Spin Touch Digital Water Tester
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 มี.ค. 2021
- Super quick introduction/overview of the Spin Touch FF digital water tester.
My local fish store just got one of these in to quickly and accurately test customers water for them and being a aquarium-tech-junkie, I couldn't help but test it out.
This is what I found!
Thinking about ordering one of these for my store. Thanks for the great video!
for in-store use, these things are worth their weight in gold. So quick and easy to do a full suite of testing for your customers
Marine Tech heading in the right direction - love it !! - I want one !
you bet!
Been running one of these on my personal reef for the last 5 months. So far it's been pretty reliable and fairly accurate.
yeah nice one!
@Jungle Boys where did you buy it? I can't seem to find anyone in US who sales it easily?
for $900 Id expect VERY accurate as opposed to pretty accurate. Why when you may need to bounce the readings off of a $50 Hanna unit????? Ill pass........$900 buys a KILLER UV unit.
Lucky no one is forcing you to buy one Kevin :P
WOW ... the size is unbelievable comparing to other test units out there ...
For sure
We’ve been using these at the store I work at for about 6 odd months. They are handy for sure! We have a couple of them in our service vehicles too. We also have our shop use one linked to a lap top to create customer profiles easily and send them email results.
Nice one! How have you found them over this time? Any downsides?
@@ParkersReef the biggest thing we got the supplier to do is change the readout for alk to Dkh.
Recently they had run out of the spin disks too for a month or so which annoyed a lot of our customers.
Every-now and then you get a disk that almost appears to have already been used or not recycled/cleaned properly that’ll give you a inaccurate readout meaning you’ve paid for a dud disk and have to double up using another.
But to be honest, all in all it’s been a bloody good investment on our behalf because of the time saved doing water tests and all the staff don’t have to muck around with chemical re-agents 10-20 times a day either.
I almost use it solely for water tests on my reef now for the amount of time saved.
How do you get them to change the alk reading to dkh? That would save another step for the store I work at!!
@@ParkersReef we called the company. vendart or lamotte, I can’t remember which one but one sells the product and the other does the software for it.
Awesome!
Cheers Sam
Might put one of those on my radar for future.
Would be a good addition 👌🏻
This is a nice piece of gear! 🤓
For sure!
This is awesome! Arc in Sydney do water testing using the Neptune Trident which only does alk, calcium and mag at $15 per test, which takes about 15-20 mins, so this looks like it’s definitely more convenient and faster!
That’s interesting. The trident is more meant for home use, curious how they are using it to do individual samples?
@@ParkersReef I think it’s just a stand alone unit where they just do manual test on each water sample
Interesting
They’d have to purge the lines each time?
Pretty cool! We are on our way to more and more stable reefing. I would like to see those empty slots in the disk used for double test on certain parameters to get average until they get another parameter in there. Maybe alk cal and nitrate. Seems like a little bit of wasted space. I know for me I’d still test and compare my results to this units results though. I’m silly that way. 🤪
Even with my hannas (alk phos) I do three test to get an average since you don’t need to use more reagent. 😂
Double test is a great idea!!
Nice one brotha been curious about this might bring into my shop now
yeah it's range and accuracy is great for shop use. The hardcore reefer will want more accuracy for their home use, but when needing to test bulk water samples quickly - I don't think anything beats this
Yeah looked pretty good on video
Great piece of tech - Even if it doesnt go to the nth degree of accuracy (a) Its quick and easy (b) I can see this being a useful reference check against my home test kits.
The whole "Add drops until the colour changes" thing is so prone to error / interpretation / perception, that i can see this being a really useful double check to see if anythings out of whack and needs a further "deep dive" test...
Thanks for the review.
P.S.
Interested that you're running your tank in the 7 range for Alk. I've only been up and running 6 months, but have already come to the conclusion that "correct" or "appropriate" or "best" levels for Alkalinity are just questions you don't want to ask 100 different reefers.... since you're get 101 (if not more) different answers :)
Couldn’t agree more. Especially in an environment like a shop where you are distracted very often!!
Yes, always ran my alk in the 7 range. Had more success with SPS in this range
@@ParkersReef I should have worked that out - Noob LPS / Softie like me is targeting 9 right now... I'll give you a call when I'm brave enough to dip the toe into SPS-land :)
I always aim for natural salt levels :)
Really cool!
I reckon!
My LFS uses this same tool for water testing, good to know that it's accurate! Keep up the great info 🍻
It was for me at least!
I had a nice casino pay last year and purchased a whole new Apex setup. I did grab a set of Hanna checkers, but after a few months I wish I would have just added this to my original purchase. My LFS uses this and it really is quick and convenient for over running multiple tests.
Convenience comes at a cost, but over years this would pay for itself in time saved many times over.
it is convenience exemplified! They cop a lot of hate from people who don't have them, I am yet to meet a person (myself included) who owns one that doesn't love its simplicity and speed
I would think that reefers would be wanting a precise reading for their water parameters. After all that's the whole idea of testing. I do understand that shops want quick results but shouldn't precise readings be more important? As we all know it's hard to know which testing kits give precise readings. For the price the shop spent on the unit you would be wanting to give your customers precise readings. I do like the idea of recycling the disc I am sure there would be glitches there as well. Disc not properly cleaned with left over residue from previous test. I'm sure that these glitches will eventually be sorted in the future. Great video Sam keep them coming always good to see new things popping up.
Thanks :)
That’s what I was thinking. If I’m spending $1400 on something it better be accurate lol
We have one at work and it's amazing
They’re great machines!!
We test freshwater too with it and charge customers £5 which I think isn't too bad
Dave always gets the best gear. Our next tank build might include a few trips to deer park aquarium lol
Wouldn’t be a bad way to go!
This is awesome I’ve just ordered one, that’s another time consuming part of the hobby ticked off the list, now if you can find an auto glass cleaner I’ll be set for life 😬
enjoy it! Will see what I can find for the glass cleaner :P
My lfs just got a auto glass cleaner it was pretty cool
@@jermalatkins8734 stop it, for real?
Yea they installed it on the display it's like a lil roomba or rumba however u spell it ...
@@jermalatkins8734 yeah they're about, I just don't trust them yet!
Loved the video Parker.
Great piece of gear, I just wish that us mere mortals could afford it.
I assume the Reagents are dried into the compartments and just waiting for the water and the spin?
Yeah it’s a great start though, they will only get cheaper and more accurate as time goes by.
Yes seems they have a dry reagent and a little ball bearing to mix once the water is added. Quite clever!
@@ParkersReef Very cool system, thanks for the info.
@@Dreadlk Any cheaper alternative yet??? I need one of those magical machines
We will be getting 1 at our shop.
Highly recommend - amazing for shop use
Two of my Local stores carry this. I've run test myself a few times. One store was honest enough to say it's not accurate because if you run test back to back there's variations. The other store said it's fine but likely never did that. If your testing to catch a red flag it's probably good for that.
it's not meant to be a scientific ultra precise device, it's meant to be a foolproof solution for ballpark figures. More often than not, it helps identify where people have misleading results due to improperly using their more precise devices :)
@@ParkersReef yeah.. I'd use it again myself.
Seems legit, especially for the annoying tests like calcium and mag. Would be nice if it was a bit more accurate on Phosphate though.
Yeah, in fairness - this isn’t aimed at being the most accurate kit out there - just a fast and simple kit with little to no human error
Hello
Thanks alot for your informative video very help full.
May I knew this test unit how many tests it can do and the price of it?
I do keep my fresch water shrimp in low Ph like 6 or less is there is test code to detect it.
Thanks alot for sharing your experience
Keep going will be waiting to watch
Hi Waleed. Each disk does a bunch parameters, but only once. The disks are about $7ea and the machine is a few thousand.
What are your thoughts on this for home use? I'm getting wildly different results between my Mastertronic and my Hanna checker for Nitrates and can't seem to figure out which is closest to being accurate. Would be great to have something like this running once a week to verify my results.
I have one for home use and absolutely love it. Whilst it might not offer the "resolution" of some other testers, it's ease of use and speed more than makes up for it.
Phosphates are more accurately displayed with PPB. I think I might get this tester for my pool.
Yes, parts per billion is more resolution than parts per million.
Doesn’t necessarily make it more accurate though…
Sam, is this unit available for purchase if I want to use it on my personal reef tank???
yes they are - but it is not overly suited to home use (expensive and not as accurate as the alternatives - just a lot quicker and easier)
what are your thoughts on the accuracy variance on it vs. testing with Salifert?
I find accuracy to be fantastic. Resolution is not as fine as salifert, but for the ease of use and lack of room for error, it’s a fantastic bit of gear
Hey Sam,
So this is massive!!! But I would love to know costs for the unit and cost per test and also is it able to be calibrated as some of those readings were out there... thanks for the content
It’s not really made for home use mate, your current kits have a better resolution. It is made for store use to do lots of water tests fast and easy. The device is about $2k and the disks are around $4US each
@@ParkersReef ok I get you so it’s a good quick snapshot in time for an lfs to advise rather a precision tool for an sps reef?
Spot on mate
HI COULD YOU TELL ME THE CODE FOR THE DISK YOU USE IN THIS VIDEO. I REALLY LIKE THIS TEST, NEED MORE INFO TO MAKE A DECISION. THANKS
It’s the Fish farming salt water disk:
pentairaes.com/waterlink-spintouch-fishfarming.html
@@ParkersReef Thank you so much always a pleasure to talk to you. your the best.
Cheers mate
can you use a disc lots of times. or just once
Just the once
phos has always been the issue with this thing, its been around for many years now. iv been also hearing for years they gonna make updates for the phos but never did.
yeah funny too as it is one of the tests that only needs one reagent in other kits! Still, it gives you a quick idea where things are at - not meant to be the hanna killer :P
Omg I want one for home....now I’ll just bring them down
haha yeah it is pretty cool, probably over the top for home use - but it is a life saver in the shop!
@@ParkersReef my eyes are the tester at home ...eyes and coral husbandry
Hey mate is deer park selling these units?and if so how much ..
I don’t think it is their intention, but they probably could if you’re keen
Hi Parker, do you know what the difference between Spin Touch FF and FX is? Here i only get the FX. Thx, Stefan
Yeah the FF can do the salt water discs - that is what you want :)
@@ParkersReef hi Parker, i now got the spin touch. But i m not so happy with the precision - i know you mentioned that: the PO4 values are really unusable, i get 0.2 instead of 0.027(ICP). A factor 8 off! Ok, means PO4 i must measure by hand. More annoying is: Also KH is measured 1.5 dKH too low (average). I compare to Salifert, manual tests. Do you also get such huge discrepancies for KH? Thanks for your help, Stefan
@@SB-ju4yf Hey Stefan, I find the meter consistently reads 0.4dkh lower than other test kits. You can calibrate that into the machine if you want? Also with the phosphate, I find it to be accurate - just not overly fine in resolution.
hopefully this is the future then? cheaper home versions available would be great
Would be amazing!
@@ParkersReef You may get your wish soon ;)
Do this work with fresh water aquarium aswell?
they certainly do, there are freshwater specific disks you can use
Snazzy! I like this. What is the cost per disk?
The disks cost about $4US per disk, plus postage
@@ParkersReef TY. This is really something I am going to consider. I think the mess of vials and reagents and mixing and match test brands ( Test A from ATI and Test B from redsea and Test C from Hannah) is what makes most reefers have poor testing habits. This really keeps it simple and easy and reliable. Win in my book! I guess I better start saving my lunch monies!
Haha yeah, not a cheap option but convenience costs!
@@ParkersReef that's true, but we also often go though a bunch of testing options as reefers looking for our preferred methods. You could easily spend multiple hundreds of dollars on "trying out" another test kit and still be frustrated by the results!
Very true
Do they have these in the USA? Looks like something we all could utilize ? How accurate is it ?
800-900 for equipment, discs are buck-fity for a pack of 50
yes absolutely in America. It is not as accurate as say a Hanna checker, but it's not meant to be. It's meant to be a quick way of testing critical parameters to give you an idea where the tank is at :)
When I search for it here I get different kind of disc's . For testing your swimming pool. It has 11 different tests.. also for copper, chlorine, bromine, salt .. that is why in your disc are some empty slots I guess
Yeah different disks are available for the same machine, swimming pools, freshwater aquarium and salt water aquarium. Versatile machine!
@@ParkersReef yeah. Can't find the saltwater disks here 🤷♂️😁
@@KreefAquariumhobby damn!
@@KreefAquariumhobby look for FF disks (I think it is for fish farming)
@@ParkersReef thx for the tip!
Any ideas on the price of the unit and each individual disc ?
hey Richard, I don't know for sure (as I wasn't reviewing to buy!) But I believe they are around the $2k mark and the disks cost something like $4USD plus shipping. Not the cheapest device out there, but is like another staff member in store :)
@@ParkersReef Yeah for sure looks like a cool bit of kit did some digging I saw a price of $895 for the unit not sure what that is in the uk but when you figure in you pay £600 for a kh keeper not outside of reality possibly for the serious reefer ! Awesome videos as always !
Yeah it’s more for store use, home use it’s fairly expensive and not super super high resolution
Is this the one adapted/sold by API as "Aquaspin? "
Yes
My god I need to convince the store I work at to get one..
indeed you do, game changer!
Maybe this device is actually giving the actual accurate readings.
Maybe our chemical test kits have been less accurate all the long.Kinda like how I used hydrometer's for 15 years and recently changed to a refractometer..I did see a slight difference..
For sure
Is this available in the US? I would pay $10 to save 30 minutes of testing.
You bet it is available there :)
Available, costs 3 bucks per disc once you have the equipment of course. Around $900 for tester.
What’s the cost of the device and the disks?
I don’t know on the device (wasn’t reviewing for home use!) I believe it is about $2k for the device and $4US per disk
Спасибо большое за обзор👍, можно ссылку на магазин.
Takk for at du så på, jeg håper det var til nytte!
This tester also can be used in freshwater?
Yes, there are freshwater discs available and you select the water type on the menu :)
My local pool shop uses something like this
Yeah they have fresh water ones too
@@ParkersReef Nice, pretty good system, especially if you're testing all the time, the print outs the local pool shop gives is good, has info on what and how much to add to fix each parameter etc. Be interesting to see if it's the same for the marine one.
Man I don't get it how can a machine test nitrate with one step only while hanna checker nitrate tester you need like 17000 steps. Never heard about this machine before thank you Sam
Haha I know right!!! In fairness, the hanna is much more accurate for those who need two decimal places on their nitrate ☺️
what is the unit model ?
please
Spin touch FF with salt water disk
Does this work for freshwater as well?
Yes, freshwater discs are available too!
@@ParkersReef Thanks!!
Add salinity and it would be complete.
yeah that's fair. Salinity is usually a quick test you can do while this is spinning though
Dear mr Parker reef man, do u has a discord or a facebooks or recommend ones for australia reefers ?
Do I have a what? lol
@@ParkersReef discord, it’s a chat , group type platform kinda like fb etc
@@JakeDogg-RIP ah gotcha! I spend most of my time on "Marine Aquarium Fanatics Australia" on facebook
@@ParkersReef thanks 😊🐶
How much? Available in US? How much are the cartridges?
I don’t know pricing all that well, but yes available in the US. About $1k for unit and $4 per disk
Just Google it, $900 for equipment and 30 discs are about $150. Good thing is these are already sold to other industries so there is no reef hobby markup.
How accurate is this device for nitrates and phosphates ?
Accurate enough. Not the greatest resolution for phosphate (only goes in steps of 0.1ppm) but that’s all I need.
Nitrate I find to be very comparable to Hanna nitrate
@@ParkersReef
Thanks for feedback. What levels do you keep your phos and nitrate at ?
@@TheHelicapt I like to aim for nitrates of about 5-8 and phosphate around 0.1
$1500 buckeroos! Let’s goooo!
hahahaha not cheap, especially for home use
Where can i buy it?
Google search should find it for you
You can’t use the ph for anything unless the water comes straight from a tank.
Yes true
@@ParkersReef I have told my LFS to get one but he don’t want to spend the money. But buying a dinner plate size rainbow chalice worth the same as a small car is no problem 😂
Hahahaha yeah I hear you!
I keep phos at .2. To .5. I'm at .25. Corals. Are insane. According to hanna....
perfect (Y)
A $1000 is steep when Hanna master marine is $395 and the IDip is $349.
And neither of the other two do all the tests at once in this time frame :)
You’re still looking at about 30-40 minutes to do these tests on the hanna. No idea on the idip, but I think it faded out of the spotlight for a good reason?
@@ParkersReef from what I gather the idip test parameters were just to tight. That’s been adjusted and it does give a 3 digit phosphate result. The up side Lamott did make it simple.
Yeah fair enough. I just saw lots of them for sale cheap which is never a good sign 😅 I think the reagents ran out down here which made the unit a brick
@@ParkersReef after looking into it there are 2 units 1 is API for professional in store use only and the Lamotte 1 for hobbiest. Supposedly same hardware different software. Lamotte is just a professional water test company like the Idip, pools, spas, city Ext.
DO should also be included
might not be an easy test to add
Sir
yes, how can I help?
Dammit I really wanted to buy one but the accuracy on the phosphates put me off
Accuracy is good, resolution isn’t the best. That being said, I’ve enjoyed using one in the shop so much I have bought one for home use. Great machines
Oooo love but pricey
yeah not really aimed for home use, in a store situation it is priceless!
Nice gear but nearly 2k to buy 😲
Yeah not really made for personal use. Worth its weight in gold in store though
@@ParkersReef but at that cost and costs refills the shop will start charging for tests instead of providing a free service. Handy yes but works out cheaper to have a kid working partime at weekends to do the testing and cleaning tanks when no tests needed etc
Store charges for tests anyway.
Def does not work out cheaper to hire a reliable “kid” working weekends
@@ParkersReef it is a handy machine and I would love one but for the cost of the machine and refill disk plus the cost of having to have somebody stand by the machine to ensure the customer does it correctly and ensure customer does not break it. Yes its cutting down the test times but still having the cost of a staff member monitoring it, the actual number of full tests on a busy day (usually Sat & sun) is possibly 1/4 to half tests, most will to check cycle levels or alk, mag, cal, sal rarely a complete test plus a charge to customers that some shops may charge to cover the costs. With the accuracy and affordability of other standard test kits, it works out much cheaper that way and have a part timer available to do the tests, clean tanks, serve customers when no tests are needed on busy days, learning the hobby. Thats my opinion anyway.
Fair enough mate! I can only speak to the experiences I’ve had working at my LFS not your store :)
OVER 2000 $ AND For this price he even not show useable phosphate levels,what a shame!
It’s not made to be an ultra precise tester, it’s meant to be an ultra fast and easy tester. Ideal for store use
@@SoundlessFantasy yeah fair enough. I think ya'll might be missing the target audience for this device though - it's not made for the reef enthusiast. It's made for stores to quickly check customers water for any obvious issues.
Until they can make the phos into the lower range this product will be dead on arrival in marine hobbyist.
yeah you'd think that, although in reality it isn't the case. Who actually needs the second decimal place in their phos readings? What difference does that make to your routine? I personally just know that when it says my phosphate is up to 0.2 or 0.3, it's time to change my GFO.
There is also the fact that these aren't really aimed at the home hobbyist, they're aimed at stores or commercial facilities that want results quick.
I’m not paying
that's cool, the device is not for everyone!