesreefing7241 I've found the team to be super supportive on email and the product has been much more robust than I would have expected. I'm sure you'll no doubt still have a hurdle now and then to overcome (all automations do!) but the reefbot has been a well thought out machine in my opinion
@@ParkersReef thanks for that info!
Thanks Sam . Looks great . Just what a colour blind Reefer needs. 😂
Haha true!!
That’s crazy!!!!
It’s pretty cool hey?!
Would be good to do some static testing Sam to test repeatability (precision). That is the key in our hobby.
That I can do :)
So... how's this device been working out for you long term? I'm debating switching the Trident and Trident NP for this due to additional parameter testing but would hate if it becomes a problem child that needs attention constantly and replacing/fixing stuff due to errors. Thoughts?
I haven't ran the reefbot for a while now, whilst it was a decent unit - I found the support and build quality of the mastertronic better, so I stuck with that.
In your position, I would wait for the mastertronic essential to hit the shelves. It will do the big 5: alk/cal/mag/nitrate/phosphate and use off the shelf reagents from other brands
If you had to pick only one, would you go with the Reefbot Lab or the Mastertronic? Show suggestion, maybe a head to head matchup highlighting the differences. Thanks for the videos, very informative!
I will do head to head comparisons in the follow up video on a couple weeks :)
Bigger bottles where supported by the old unit but not upon release probably why they didn’t mentioned it. But you had the needle issues on those units still. So the 60ml and deeper needle might be 4/5 times more liquid 😇.
Yeah fair enough too
Hey mate, running the KH Keeper plus atm. Wanting to automate phosphate testing at a minimum. Nitrate, calcium and magnesium would be nice.
Considering that, and your experience with these testers, would you go with;
Reefbot lab, mastertronic, or RF smart tester?
Considering a second hand reefbot at the moment, but seems like most have good things to say about mastertronic - not seen much about the reefbot
If you’re looking at those elements and you’re familiar with the reef factory suite, I’d jump on their smart tester. Phosphate on that machine is next level
Really trying to sit on my hands to see what the reef factory testers turn out to be like
Yes they have a heap of excitement around them!!
Do you need to change rodi water after each syringe clean to prevent different agent mixed in the rodi water chamber
It changes it yes
No calibration? That is pretty amazing. I wonder what the maintenance is?
time will tell, I'll keep you updated!
Are you still using the ReefBot Lab? How is it going, are you happy with it?
Yes still am, still working great, still running right alongside my mastertronic and being very comparable
Hi Parker, how is going on with the bot after 2 weeks? All ok? Thinking seriously about buying 😀
yeah working a treat! Follow up video is still about 2 weeks away, but can say it is working very well so far! If you do purchase, don't forget my discount code!
Hi Sam - are you still using this ? Any update ?
I’ve switched over to mastertronic
How’s the follow up video coming along?
It hasn’t begun, but hasn’t been forgotten either.
When is the follow up video coming out?
When I get time, could be a few weeks off at this rate
Any comments on how it’s been working? There’s some mixed reviews online
@@waynesreef9218 yeah trucking along well
Is there a shop or distributor in Australia?
Not in australia no, they ship internationally though
Thanks for another great video!
Now the main question is this new Reefbot or Mastertronic? Which do you prefer/recommend? I am planning to purchase one in the next couple months. I was planning to buy the Mastertronic as the original Reefbot had a lot of negative reviews. This new version does seem better made and now I am not sure which to go with.
I will do some head to head comparisons in the follow up. To be honest though, both are great - will just be a matter of which particular features matter more to the individual
How accurate are the test results Please advise Thank you
About as accurate as manually doing the test I find
Love the review but I have a technical question Sam. Have you run any tests using powdered components? Have been running the salifert phosphate (with instructions from the manufacturer to dilute the powder with RO/DI) - I'm assuming I do the same for calcium etc but can't find dilution instructions.....
I have not tired any powdered reagents, I actually wasn't aware you could use them!
Yeah,, that looks cool. There is no way I’m filling that many vials though. I struggle with 3 in a trident. Thanks Sam, always look forward to your channel
Glad you enjoyed it :)
Hey Sam,
Great video!
Since I am interested in the Reefbot Lab, I was wondering if you still like it.
What kind of maintenance did you do in the past months?
Are you still using the reagents that are mentioned in the initial setup video?
What reagents would you recommend?
I intend to test for Mg, Ca, NO3 and PO4.
Thanks a lot in advance.
Best regards,
Gaby.
Hey Gaby! Yeah it’s still being used and yes have stuck with the same reagents.
Maintenance wise it’s really just needles and pump hosing that needs to be swapped out now and then. Plus of course a manual test to confirm all is accurate.
@@ParkersReef
Hey Sam,
Thanks a lot!
I am looking forward to your next review updates on these devices :) .
Best regards,
Gaby.
How it’s going? Time for update :)
Going well! Update is coming soon enough :)
Hey Sam, how was your final testing/review coming along?
Slowly mate, new job has me pretty busy
Hey Sam, is there a follow up review yet?
Not yet, hopefully this week!!
@@ParkersReef nice nice nice!!!! Old Ed Smith reckoned i should opt for this instead of the SpinTouch ;p I reckon I am close to being over the line on that hahahah
@@CraigSounes very different machines. One is ideally suited to testing multiple tanks manually (but quickly). The Reefbot is more suited to testing one tank, automatically.
if just looking to do one tank - this is the go, or the mastertronic
@@ParkersReef Thanks
Sam, Ill review your review on mastertronic ;p
Br good to get your thoughts on this in comparison to the mastertronic
Will do!
Will it test potassium? I don't see it on the approved list and wondering if it's because the test doesn't clean up well or something else.
not yet no, although Reef Kinetics are adding more tests over time
Looks interesting, how does it do say the red sea **calcium** with the powder, do you have to dilute it, if so is there a reason red sea ship it dry?
Redsea magnesium doesn’t have powder solutions, i guess you mean redsea calcium, yes it works but you will have to dilute it, they have a video on their channel which says how to do so
Correct - liquid reagents only
@@nidaadasina4091 that's the ticket I got them mixed in my head my bad oops thank you
@@ParkersReef thank you :) look forward to seeing how you get on with it, seems difficult to get in the UK as I can't see a supplier over here yet
@@ParkersReef But their website says it does red sea calcium. So how???
Can this accurately test Nitrate? I picked up a Mastertronic for Nitrate and Phosphate test automation only to find out nitrate testing is highly inaccurate
All automated tritation testers for nitrate are struggling a little with the thick reagent. It needs to be shaken very strongly before putting inter vials. But otherwise it will just read a little low
@@ParkersReef Mine settles out super quick then ends up reading 10x lower than actual. Super disappointing when Nitrate was one of the two main things I wanted testing
I've been thinking of getting one of these and I'm just wondering does it suck in extra water through the intake to be sure you aren't testing stagnate water in the tubing?
sure does, that is why it requires precise length of tubing so it can purge through a couple times first
@@ParkersReef Very cool. Its well thought out then. I look forward to your follow up and review video. It's expensive but could really give reefes a leg up.
It’s a great unit! This and the mastertronic are both game changes
Thanks Sam. But how to use the ReaSea calcium test kit?
Great question, I’m using API calcium which is all liquid reagents. I think the Red Sea calcium has a powder?
@@ParkersReef The Red Sea use powder.
@@CC-fy7ur yeah then I cannot comment on how it is used!
It's a cool idea... But so many parts to break down... Also, sadly majority of the test kits it supports arnt available in North America..
Oh really? No options from Red Sea?
@@ParkersReef yes to redsea and API... but no options for iodine and my experience with api is less than favorable...
@@dc905 fair enough!
How is it vs others?better than the Mastertronic?
Pros and cons mentioned in the video :)
👍👍👍
It’s a great update!
What's the cost mate?
Probably best you didn’t ask! 😬
You seem to be first reviewer of this on CZcams - how did you manage that coup?! Any clues on if/when there will be local distribution? I’m very tempted to put in a pre-order
According to their site: At the moment, we can only ship to the continental USA
So another American only device for the time being.
Looks like $2600 plus shipping, duties etc, so I’m guessing need to put aside around $3k
And when I say tempted, I just then went ahead and ordered. My trident has developed an issue so what the heck. Am a little sceptical about the flat rate shipping $100US , BUT I GOT YOUR $100 discount. Don’t know if I’ll get a gst bill before I can pick it up, when it’ll arrive etc etc. ion well, nothing ventured nothing gained! (Hopefully to don’t pan it in your next review!!)
I do not want to use safali bottle again .
ok :)
I loathe 3d printed parts. They look shitty, feel shitty, and are weak and easily fatigued. And why did they waste time and money on that stupid future boy light bar at the top?
3D printer parts keeps the price down, but I do agree, they don’t exude quality.
The status light at the top is not difficult to implement at all, so why not?