A little over a year ago, Reef Kinetics came out with ReefBot, an automatic water testing device that uses existing titration test kits and automatizes the testing process, effectively eliminating the leading cause of inaccurate measurements (I’m sorry to say this, but the cause is us folks). ReefBot proved to be an excellent alternative to manual testing, receiving a bunch of industry awards, as well as positive feedback from the early adopters of the machine. Building on the success of the individual consumer-oriented ReefBot, Reef Kinetics is introducing its bigger brother, the ReefBot Pro.

The principles behind Reefbot Pro are identical to those of the original device- the user, wanting to check various parameters of his/her tank (currently Magnesium, Calcium, Alkalinity, Phosphate, Nitrite, Nitrate, Chlorine, Ammonia)  picks one or more of the supported test kits available on the market (the list of which is growing with every software update Reef Kinetics introduced so far), places the contents of the test kit in ReefBot and programs it to run automated tests, the results of which the aquarist then gets on his/her phone through an accompanying app. It may sound complicated, but it actually is very simple- imagine the moment you are about to run a manual titration test, then take yourself out of the picture and let a robot do it for you. A little while later, a result of that test comes as a notification on your phone. It’s very accurate too (ReefBot, not the aquarist, obviously), at least according to a couple of my reef friends that utilize the device on their tank(s).

ReefBot Pro is just like its smaller counterpart but scaled up and sped up. It differs mainly in that it is meant to be used in a multiple tank environment, namely retail stores, wholesale operations, and in public aquaria. I had a nice chat with Rabih Krayem, ReefBot inventor, and he explained how Reefbot Pro works, giving a retail store scenario example to do so. A client comes to a store with a water sample that gets loaded onto Reefbot Pro and gets a number assigned in the app/web interface. He/she leaves an email address to get notified of the test(s) result when it’s complete. There are 21 places for reagents/water samples so that the machine can accommodate several store clients at the same time. The tests are run one at a time just like in the original version of ReefBot, but thanks to upgraded linear actuators and stronger, more precise motors in the testing arm, the tests are run faster and the wait time for receiving test results shrinks.

It truly is a neat idea to have your local fish seller do the tests for you using ReefBot Pro and to receive the test result on your email a mere few hours after you dropped off your water samples. I should also mention that Reef Kinetics released their software’s API to the developers so they can now build on top of it and integrate ReefBot test results with other devices to automate the process of running a reef aquarium even further.

ReefBot Pro is a good progression for Reef Kinetics and we hope to see the production version of that cool device soon.

Stay tuned for more MACNA Coverage and thanks for reading.