礁石工厂的pH仪是很长一段时间以来到达水族馆爱好的最新且适度的现代pH监测解决方案之一。As important as pH is in all types of aquariums, it’s quite surprising that there have been very few options for truly smart pH monitoring features, short of investing in a fully fledged pH controller that can cost as much as a complete (small) reef aquarium setup.
太多的公司将“智能”形容词作为营销术语,无法宣传现代消费者对他们聪明的人的期望,而这些产品却差不多。电话和其他连接的设备。但是,礁石工厂的整个水族馆产品目录完全采用了拥有具有智能功能的设备的含义,最近我们将他们的简单命名pH仪表放在了我们已经通过它的步调了几周的时间。
正确的很明显,珊瑚礁的事实ory pH Meter is not the same clunky old digital monitoring device that we’ve been plagued by for decades, as the entire unit consists of little more than a small LCD display with one wire for power, and another wire for connecting to the included pH probe, it couldn’t be more streamlined than that. Also included in the box is a basic white probe holder which is long enough to accomodate high sump walls, matching velcro strips for mounting the main LCD and hub, and pH 4.0 and pH 7.0 calibration solutions.
There is no manual in the box but quick start paper cards in a variety of languages steer users to a QR code to download the app required to program, calibrate and interface with the Reef Factory pH Meter. There are no physical buttons on the LCD-hub and the only direct interaction with the pH meter is through the use of a small magnet to reset the monitor in the event that users should require it.
Setting up the Reef Factory for remote monitoring is not the most streamlined we’ve ever seen, it takes a little bit of a roundabout approach by directly connecting to the meter’s own wifi network, navigating to a special website, then after logging in and a few clicks the pH Meter is ready to be used and calibrated. Despite the few extra steps it takes to get the Reef Factory pH meter up and running we will say that it worked the first time for three separate meters and they all were clearly usable in the Smart Reef hub of the Reef Factory website.
当涉及到校准时,很高兴看到包括校准解决方案,但是我们很失望地看到,对于pH 4和7,只有两个校准点,没有任何选择,即任何三点校准,甚至简单的2分。pH 10的校准10。缺乏pH 10校准似乎有点像一家名为礁石工厂的公司的监督,礁石水族馆pH值几乎应该始终高于8.0,因此pH 4的校准点无助于确定的准确性在碱性海水礁水族馆中使用此pH计。
此外,在初始设置之后,我们努力使用随附的校准解决方案来匹配我们的“参考” Hanna Halo Bluetooth pH探测器,直到我们直到我们recalibrated the probes with Hanna solutions that the pH readings became much closer to what we expect in our reef aquariums, cross referenced with several pH measuring devices. One small but important detail that is missing from Reef Factory’s pH meter is the lack of temperature measurement for automatic temperature compensation, perhaps not affecting pH measurements too much under a narrow range of temperatures close to the 25?C/77?F calibration point, but the accuracy of pH measurement will certainly suffer if used in tanks that are colder or warmer without automatic temperature compensation.
We recognize that longer cables can negatively impact the accuracy of pH readings but the 34″ overall length of the BNC dongle and the pH probe included with Reef Factory’s pH meter severely limits where you can install the pH meter itself, as it will require being mounted close to the point of measurement be it the sump or the aquarium itself. We really strive to mount all of our aquarium electronics as far away from the water and moisture buildup as possible but the short cable precludes this kind of precautionary installation.
Despite these minor criticisms, we’ve been very pleased that the pH Meter succeeds in performing its primary purpose of measuring pH and logging these values within the Smart Reef hub. We’ve been using one unit to monitor the pattern of acidic pH drops in our CO2 injected planted freshwater aquarium, another one in our main reef system which fluctuates from pH 8.1 to 8.3, and another unit in our kalk reactor to monitor its effectiveness over time as it starts at pH 12.4 and slowly decreases over time.
These three different installations represent the widest range of pH levels we experience in all kinds of aquariums and it is incredibly refreshing to finally have a good reading from our phone or any web browser while logged into the Smart Reef app.昂贵€245或大约285美元,礁石工厂的pH仪的价格是当前完全刚起步的水族馆控制器成本的很大一部分,并且它将带来的所有其他功能,因此很难加强独立的智能pH值的价值主张监视器。
Reef Factory could make the case that their smart pH Meter is incredibly reliable, super accurate and logs values for a year or more with the smart reef service at no additional cost. However we would love to see a future update that enables three point calibration or even a two-point calibration using pH 10.0 so we can have more confidence in the accuracy of measurements taken in alkaline seawater.