Mate, can’t believe you didn’t check your Alk before setting up the unit even without the unit basic test especially the Alk is a must!! Great vid by the by.
I’ve got the kh plus and the reef factory 3 dosing heads - love the reef smart app. Very easy to use, and the actions from the test result have worked flawlessly
Good review as always Sam, these things are awesome once set up, little bit of maintenance now and again and it hasn’t missed a beat. The app is really good once you get into all the actions possible.
Hey Sam, once again, great video!!! I have a question though... ATM im thinking about getting a KH auto tester... wondering if you can give some infor regauding this "KH keeper plus" vs "KH guardian" which one would you choose, why??? etc etc
Glad you enjoyed it! There are a couple of qualifying questions that will help you decide. 1. Are you comfortable in accessing your router login and changing some basic network settings? If no, get the Reef factory kh keeper 2. Can you setup with either a wifi adaptor or can you run an ethernet cable to the device? If no, get the reef factory kh keeper 3. Are you happy with the device as a standalone unit, ie, is integration not important to you? If no, get the reef factory kh keeper. If you answered yes to all three questions above, get the KH Guardian. No to any of them, it's reef factory time :)
Brilliant video thank you. Out of interest, how much water from the tank does it use per test? I’m running Triton Method and I have to remove about 300ml of water per day to maintain salinity due to the dosing I’m doing, so I’m Thinking of running the surplus into a container and saving the salt water for when I’m doing tank cleans.
it does use quite a bit of tank water due to the size of the beaker in the unit. I actually return my "waste" water back to the tank and see no negative affects
@@ParkersReef Thank you for the prompt reply, not wanting to sound pedantic, but you didn’t answer my question, and I think you also missed my second point. I was just wanting to know how much is removed for a test to see if it would help reduce the amount it needed to remove from the water. I don’t want to add the water back to the tank as I have to perform water removal and let the ATO top up to stop salinity from increasing from dosing. Sorry but thought I should mention. Kind regards Dean
@@deanfielding4411 Hi Dean, sorry mate, I tried to answer your question, but must have missed the point :P I haven't measured it, but looks to be about 100ml of tank water per test. Perhaps less?
@@ParkersReef Thank you. 😊 if it’s about 100ml that might work quite well at maintaining salinity level by dumping the excess test water out of the tank as the will be a similar amount that I need to remove to maintain salinity stability.
This Reef Factory gear seems to have a pretty decent and well integrated app. I have some more videos coming of there gear which will highlight what is possible with their app :)
No, I don’t believe it will work the same for freshwater. That being said, freshwater measurement works in a similar way - so I’m sure it could be converted?
Thank you for this review. Where can I purchase this in the US? I notice that their website in your links has a version which does testing + dosing. 3 different models actually.Thank you for your time🙏
It's a great unit, I stand by it's pro's and con's against what I claim to be the industry leader in the KH Guardian. It has a much better interface and the reef factory ecosystem is amazing. However, on the downside - it certainly benefits from frequent calibration (I would recommend once a month)
How much water (incl the rinse) from the main system does each test take? Just thinking if I do 2 tests a day at 25ml (guessing) each it might be a simple case of just topping up with 350ml of salt water a week.
Hey Ron, it does use a decent amount of total tank water due to the size of the beaker. But yes, you can use a dosing pump to replace the salt water taken.
Hey sam iv just set uo my kh keeper plus but its not reading my kh properly i also noticed that the magnetic stirrer is not work could this be the problem for my wrong readings ???? Thanks for any help you can give
Looking at getting one of these for a new system I'm setting up. I like the idea of the app, but I'm thinking the reefbot is also pretty good value compared for the additional parameters. How accurate would you say the Alk value is compared to reefbot and which one would you go with for a new system?
Nice Vid I’ve been watching these for. Bit now very tempted to get one keen to hear your feedback on the dozer pump as well. Are you able to view the PH reading on the app? And frequency of ph cal and probe life?
@@ParkersReef hey mate when you do your review on this and showing other features I’m curious to know when you calibrate the PH probe does it I give you mV(millivolt) read? Also exactly how much water does it use per test including rinse? Thanks
Glad you mentioned the removal of water from the main system, effectively and gradually reducing the overall quantity five or six times a day. That was my very first though...how do you go keeping the tank levels and salinity constant when you're constantly altering the total volume? Given many folks now use auto top off, this could be seen by the ATO as evap and keep topping off with RO water only. Some sort of additional function might need to be input into the ATO to provide XXml of salt water four times a day to compensate... Or I'm just overthinking. Again 😉
Does depends on your tank volume, but yes, it will eventually impact salinity. I have heard of people setting one of the pumps up to replenish new salt water after each test which would resolve the issue :)
quite a few differences: This uses stepper motors instead of sensors to measure container volume and reagent drops. This has a much more integrated and powerful app (more to come on that in future videos) This does not dose alkalinity out of the box, requires a separate purchase
@@ParkersReef thank mate. You vidoes are like go to before i do any purchases it is not a cheap device in israel almost 1100 usd so wanted to hearyour views before i do the pruchase
quite a few differences: This uses stepper motors instead of sensors to measure container volume and reagent drops. This has a much more integrated and powerful app (more to come on that in future videos) This does not dose alkalinity out of the box, requires a separate purchase
Does this count the drops like the khg? How does it know how much reagent it is using? What if there are air bubbles in the lines, it will think it added reagent when in fact it didn't.
It does not count drops. Relies on stepper motor calibration and yep, if you draw air it will cause issues. However, it’s pretty clever, if reagent is not being added the algorithm detects it and informs you of a reagent issue. So it’s not quite as risky as it seems
comes down to what you need. I feel the KHG has some strong advantages and some disadvantages to this unit. It's cheaper and doesn't rely on dosing pump calibration as it's main points of interest. However, it's interface/app and lack of expanded ecosystem are its weaknesses.
@@ParkersReef with the lack of an app and expanded ecosystem aside, which one would be the most reliable. I'm not worried about the looks and app, I just want them to do a good job without any hiccups so I can check for kh fluctuations and be as accurate as possible.
Love my pumps, arguing with myself if i should go for the Kh keeper or the xepta autobalance. I did go for the dosing pumps because of the keeper so still leaning that way
Hi Sam great vid as always. Really interested in how the kh keeper compares to the kh guardian. I had the older kh keeper but the first gens had issues shall we say. I got a kh guardian a few weeks back just not had chance to set it up. Only bought one after seeing your review on them. So no looking forward to seeing how you feel they compare to each other buddy. Tanks looking amazing as well keep up the great vids
Oh no, what were the early issues? So far this unit has been flawless, but I do worry about stepper motor accuracy over time. Ultimately I feel the KH Guardian is a tried and tested solution but it’s interface is very dated and fairly locked in. The KH keeper app looks amazing, I’m playing with it now in preparation for the next video. I guess it comes down to what is more important to you, the ceiling is high for the KH keeper, but the KHg has runs on the board
@@ParkersReef in one day it lost WiFi 157 times stepper motors were very noisy, they run a smaller ph prob and tbh in the 5 months I ran mine it never was right compared to my and 2 other Hanna checkers tbh I work in a shop in the uk and have set a few up so not a user error but here my ppl with same prob with the older units then ones that run right tbh. The user interface face is great but I just never trusted it. I still run reef factory led bars (there version of the orphek or3’s) which are ok. Herd the new plus is better with a better ph prob and motors are a lot better but I still not keen as mine the motor that run the reagent seized up and I had to send it back to them. Loads to it but don’t want to damage there rep as mine could of been a faulty unit but seems to be a few out there still 🤔
@@ParkersReef all those earlier problems have been a thing of the past since the newer plus was developed, using new software and a full size ph probe, ive only had to clean the ph probe as a mulm can build up, on a regular basis. Ps i would turn the light off as it can aid in algae growth in the tubes which can cause variations within tests
Great review. Ordered my one the other day and can’t wait to receive it. Will keep an eye out for the review on the dosing pump to maintain the alk. Cheers Sam
I've owned the mk1 unit. And I absolutely would not use it to auto correct alk dosing.. These units do need calibration every 4 weeks. If you miss these. It'll run out and therefore not or over dose!. Personal experience.
Mmm they priced their reagent above KHG , i get about 2 months for a two hour test window out of my khg per $50 satchel. So $175 for the 1L kh keeper solution gives u 8 months at 4 hours so 4 months at 2 hours ? So $75 more per quarter at 2 hours. But........ KH keeper havent set their device to brick itself if it detects DIY reagent, unlike KHG and this may well be the reason i ditch my KHG, purely on principle. But ..... KH keeper may do the same at any point. These companies make their $$$$ on the reagent not the testing equipment.
@@ParkersReef yes it was the first model, now i just dont trust them. I have had the Alkatronic running for 2.5 years and not one single issue, only downside is the size. But as you know reliablility means more than how compact it is.
if you want to trial a real piece of junk you should try the kore 7, had nothing but trouble don't think i ever had an accurate test result out of it, spent weeks troubleshooting it, ended up sitting in the cupboard and i eventually pulled it out.
![[UNCUT] The Loyal Pin ปิ่นภักดิ์ EP.15 (2/4)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/qbHbshrA1f0/mqdefault.jpg)
Great vid, have you done a trident comparison?
I haven’t, apex is not supported in australia
Thanks Sam, another informative video!
Glad it was of use!
Nice vid. Thanks. What was PRO number 3? Looks like you cut it out.
I think you are correct, I totally missed Pro number 3! It would have been the app - it is so simple to use and incredible powerful
@@ParkersReef Thanks.
Check out part 2 of this video to see more on that, it is very powerful!
th-cam.com/video/mW7eY6OInBA/w-d-xo.html
good review as usual Parker. I have been looking into getting one of these units for the past couple of weeks.
Glad I could help mate :)
Mate, can’t believe you didn’t check your Alk before setting up the unit even without the unit basic test especially the Alk is a must!!
Great vid by the by.
hahaha lazy reefer life... I figured this would tell me my alk, (which it did, I just didn't believe it!)
Hi Parker, great review! Did you film a follow up video or is it planned? Do you still have it in use and are there any new insights?
It is coming soon, I'm actually doing a follow up on the actions you can do with the reef factory dosing pumps. It's a quality ecosystem!
I’ve got the kh plus and the reef factory 3 dosing heads - love the reef smart app. Very easy to use, and the actions from the test result have worked flawlessly
yeah just starting to get into the actions in the app now - clever bit of kit!
Good review as always Sam, these things are awesome once set up, little bit of maintenance now and again and it hasn’t missed a beat.
The app is really good once you get into all the actions possible.
Keen to sink my teeth into the app :)
@@ParkersReef its good when you get to grips with all it can do👍
Sorry i am a little confused. One part regent to nine part ro water, does it caculate bases on volume or weight? They have different density. Thanks
weight - as per instructions
Hey Sam, once again, great video!!! I have a question though... ATM im thinking about getting a KH auto tester... wondering if you can give some infor regauding this "KH keeper plus" vs "KH guardian" which one would you choose, why??? etc etc
Glad you enjoyed it! There are a couple of qualifying questions that will help you decide.
1. Are you comfortable in accessing your router login and changing some basic network settings? If no, get the Reef factory kh keeper
2. Can you setup with either a wifi adaptor or can you run an ethernet cable to the device? If no, get the reef factory kh keeper
3. Are you happy with the device as a standalone unit, ie, is integration not important to you? If no, get the reef factory kh keeper.
If you answered yes to all three questions above, get the KH Guardian. No to any of them, it's reef factory time :)
@@ParkersReef cheers mate... and thanking you very much for the extra quick reply... atm im watching your set up of the guardian...
@@murfwithjess yell out if I can help!
Nice review mate, keen to see the app as well
thanks mate, it's video is coming soon!
Hi Sam, have you done a review on the add on dosing pumps and set up yet?
Not yet - but it is coming!
Brilliant video thank you. Out of interest, how much water from the tank does it use per test? I’m running Triton Method and I have to remove about 300ml of water per day to maintain salinity due to the dosing I’m doing, so I’m Thinking of running the surplus into a container and saving the salt water for when I’m doing tank cleans.
it does use quite a bit of tank water due to the size of the beaker in the unit. I actually return my "waste" water back to the tank and see no negative affects
@@ParkersReef Thank you for the prompt reply, not wanting to sound pedantic, but you didn’t answer my question, and I think you also missed my second point. I was just wanting to know how much is removed for a test to see if it would help reduce the amount it needed to remove from the water. I don’t want to add the water back to the tank as I have to perform water removal and let the ATO top up to stop salinity from increasing from dosing.
Sorry but thought I should mention.
Kind regards
Dean
@@deanfielding4411 Hi Dean, sorry mate, I tried to answer your question, but must have missed the point :P
I haven't measured it, but looks to be about 100ml of tank water per test. Perhaps less?
@@ParkersReef Thank you. 😊 if it’s about 100ml that might work quite well at maintaining salinity level by dumping the excess test water out of the tank as the will be a similar amount that I need to remove to maintain salinity stability.
@@deanfielding4411 you could dial the number of tests you do a day into the amount of water you need to take out :D
Where did you get the au power boards?
they come with a cade tank. But you can also buy them direct from Cade
Love my reef tech and my app that I can control everything from even when I’m not home . 👍
This Reef Factory gear seems to have a pretty decent and well integrated app. I have some more videos coming of there gear which will highlight what is possible with their app :)
Can I use these products for fresh water testing?
No, I don’t believe it will work the same for freshwater.
That being said, freshwater measurement works in a similar way - so I’m sure it could be converted?
Thank you for this review. Where can I purchase this in the US? I notice that their website in your links has a version which does testing + dosing. 3 different models actually.Thank you for your time🙏
I don't think it is quite out in the states yet, but have a planned release soon!
@@ParkersReef thank you!
Hi Sam, after 5months how do you rate the unit would you purchase again? Or step back to a different unit?
It's a great unit, I stand by it's pro's and con's against what I claim to be the industry leader in the KH Guardian. It has a much better interface and the reef factory ecosystem is amazing. However, on the downside - it certainly benefits from frequent calibration (I would recommend once a month)
@@ParkersReef awesome, thanks for the reply!
Anytime!
Hi Sam, great video as usual, has the dosing follow up video been released yet?
Not yet - am working on it now with the tripple dosing pump. The actions are amazing!
How much water (incl the rinse) from the main system does each test take? Just thinking if I do 2 tests a day at 25ml (guessing) each it might be a simple case of just topping up with 350ml of salt water a week.
Hey Ron, it does use a decent amount of total tank water due to the size of the beaker. But yes, you can use a dosing pump to replace the salt water taken.
Hey sam iv just set uo my kh keeper plus but its not reading my kh properly i also noticed that the magnetic stirrer is not work could this be the problem for my wrong readings ???? Thanks for any help you can give
yes you will need the magnetic stirrer to work to get accurate results. Not sure why it wouldn't be working?
Looking at getting one of these for a new system I'm setting up. I like the idea of the app, but I'm thinking the reefbot is also pretty good value compared for the additional parameters. How accurate would you say the Alk value is compared to reefbot and which one would you go with for a new system?
The reefbot is great, but reagent wise it is much more expensive than a dedicated alk tester
I wonder how this will compare vs the Alkatronic…
Both seem like great units with lots of options in the ecosystem
@@ParkersReef thank you! Your videos are really insightful.
Nice Vid I’ve been watching these for. Bit now very tempted to get one keen to hear your feedback on the dozer pump as well. Are you able to view the PH reading on the app? And frequency of ph cal and probe life?
You can, however, I never trust ph readings from alk testers. They always read a little low due to handling acidic reagents
@@ParkersReef hey mate when you do your review on this and showing other features I’m curious to know when you calibrate the PH probe does it I give you mV(millivolt) read?
Also exactly how much water does it use per test including rinse?
Thanks
Glad you mentioned the removal of water from the main system, effectively and gradually reducing the overall quantity five or six times a day. That was my very first though...how do you go keeping the tank levels and salinity constant when you're constantly altering the total volume? Given many folks now use auto top off, this could be seen by the ATO as evap and keep topping off with RO water only. Some sort of additional function might need to be input into the ATO to provide XXml of salt water four times a day to compensate...
Or I'm just overthinking. Again 😉
Does depends on your tank volume, but yes, it will eventually impact salinity. I have heard of people setting one of the pumps up to replenish new salt water after each test which would resolve the issue :)
what the difference between this device and Kh gaurdian on the market, also did you setup a waste container and which one did you use out of mind.
quite a few differences:
This uses stepper motors instead of sensors to measure container volume and reagent drops.
This has a much more integrated and powerful app (more to come on that in future videos)
This does not dose alkalinity out of the box, requires a separate purchase
Thanks.
So far finding the KHG very good. Yes it doesn't have a App but it seems very reliable and has been around for some time.
Any chance to get a xepta in and test that?? 😏
Would love to try a xepta!!
Sam did you do another video an did hou add the doser?!?!
I haven't yet - but I will be soon!!!
@@ParkersReef thank mate. You vidoes are like go to before i do any purchases it is not a cheap device in israel almost 1100 usd so wanted to hearyour views before i do the pruchase
Totally understandable mate. Hopefully have that video ready to go next week 🤞🏻
@@ParkersReef thanks mate
How does this compare to KH Guardian?
quite a few differences:
This uses stepper motors instead of sensors to measure container volume and reagent drops.
This has a much more integrated and powerful app (more to come on that in future videos)
This does not dose alkalinity out of the box, requires a separate purchase
nice video.. do you know if this is available in the usa ?
I do not I am afraid
Does this count the drops like the khg? How does it know how much reagent it is using? What if there are air bubbles in the lines, it will think it added reagent when in fact it didn't.
It does not count drops. Relies on stepper motor calibration and yep, if you draw air it will cause issues.
However, it’s pretty clever, if reagent is not being added the algorithm detects it and informs you of a reagent issue.
So it’s not quite as risky as it seems
@@ParkersReefwhich one do you recommend
comes down to what you need. I feel the KHG has some strong advantages and some disadvantages to this unit. It's cheaper and doesn't rely on dosing pump calibration as it's main points of interest. However, it's interface/app and lack of expanded ecosystem are its weaknesses.
@@ParkersReef with the lack of an app and expanded ecosystem aside, which one would be the most reliable. I'm not worried about the looks and app, I just want them to do a good job without any hiccups so I can check for kh fluctuations and be as accurate as possible.
Would you also consider the model above this which has three dosing pumps for KH, calcium and magnesium?
for dosing - it depends on your needs. I will have both in the review coming soon
Love my pumps, arguing with myself if i should go for the Kh keeper or the xepta autobalance. I did go for the dosing pumps because of the keeper so still leaning that way
I’m keen to try a Xepta too! I’ve been very impressed with the app and ecosystem integration of these units. Future is bright for reef factory
The xepta autobalance is great!!! I have one and love it, it’s very accurate and quiet
Hi Sam great vid as always. Really interested in how the kh keeper compares to the kh guardian. I had the older kh keeper but the first gens had issues shall we say. I got a kh guardian a few weeks back just not had chance to set it up. Only bought one after seeing your review on them. So no looking forward to seeing how you feel they compare to each other buddy. Tanks looking amazing as well keep up the great vids
Oh no, what were the early issues? So far this unit has been flawless, but I do worry about stepper motor accuracy over time.
Ultimately I feel the KH Guardian is a tried and tested solution but it’s interface is very dated and fairly locked in.
The KH keeper app looks amazing, I’m playing with it now in preparation for the next video.
I guess it comes down to what is more important to you, the ceiling is high for the KH keeper, but the KHg has runs on the board
@@ParkersReef in one day it lost WiFi 157 times stepper motors were very noisy, they run a smaller ph prob and tbh in the 5 months I ran mine it never was right compared to my and 2 other Hanna checkers tbh I work in a shop in the uk and have set a few up so not a user error but here my ppl with same prob with the older units then ones that run right tbh. The user interface face is great but I just never trusted it. I still run reef factory led bars (there version of the orphek or3’s) which are ok. Herd the new plus is better with a better ph prob and motors are a lot better but I still not keen as mine the motor that run the reagent seized up and I had to send it back to them. Loads to it but don’t want to damage there rep as mine could of been a faulty unit but seems to be a few out there still 🤔
Interesting - will keep an eye on it!!
@@ParkersReef all those earlier problems have been a thing of the past since the newer plus was developed, using new software and a full size ph probe, ive only had to clean the ph probe as a mulm can build up, on a regular basis. Ps i would turn the light off as it can aid in algae growth in the tubes which can cause variations within tests
Great review. Ordered my one the other day and can’t wait to receive it. Will keep an eye out for the review on the dosing pump to maintain the alk. Cheers Sam
Good stuff, hope you like it!
@@ParkersReef quick question. Did the concentrated reagent have a best before date on it?
Хороший обзор, всё грамотно и по делу 👍
спасибо, я стараюсь изо всех сил!
scales are a nice little touch! Focustronic take note!
Absolutely!!!
So you can return the sample back into the system? No massive downsides to this?
Yes you can, have been doing this since its release of the original and have had no side effects.
@@smilersreef3943 awesome thank you.
Correct :)
Wow they even put a small scale in the box.
Sure do, ensures you get accurate calibration!!
I wish this was available in the US
I don’t think it will be long till it is
I've owned the mk1 unit. And I absolutely would not use it to auto correct alk dosing.. These units do need calibration every 4 weeks. If you miss these. It'll run out and therefore not or over dose!.
Personal experience.
have heard bad things about the first versions, seemingly the problems have been resolved in these latest versions - but will continue to test :)
Mmm they priced their reagent above KHG , i get about 2 months for a two hour test window out of my khg per $50 satchel. So $175 for the 1L kh keeper solution gives u 8 months at 4 hours so 4 months at 2 hours ? So $75 more per quarter at 2 hours. But........ KH keeper havent set their device to brick itself if it detects DIY reagent, unlike KHG and this may well be the reason i ditch my KHG, purely on principle. But ..... KH keeper may do the same at any point. These companies make their $$$$ on the reagent not the testing equipment.
that's if you trust they actually do brick it with DIY reagent....
@@ParkersReef - this was rumour ? Forgot where i saw the thread but it had responses from KHG in it. Oks let me test and see :)
I had one for a month and got rid of it. Will stick to the Alkatronic
interesting - was it the first model? Heard a lot of problems with them
@@ParkersReef yes it was the first model, now i just dont trust them. I have had the Alkatronic running for 2.5 years and not one single issue, only downside is the size. But as you know reliablility means more than how compact it is.
Would be interesting to see how this device tracked you raising the all back up from 4 along with the results of the Hanna
yeah I will show the app in the next video, it's a lot to take in - but is quite powerful
I am sure it’s very quick and easy !!! Until the customers get it.
Having a bad day Paul? 😅
if you want to trial a real piece of junk you should try the kore 7, had nothing but trouble don't think i ever had an accurate test result out of it, spent weeks troubleshooting it, ended up sitting in the cupboard and i eventually pulled it out.
Perhaps I have..... And I don't disagree with you
cant believe this thing doesn't even dose without buying another pump, sucks for the price tag,
I can’t believe others don’t have an app or smart integrations for the money, but hey - here we are 😂😅
it's kinda cheating KHG with varsity...
🤣
hahah I still love my KHG, no other alk tester on the market (that I know of anyway) actually counts the drops of reagent ;)
@@ParkersReef I ordered mine because of your recommendation.
You won’t be disappointed :)
@@ParkersReef I trust your recommendations on its performance.