Mastertronic hands-on impression!! All-in-one automated aquarium testing from Focustronic.

[@fallmillenv2266]

My man has the best thumbnails ever

[@multanemo]

I frequently savage other KZbin reefers - Queenofreef and eatsleepreef - for not being transparent about their videos that are basically commercials. Moki is the only one who engaged and listened to criticism and concerns like mine. Antonio won’t listen and neither will the other one. We need transparency because this stuff costs a fortune and we need to know it works well or doesn’t. Good job with honesty and integrity, Moki, and shame on others who continue to pretend that we don’t notice; we notice and you need to say it’s a paid promotion.

[@BartonHNewell]

Dude right? QoR is reaalllly bad about it, too.

[@multanemo]

@@BartonHNewell Yep, she is by far the worst offender and Waterbox is not transparent either. All I want to know is when I am being sold to versus a hobbyist video. Is that too much to ask?

[@enzomontini758]

Can I jump on the QoR bashing thread ,,,,

[@TwoGayReefers]

Hey, we are totally transparent... I think a video on our experience with the Apex might be in order

[@multanemo]

@@TwoGayReefers yes, you guys are and I enjoy your videos and candor! And I’m already subbed!

[@stadt-mensch6302]

Best video ever. I love your family as much as your report. 😎

[@MHoran86]

Congrats on the new gear, you deserve it! Plus it gives me faith that once I have have a tank big enough to warrant auto testing, I should be able to figure it out

[@angryowlaquariums40]

Don't sweat about getting stuff for free, you earned it and have one of the most honest and unbiased opinions on youtube 👍🦉🍻

[@gabesreef]

Hi bird

[@angryowlaquariums40]

@@gabesreef that's not this works gabe

[@gabesreef]

@@angryowlaquariums40 interesting 🤔

[@InappropriateReefer]

Thanks buddy! 🍻

[@DrBlazer50]

This is amazing! Technology, equipment, testing, caretaking ideas, etc have changed so much in the 27+ years I've had marine aquariums - 20+ years reefing. Things like this mastertronic weren't even imagined 20 years ago. I remember when protein skimmers were the adding new technology about 25 years ago. I remember when ocean harvested live rock was bad, then almost deemed mandatory, and now back to not recommended for a reef tank. 20+ years ago refugiums were new concept and pretty rare. Nobody talks about having a chaeto reactor... nobody even talked about chaeto at all. Metal Halides replaced standard florescents (LEDs weren't even an idea) and changed the reefing hobby. After that, acros & SPS finally started growing & thriving by hobbyists. Power compacts started nano reefing to become much more common and opened up the reefing hobby to aquarists and others that always thought having a live cheap aquarium was almost impossible. Then the JBJ NanoCube finally got produced and really started bringing a lot more people into the hobby about 15 years ago. Fast forward to now and we can have successful reef aquariums that are almost completely automated! It's been amazing to be in this hobby long enough to have gone through all these changes and growth.

[@InappropriateReefer]

You pretty much documented the whole reef aquarium hobby's journey, thank you for the great read! 🤓 I came in during the Power Compact light stage when Zoas just started receiving names (Purple People Eater was a big deal back then!), I thought the whole journey was mind blowing, couldn't imagine what it was like to be there from the beginning! What's next in the future... VR tank that pulls the image from an actual coral reef so we don't need to actually try to keep anything? 😂

[@DrBlazer50]

@@InappropriateReefer PPE/Purple People Eaters 😁. That was the first named coral that I remember people paying way too much money for... myself being one of those people 🤦. I always think of purple people eaters while constantly hearing the term PPE for the last year 😂

[@telegraham]

Always a balanced review! 🙏

[@telegraham]

And I dig OLI! Just was wondering about carbon replacement frequency yesterday. No more white bucket test. 👍

[@InappropriateReefer]

Thank you Reef Sensei, I try! OLI is interesting, I am still trying to figure out at which point I need to take action. It goes from 0 - 200 and I have been bouncing between the 0-10 range.

[@thomaskong5]

My favorite reefer on youtube! Love the content.

[@jackglueck3355]

It was very well done I like it but the price is up there thanks so much for the information. Your the best!!!

[@ianscoralreef8265]

Always a amazing video 🙏

[@Algaewarrior]

When I choose to finance a tank build I will definitely be getting one of these.

[@terencefugazzi5164]

I would like to publicly commend Inappropriate Reefer for being so transparent in his approach to his videos. Though I know he has personal tastes and bias as we all do, he at least lets his viewers decide for themselves whether those bias may or may not be influenced by the way he is compensated for his time. This is refreshing. Though I know he is not a huge fan of Neptune Systems, or our gear, I wanted to let him know that this transparency does not go unnoticed. Thank you!

[@InappropriateReefer]

Thank you Terence! It is just easier to lay everything out versus fielding or dodging the questions - could put those time to better use! I have no problem with Neptune Systems & products over here, there has got to be a reason why so many people swear by them. In fact, I have been catching the #LetsTalkReef livestreams and also waiting to see what SKY is about... 😉

[@robertdeblois288]

LOVE YOUR VIDEOS BRO JUST BOUGHT AN IM FUSION 20 STARTING A NANO REEF

[@gregoryhines7]

Great video

[@mpwall123]

Wild piece of equipment. Both of them

[@marvinblanco5063]

Have you cross referenced your test results? Like manually check the Ca, Mg, NO3 and PO4 with the test kits you use? Wondering how accurate they are when compared to the others.

[@InappropriateReefer]

I have the first week, the Nitrate was a little different but the others match up close enough for me. I’ll be sending out an ICP once it stops snowing/icing here and doing another round of full manual test to compare.

[@v8maro]

If you join the Focustronic´s Owners Club (for alkatronic) on facebook you'll see a lot of people comparing the tests to their hanna. It is extremely accurate.

[@zachazlett]

It’s pretty much the same idea as the ReefBot. It’s nice to see a different design layout. Maybe one will be more reliable over the other.

[@InappropriateReefer]

I’m also curious how this compares to the ReefBot

[@zachazlett]

@@InappropriateReefer I have the ReefBot. It looks to be built with more off the shelf parts. That could be good or bad. They also just released an upgraded version with bigger reagent bottles.

[@sjc5991]

How many people use stuff like this for their tank??? Never seen anything like it!

[@emiliaroman8631]

I can't even afford it

[@Wissassin]

Its pretty unrealistic for most people. I mean most of the stuff on this channel is unrealistic for the common hobbyists.

[@brandonn5371]

Yea idk if this company is aiming at like commercial aquariums/exhibits or hobbyists. The price is pretty steep for most. But people invest a lot of money in their reef tanks and something like this could help them keep on top of testing and dosing. It’s just another investment for the tank. Would be cool to see an open source diy type build of this. Would be fairly easy to build hardware-wise.

[@__barelyhuman__]

im just impressed with the ip man thumbnail 😂

[@InappropriateReefer]

LOL thanks, with a name like Mastertronic, figure a Master that did 1 vs 10 and Tron background would be fitting. 😎

[@Botzz28]

I looked it up this tests everything!! this is amazing is it worth the price ?

[@buckrogers2499]

exellent vid thanks

[@JasonStJohn-my1cs]

I was wondering which silica tester did you use the low range or the high range it reads it in parts per million I have the Seachem test it reads in MGs what’s the difference. I was wondering if you know and which one did you get.

[@InappropriateReefer]

I got the Hanna low range Silica test as it seems to be to most accurate according to info I could find on forums. However it only measures up to 5ppm so it didn’t help much if your plan is to use it to measure silica dosing for Dino (you’d quickly shoot past that)

[@EdwardParks12]

3:42 The baby was concerned LOL

[@JozefMZych]

where should I take the water from to distribute them in each vile? its just water from the _____. Very informative video I'm a recent in this hobby but I wanna be equipped with everything that best fits with how much interaction and measurement I can put into my tank and environment.

[@Ashton.munozz]

Watch a lot of ur videos ..wondering why you chose this over a apex with Neptune

[@seanupton3170]

They could make more sales if they made a version for just nitrate and phosphate, given the Trident doesn’t have that and people with a trident would like auto testing for PO4/NO3. This would also be way cheaper. The Mastertronic would be good for those without any auto testing already.

[@InappropriateReefer]

That's not a bad idea TBH, or throw in Alk as well like @Garry Cole mentioned and you got a nice little unit for frequently tested parameters. Although whether Neptune allows integration with Focustronic equipments is another question, as it'd be nice to have everything in one dashboard!

[@JasonStJohn-my1cs]

So I’m having dino issues the same type you had. Did you test how much silicate was in your water and how much did you dose and raise it to.

[@InappropriateReefer]

So I bought the Hanna's low range Silica checker (considered the more accurate ones out on the market)... even with my first test I was out of range (too high), lol, so I never tested again. I dosed the Brightwell SpongExcel pretty liberally in the 135g, I kept going up in my dosage until I saw diatom coming in, and kept it around that amount each day. I never did test it though and I thought I read somewhere that it's really hard to OD on Silica, it'd just cause algae which is what I want, so I went hard. Please do double check the last part about overdosing Silica though.

[@neilstewart9286]

Great review, y would your tank spike in phosphates when u feed frozen ? I get that poo n wee create phosphates,r u over feeding and food not being eaten or r u putting the the frozen cube in without defrosting it ?

[@InappropriateReefer]

I melt the frozen food in a cup with tank water and I turkeybast the food with the water into the tank... trying to get that PO4 up! I also dose PO4 directly if the value is really low.

[@reeftheseaforever]

can you looks at your corals and the mastertronic see the difference in po4 at different points in time. sic product . I test daily since I have a high bio load so I gotta keep things in check.

[@InappropriateReefer]

At the moment I am testing PO4 every other day (M, W, F, S), I try to keep my PO4 between .05 - .09 whenever possible... I usually adjust how much I feed the following day based on what I am seeing. If Nitrate dips too low I dose some Nitrate to help bring it back up

[@tomg5405]

It is possible to adjust the dosage when you not stay home same on apex or ghl?

[@justaquestion5080]

can you wise this with the apex controller

[@JasonStJohn-my1cs]

So I’m curious on your master Tronic what are you getting for phosphate readings. I use the same test kit on my reef bot. But the phosphate test kit is always wrong it reads really low compare it to your Hannah checker to see how correct it is

[@JasonStJohn-my1cs]

So overall how much silica did you use what size bottle did you use and how much of the bottle was used. Just trying to get a baselone of how much

[@MoreTankMoreProblems]

So if I’m in the market for one of these units, I’ve seen the mastertronic can now run Alk tests as well… so is there a point to even look at the alkatronic if the master can do it all? (If I’m spending the money I might as well cover all tests)

[@wilsonline90]

Have you testes NO3 and PO4 to compare the Mastertronic with the Hanna checkers? Also that for calcium and Mag but with something like a red sea test or Aquaforest.

[@captivebredcanada]

Good review. It seems good in theory besides the cost, which I think you can easily justify if you have 10k in corals for example my concern would be using only liquid test kits. You used API calcium which is not considered to be a very good test kit. Salifert and many other brands presumably use the powder for accuracy. Also all of the Phosphate test kits are not supposed to be as reliable as using a photometer. Maybe they have gotten better now, I've been using the milwaukee Mi412 Low Range Phosphate Photometer for so long the buttons have worn off (10+ years) and it's margin of error is 0.03 so I trust what I get on each test. I would like one but I also wouldn't like to spend that much even though I think the price is fair. When I see a product like this that would be nice I actually think it encourages me to manually test more because it feels like I'm getting paid to manually test, when I'm just spending more of my reefing budget on livestock instead of something that just makes my life easier, but if you've got money to burn and a busier lifestyle it seems like a good buy.

[@FrostyAlpaca]

Ip man of the reef world

[@iglapsu88]

How do you get software updates? Over the air or wired internet?

[@InappropriateReefer]

The unit is on the Wifi network and automatically gets update that way

[@BartonHNewell]

Moki! For one of your other tanks you should check out the Reef Pi. It's a great budget option for those of us out there that can't spend 1k+ for something like this.

[@InappropriateReefer]

Someone else mentioned the Reef Pi too, I will check it out since I am going to start messing with Resberry Pi for my 3D printer! That's more of a controller though right? Not so much an auto-tester?

[@iglapsu88]

What is the interface with other controllers like APEX by Neptune and GHL?

[@InappropriateReefer]

I don't believe there is any integration at the moment. I remember seeing some questions about this as well in the Focustronic Facebook group, not sure if anything is happening behind the scene but Focustronic looks open to it.

[@dlm1949]

How’s your tank looking? Don’t see much of that anymore..

[@InappropriateReefer]

Haha I thought folks wouldn't want to see a relatively bare tank so I did not talk about it much. 😅 Corals are happy again after cleaning up my dino/nutrient issue, things are bouncing back, adding more zoas to fill out the garden and slowly building things back up from the hardier corals to the more sensitive again. I'll do a tank update on the 135g this week. Thanks for asking!

[@scoobydoo7535]

Your wife is funny as heck and cute, you lucky you. Love your vids man, thank you! Im goin the Alkatronic and hopefully mastertronic ( after i sell a kidney) route. Would you say the dosetronic is also necessary or could you use another dosing pump that does not require a blood donation?

[@pokeyh1979]

I always wondered what your line of work was, well other than you tube.👍🏻

[@sawyerbreslow8487]

This would be money for dealing with high phosphates/nitrates. Trying to dial in some carbon dosing and hand checking the nutrients has been a challenge.

[@InappropriateReefer]

You hit the nail on the head, I was specifically waiting for this auto-tester for it's NO3 & PO4 testing (especially NO3 due to the long wait time for reaction). My tank's Ca & Mg does not move that much so those are not as essential for me.

[@sawyerbreslow8487]

@@InappropriateReefer now to convince the wife to drop $1300 on a piece of reef equipment! Wish me luck!

[@AL-tn7fn]

Ip man legendary

[@garrycole9187]

If you test alkalinity you don't really need to test for magnesium and calcium since they are related. I wished they would just make something to test Alk, nitrate and phosphate at a cheaper price point.

[@neptunes_pot]

I am still waiting for my IOND from GHL. This GHL IOND seems to be easier to maintain and get maybe the most accurate result of all automatic tester on the market.

[@InappropriateReefer]

IOND looks great too - new testing method and much easier of maintenance (and running cost?). I think Telegraham may be getting one and we will compare if he does. I just wish IOND would also test PO4 as well, that was a big deciding factor for me since it's an important element.

[@neptunes_pot]

@@InappropriateReefer Hi, today I got a news letter from GHL. They still in the beta testing, at least to the end of march. Maybe they will send the first IOND on March 2021. I have purchased my IOND in December 2019 and hopefully be on of the nearly first receiver. You will need 2 reference fluids for each measurement. The sensor (135€) last one year. I really love the quality and the support of GHL. And yes, this is a German Company and I like to spend my money for (I am a German). Therfore I dont think much about the cost because I have my bear relation. I understand that forgein people count more the money on the IOND. So I would not spend the money for this reason to a mastertronic, maybe I would think different in case to a closer relation to focustronic. Dont forget, it is a hobby for us and should means a lot to have a good relation to a company. It is not only money, not almost :-). (for this reason I have quit with ecotech, the support is really bad for me...)

[@jonathanchang1]

@@neptunes_pot where did you read the info about IOND test PO4?

[@neptunes_pot]

@@jonathanchang1 Sorry, I am waiting still too long for the IOND. They CANNOT READ PO4. I am actually dont care to have a automatic PO4 measurement and messed up with the parameters. Anyway, "the Hardware of the IOND is prepared for future parameter add-ons" MAYBE he can measure PO4 in future :-)

[@gabesreef]

👍🏾

[@lamshao]

I just occasionally have my LFS test. Pretty cool gadget though

[@aliceholbert1246]

Might be switching over

[@monsteryoon5845]

So jelly for free :3

[@brettzicarelli9064]

I just jumped into the apex + trident + dos. Hurt the wallet, but It wasn’t humanly possible to test that much everyday. Have to agree on the rock solid parameters. The piece of mind is worth it when you have so much invested in livestock. Thanks for the content

[@hootiemike3091]

See you on the moon brother.

[@NewSalmonQueen]

Not sure about all the testing the Mastertronic does, but the Alkatronic/Kh Director/Trident is a must have if you have colonies of sps. At least the hardware will do what you ask of it, when you go on vacation. Unlike the idiot who you hire to watch your tank, who doesn't listen to what you want, and decides to do it his way. Then when he f's up, your alert is him calling you to say all the tissue on your acros are flying around the tank....that's when you will say that having that equipment would have saved your investment. Having a new tank with a bunch of frags wouldn't be worth it, but after 3-5 years, then it's a minor investment.

[@vytlphlow7964]

Moki aka IP Man!!

[@ewok4951]

Can’t believe that shit costs 1k+ there’s no way the parts cost that much

[@MrMushroomish]

I mean for what it provides, it doesn't seem so expensive

[@TheTimSargent]

It’s not about what it costs, it’s about the value it provides and also how many buyers there are for this piece of equipment. Kinda like your smart phone that costs a few bucks to make in material...

[@BartonHNewell]

Check out the Raspberry Pi "Reef Pi" I think I built mine for under 300 (including the doser)

[@jerryboics9550]

Unbelievable! ......Absolutely nothing is sold at a price the parts cost...

[@InappropriateReefer]

If you think about it, paper and oil are cheap and readily available, yet there are lots of paintings out there that is worth more than what I'd ever make in a lifetime. Sometimes the sum is more than the parts combined!

[@jestronixhanderson9898]

It’s interesting, the price seems expensive, but look at the cost of other things in reefing.

[@lcphoto6847]

😂😂😂 Love your content! 👌

[@reeftheseaforever]

Sic af

[@Ellery-USA]

@inappropropriatereefer Seems like everyone is using the same components internally - I have the KH Guardian and the Reefbot and they have the exact same needles (what length are those?) bottles, kamoer pumps, and linear actuators. So far after using these for 2 years they all seem to run into the same issues with the pumps and other wear components. It will be interesting to understand what the preventive maintenance cycle is and what they recommend to replace all these since they will impact the calibration of the fluid over time. So the differentiator will be the software/firmware controls. I do like the nicer app though.

[@InappropriateReefer]

Hey Ellery, how are you liking the KH Guardian (that's the OG!)? Price point is great and seems reliable even though it doesn't have the flashy interface. I should have mentioned the maintenance cycle in this video as well -- IIRC Focustronic is recommending replacing the needles every 4 weeks (although I thought I heard 8 weeks somewhere, will double check), hose replacement every 8 months.

[@mrsupersym]

mg/L is ppm

[@WaizHaquewaiz]

you should do a giveaway of the old alkatronic

[@InappropriateReefer]

I'm still using that for Alk testing! 😇

[@karepy]

so the alkatreonic is just a monitor ?? meaning it doesnt test and correct for alk ??? man thats a pretty big hanna tester xD

[@1MartinWaite]

The Alkatronic can and does control you kh if it is low it will add the required amount of you liquid to get it back up and if high it can switch off its Bluetooth socket with you could have your doser plugged into and then once the test result is in spec it will switch the socket /doser back on. But if you wish you could turn the controller part off and just let it notify you that your kh is out of spec but that seems to be a shame really buying a tester/controller and only using the tester side.

[@TattooedDancer91]

Wow that is not worth the money. The amount of potential errors and wear + tear makes this machine unreliable. I would frantically double check everything with manual tests all the time lol.

[@freshwatercorals801]

yeah thats why i went with the trident for my tank, yeah it too has its issues, i need to get it rewired, not recalibrated, because its calcium numbers are wayyy off, but it is easier to setup, less hassle, and it helped me get my dosing amounts spot on, especially with my Dos, even though its calcium numbers are 550+, i know my calc is good bc i have my dosing spot on. my tank has never before been this stable👍

[@joe0813]

Id rather not even test than use API test kits

[@MrSnuggs]

This thing cost the same of a new phone. Totally worth it too bad their out of stock

[@lung9668]

一臺打十個😂

[@crazyratz]

5 comment Love from india

[@cael7919]

whats up with that donnie yen edit HAHAHAH

[@castro1223]

I just learned being lazy is going to cost me $$$. 😦

[@holee67]

你係咪藍

[@darrenshore5853]

Love your videos but I ignore product reviews from all youtubers. Its killing youtube as its becoming late night infomercial tv. Freestuff that creates content for you, its in your best interests to keep these companies happy so you get more products, opportunities abd event invites etc. Sadly reviews are not objective and are biased, Intentionally or not. Then products are constantly swapped for new ones leading up to the new tank builds "the dream tank" or the tank "revamp" to cover the fact their systems are about crash from all the messing with equip and chemicals. Its the newbies I feel sorry for who rely on youtube more and more as "its cool" as think youtubers are reliable and spend money on potions and hype