Mindstream Aquarium Monitoring System
 

Has anyone heard about this new system? Supposed to be launched mid 2015.Measures pH, dKH, ammonia, NO2, NO3, Ca, Mg, salinity, oxygen, and temperature. I heard they were working on phosphate too...

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog...ium-parameters

Can't see how that seney thing will compete unless this is way overpriced (or maybe people actually want an inaccurate PAR meter ;)). But people will still probably pay it for actually useful parameter monitoring (dKH, I'm talking about you). Thoughts?

Ha! Good stuff,
I'm good with neither.

Been following it for the past year. They are into some serious testing at the moment. Everything from shipping in extreme cold to severe neglect of the disks. They have indicated its going to be under $500 and if it does what they say it does, it will be an industry changer!

90 days then replacing the disk? seems expensive.
I wonder if you could plug it in a controller port or manually remove it and just test once or twice a day instead of every 15 minutes I don't need 96 tests a day. I bet most peoples tanks don't get 96 tests a year! unless of course just the exposure to saltwater is what takes the life away from the disk.


anyone know what a disk cost and are they all individual or just a single disk?
Im fairly interested in this product based on the answers to the above questions.

I think the disks are aiming around $30 each so $10/month. For me thats worth the hour a week i spend on testing alone! I would imagine they will put some kind of API to integrate into Apex or Profilux but i bet it will be just slaving of results and nothing more.
The trend analysis this will provide will be unique and will be nice to have real time monitoring for parameter tolerances.

And I believe they're all on a single disc, so the whole disk is replaced each time. But not all parameters use the disc for measurement.

Also I heard $20 US for a disc, can't remember where though

The real time monitoring of parameters is the best part.

I think the real power will lie in coordinating with a controller and dower. Imagine dosing Ca and Mg and Alk based on real time readings. That will offer great stability of parameters.

That sounds to me like a version 2.0 feature... the real-time data itself will be enough to make the adjustments yourself, but it would be nice to be automatic for sure.

This is for sure game changing. TAKE MY MONEY NOW!!

They have already said they want to make it controller ready.

I have been following it for a year or so. If it works as good as they say it will this will be a game changer. They can charge what every they want and I will still buy one!

They have been taking their time thats for sure.

They can have all of my monies!!! I would use it to see the trends in my reefs chemistry, not necessarily accurate test results.

I am not so excited about this product.

1. Every year the new must have product comes out, the must have product from a few years ago is now being trashed all over these forums, and it seems as if the overwhelming current of people who a few years ago fawned over that product have now become a vortex of angry customers. IMO less money and more good tank husbandry is the direction I want to go in.

2. I don't see monitoring all parameters all the time as necessary. If my alk is in range, I know my Ca will be in range too. After a while you figure out how long before your Mg depletes and needs replenishing. When my pH probe broke, I didn't bother to install a new one, IMO Alk matters and pH will follow Alk. So if I check Alk once every week or two, and Ca every month, and Mg every few months, things seem OK. Then again I am not going for a show-stopper tank just a nice hobbyist tank.

3. Automating dosing based on the measurements from this device could lead to a disaster, a false lab result could lead to an overdose or underdose of Alk Ca etc. Most of us, faced with a seriously out of range test result, would double check the test before we took steps to correct the parameter. But automating the dosing based on this sensor would bypass the fails-safe step of checking for a measurement error.

4. Probably some other legitimate objection to this product but too tired to think about it now.

Anyway that's about it, just a counterpoint to everyone else's views on this product.

Kill joy lol!

I love numbers, give me every bit of information I can get my hands on. I'll weigh the relevance of the numbers based on their own qualities.

I kind of get a kick out of you saying less money is the direction you want to go in when you have a powermodule light, a couple tunzes, and a BK mini 180. That's not cheap equipment.

I do agree with you that good husbandry tops all. Husbandry alone can replace the need for the majority of the equipment found in our tanks. You wouldn't need a skimmer, fuge, or Ca reactor in your system if you just kept up with frequent water changes. The equipment you have chosen allows for you to stretch that period out a little by removing impurities, adding elements, etc.

In my case, I am away from my system up to a month at a time. Being able to keep a watchful eye on parameters from afar is important to me. I can only ask my wife to test the tank so many times before she gets annoyed :)

All in all, everyone runs their system how they feel best.

Well I'm excited by this. The underlying technology is sound and has been used in biotech and research for some time to detect and monitor very small amounts of things such as intracellular calcium inside living cells.

I think that being able to constantly monitor and maintain levels is the next step. Sure good husbandry is important etc. But the more stable we can make our systems in terms of all parameters the better off we will all be. And I think this might go a long way towards enabling that in a very easy to use way.

Test kits aren't cheap on their own. I'd be all over this if it ends up being consistent and reliable!

Not to mention what it will do for a store owner trying to help their clients diagnose their tank issues! Open up the app and look at their parameters just like that. Like I said before, I'd still test with an independant kit if something seems out of whack, but man, that would be helpful!

Another side to this is the potential for people to chase numbers even more than they do now. Seeing fluctuations in readings from day to day could lead people to respond to every little change with some sort of an adjustment to their routine. This would ultimately lead to less constancy/stability.
Besides, I thought people with outstanding long term tanks hardly test anymore anyways.......:wink:

The other aspect i like about this system is the alarms. You can now set your tolerances for each reading and you will get notified if your Alk is starting to go through the roof. Dosing pump/calcium reactor failure etc. Being alerted to a problem sooner than later will save many a tank! My controller has alerted me to a couple of potential problems, that i know, if left unattended, would have either ****ed off me or my wife! And we all know what a ****ed off wife is like!

if it does test for all the things mentioned, sign me up for one

i'm drooling at the thought of incrementing my dosing up a touch and seeing it change in near real-time.

i do only test maybe once every 2 weeks or once a month but still...

I just tested Mg this morning. First time in 4 years. It was fine :)

Yeah I don't understand the people saying more information is a bad thing. Yes, it can't be relied on 100% and it's certainly not essential, but to me this is the greatest piece of kit you could have - if it works as advertised

Well if anyone is interested in becoming a supporter for this controller, here is your chance.


495USD buys the device+one disk+mindstream polo shirt with a December delivery time.

From their FB page:
MindStream Aquarium Monitoring System




Today is the day we have all been waiting for! After years of hard work, we are proud to announce that this morning we launched a Kickstarter campaign to finally get the MindStream monitor to market. Now we need your help. In backing our project, you not only have the opportunity to be among the first to receive a MindStream monitor later this year, but you will also help us over the finish line to bring this revolutionary system to aquarists everywhere. We appreciate your interest and excitement thus far and thank you in advance for your support in making this campaign a success!

Well I've lost interest for now, crazy pricing, no apex support, and monthly disc replacement instead of 90 days. And no nitrate monitoring

Kickstarter price is reasonable and I'm sure it will easily be integrated in apex as all its all cloud based already, so its a just a matter of getting apex to link data from cloud :)

With future upgrades I can see nitrate/phosphates added to the disk.

Now 30-35$/disk every 90 days was a nice price-point, however 30-50 every month is ugh... ugly

At that price point, I'll have to wait to see how it pans out in the real world. Alkalinity and calcium are wonderful, but I'd prefer to have nitrate and phosphate too.

I signed up as I can always cancel after MACNA if the news are not stellar and this way I've locked in a cheaper price for the device.

I was pretty stoked for this but $900-1200 initial investment and $40-60 a month? considering I test a couple things regularly dialing dosers in and nothing else unless corals seem un happy its a big investment.

Im not interested in $600 now for a firsst gen product when they havent even released final pricing on the discs.

Ill wait a year or 2 until some non biased opinions come up........or I win the lottery

plus I dont really care to know my PH or my temp. my controller does that. Id venture to say anyone dropping this kind of coin on a parameter monitor has a controller and 90% of people dont bother with PH I dont need to know my CO2 my O2 or my ammonia. the first 2 ive never tested and all is well and I cant see anyone using this for a tank cycle since you really only need to test after a month or 2 and not daily.......

I havent added any MG in probably years and it sits at 1400
dont run zeo so the K isnt a big issue but this is something I would keep on the disc since lots of people do and would find it useful.
So basically out of the big 5 things myself and what im assuming most people ONLY check if that many (alk, ca, salinity,nitrate, phos) this only has 3 of them..............when they have nitrate and phosphate on it and a 500 ish price point Id be seriously contemplating it. right now im not even thinking about it.

also where and how do they come up with 14 grand for 13 different test kits?????????? are they comparing an entire city combined cost over an entire lifetime against the initial cost of this unit??

I'm starting to feel the same, as I care for Alk, Ca, Mag, K would like to see Phosphates and Nitrates as well.... spending 500+ a year in test disks to accurately monitor Ph, is just not justifiable.

I'm going to keep my pledge until closer to the date as I'm not yet charged for it anyhow as I'd like to see what MACNA will bring out of this product.

Also keep in mind those prices are USD and with the Canadian dollar @77cents its even more costly

:shocked:

So $720 replacement disk per year with an initial cost of $657 is not really wort it.

Thats more than my gym membership & Sirius radio yearly rate added together. I would have to give up something. Guess ole Salifert keeps my business