Future Co-Op Products

[Cory]

We are actively engaged with our manufacturer how we can put the last bit of "polish" on this product. We'd like to not see pads come off at all, but don't want them to be any less accurate. Which makes it tricky with the glue. we'll see if there is any process we can do to help. We have some other ideas we are running by, like seeing if they are willing to put them into metal pouches of 50, this may reduce some friction during shipping that cause pads to come off. Hopefully we'll find something to improve. As with most products, they go through rounds of improvements, being this is final product round one. They work. Now with wider testing we can further refine hopefully. This is how we get to a fluval 3.0 etc. Each version improves upon the last.

[MDoc]

45 minutes ago, Cory said:

This is how we get to a fluval 3.0

If we buy these, we get a Fluval 3.0?!?!?  

You heard him folks!

[Streetwise]

This is my second beta test. The test strip spacing is slightly different than the label spacing, so I tried to line them up in camera. This is lit with a home LED.

Edited March 18, 2021 by Streetwise

[Ryan F]

I saw someone suggest a USB nano heater. That's not really possible unless you go to high power USB C. You'd have to have a special power adapter for it. You couldn't plug it into any usb port. Most of USB ports cap out at a measly 2.5W. Even small betta heaters are around 25W.

I think maybe an "aquarium power strip" would be a good idea. Something with widely spaced plugs for big fluval power bricks. Maybe a way to switch different outlets from timered to always on. And maybe a silicone gasket around the plugs to help seal against water intrusion.

I think the KASA wifi outlets are great but having a remote server I have to access to control my aquarium is a security risk. Also having those devices on my home wifi network is a gateway for nefarious activity. If the COOP could come up with a "deaf" smart timer I'd be all over that. Maybe something I could connect to with USB to program? Might be too much coding for the COOP. Maybe that a project for the community to help with. To combine something like a raspberry PI and a relay board. Could use a similar base for a COOP light.  

[JaredL]

I'm sure this question has been asked, and I'm sure there's a good reason, but why does the ammonia test have to be on a separate strip from the multi-test?

[CT_]

7 hours ago, Ryan F said:

I think the KASA wifi outlets are great but having a remote server I have to access to control my aquarium is a security risk.

If you don't make an account when you set them up then they aren't controlled by external servers.  If you don't trust their firmware you can firewall them so they can't talk to the outside, or even anything but an old phone.

The KASA plugs keep their timing schedules onboard so once setup they don't really need internet for anything but time, so I guess you'd have to make an exception for time servers.

 

IMO the best thing to do, which is what I do, Is have an iot wifi network and a personal network.  Saves a lot of headaches.

 

Edited March 18, 2021 by CT_

[ChefConfit]

@JaredL the ammonia test pads need to be in the water longer and develop for different amounts of time compared to the pads on the multi test strips.

It would be convenient to have them all on one but every single company that makes test strips does ammonia separate so I'm assuming the isn't a cost effective way to make it work. 

@Cory do you know what the shelf life is of the strips once opened? I'd imagine it's basically indefinite while sealed, but moisture in the air will eventually impact accuracy at some point after they are opened. Obviously there are factors that would impact the shelf life such as how often you open the container, how long you leave it open and the amount of humidity in the air when you do open it, but is there an amount of time it's recommended to use them before or replace them after? 

I rarely use ammonia test strips so am hesitant to purchase such a large pack of them because I'd take such a long time to use them up that I'd worry about accuracy. You mentioned the possibility of getting them in foil packs of 50 inside the tube and I think that's a great idea for such a large quantity, especially the ammonia strips which I feel a lot of people use less often. 

[Cory]

15 hours ago, JaredL said:

I'm sure this question has been asked, and I'm sure there's a good reason, but why does the ammonia test have to be on a separate strip from the multi-test?

It needs different contact time, as well as it contaminates the other pads.

[Cory]

6 minutes ago, ChefConfit said:

@JaredL the ammonia test pads need to be in the water longer and develop for different amounts of time compared to the pads on the multi test strips.

It would be convenient to have them all on one but every single company that makes test strips does ammonia separate so I'm assuming the isn't a cost effective way to make it work. 

@Cory do you know what the shelf life is of the strips once opened? I'd imagine it's basically indefinite while sealed, but moisture in the air will eventually impact accuracy at some point after they are opened. Obviously there are factors that would impact the shelf life such as how often you open the container, how long you leave it open and the amount of humidity in the air when you do open it, but is there an amount of time it's recommended to use them before or replace them after? 

I rarely use ammonia test strips so am hesitant to purchase such a large pack of them because I'd take such a long time to use them up that I'd worry about accuracy. You mentioned the possibility of getting them in foil packs of 50 inside the tube and I think that's a great idea for such a large quantity, especially the ammonia strips which I feel a lot of people use less often. 

Generally if they are closed up they'll last till their expiration. It's wet fingers, humid rooms, etc that will shorten their life.

[ChefConfit]

12 minutes ago, Cory said:

Generally if they are closed up they'll last till their expiration. It's wet fingers, humid rooms, etc that will shorten their life.

Thank you! 

They really are a great product. I love the larger strips and wider opening in the bottle which make them much easier to get out, which means I'm more likely to test before I have a problem. And the laminated chart is actually my favorite part because I've had the paper charts ruined by spills and/or wet hands before and had to buy another bottle just to have a chart to use. 

[Brian]

@Cory
Heat? I was wondering if tested for high heat?  Say, if left on top of my aquarium light or if shipped with live plants in the winter and a heat pack was used?  

[Cory]

7 hours ago, Brian said:

@Cory
Heat? I was wondering if tested for high heat?  Say, if left on top of my aquarium light or if shipped with live plants in the winter and a heat pack was used?  

I haven’t, however I’ve never heard of any test strip having problems in those scenario. I would t recommend storing things on your light as that’ll cause it to get even hotter which isn’t good for your light.

[KaitieG]

12 hours ago, Cory said:

It needs different contact time, as well as it contaminates the other pads.

That is super handy to know--it's always driven me nuts that the ammonia test strip is its own thing.  Now I can understand WHY!

[darkG]

A well made aquarium planning tool, possibly including plant growth simulator (what it may look like in X months), would be very cool. It could also be used for documentation and sharing of your setups, i.e. a model of actual tanks that is easier to analyse, with labels and what not. I am getting excited as I envision this software. Lol.

[DaveSamsell]

Not a new product per se, but additional package shipping options.  

[Janelle]

Trying to decipher my GH reading.  I tested my tap water here and the GH turns a bright purple that does not line up with any of the colors listed. I am in So Cal and I have the hardest water.

Edited March 19, 2021 by Janelle

[darkG]

While it is not close to the purple, it is far from the blue.

Edit: you can try diluting the water with RO or similar to lower concentration, that maybe helps?

Edited March 20, 2021 by darkG

[ChefConfit]

@Janelle I get the same thing on my display tank. I think it means our GH is above 300ppm

[Anita]

On 1/8/2021 at 5:05 PM, Streetwise said:

I would love to see a Pico sponge filter variation that has the height of the Small, but the width of the Nano.

You mean like...

I would have preferred a wider base, such as that from a Small sponge filter. But, the slotted tube for the Nano is a slightly smaller in diameter than the slotted tube for the Small. So I cannot mix-n-match an Small base with a Nano slotted tube. Bummer. 😑

[Mitch_ScruffyCityAquatics]

On 3/19/2021 at 8:42 PM, ChefConfit said:

@Janelle I get the same thing on my display tank. I think it means our GH is above 300ppm

You do win for highest water! 
 

Mine reads very close to the 300 mark at one minute, but it doesn’t take long for the pad to begin changing to a similar color around the edges. 
 

The pic below is closer to 2.5 minutes when I decided to grab my phone and try a picture. At one minute it was spot on the 300’s color. 

[Koi]

Has anyone tried using the ammonia test trip and it showing detectable amounts of ammonia? If so, how clearly does it show  and is the color gradient clear to see the difference from each range?

I tried using the tetra ammonia test strips and have yet to see detectable ammonia show up. Fortunately for me I haven't had to deal with too many ammonia spikes but it would be nice not having to double check with a liquid test kit every time. Even so, looking at the color chart, the transitions from each color aren't that apparent to me for both the ammonia and 6 in 1 strip. I'm starting to think my eye sight is going bad...

Curious to know if the results come out clearly for the multi test strips as well but at from the pictures it seems each unit is clearly visible. Ph is the only one that looks like it might give me some trouble in trying to read. I would love to hear your guys experience with it.

[Anita]

13 hours ago, Koi said:

Has anyone tried using the ammonia test trip and it showing detectable amounts of ammonia? If so, how clearly does it show  and is the color gradient clear to see the difference from each range?

I tried using the tetra ammonia test strips and have yet to see detectable ammonia show up. Fortunately for me I haven't had to deal with too many ammonia spikes but it would be nice not having to double check with a liquid test kit every time. Even so, looking at the color chart, the transitions from each color aren't that apparent to me for both the ammonia and 6 in 1 strip. I'm starting to think my eye sight is going bad...

Curious to know if the results come out clearly for the multi test strips as well but at from the pictures it seems each unit is clearly visible. Ph is the only one that looks like it might give me some trouble in trying to read. I would love to hear your guys experience with it.

I am going through age-related presbyopia. Even with my reading glasses, it is sometimes hard to compare the test strips to the color chart. So I came up with my geek girl solution. 🤓I took a photo of the test strip and the color chart together. This ensures that any color variations created by my monitor are the same for both the test strip and color chart.

Then I use Photoshop to determine where the test strip color falls in the color chart spectrum. Below is an example of test results for my snail tank: 

Yes, it was time consuming to construct the first comparison photo. But after that, I just duplicated the comparison boxes into a new file for new test results. I labeled the color boxes with chemistry and number values because these photos were part of my Pagoda Snails journal and I wanted to make it easy for people to interpret the test strip results. (The numbers on the color chart are too blurry to read.) Does my explanation make sense?

And now that I have a few photos for reference, I am more confident about eyeballing subsequent results.

Because the light green gradations were hard for me to pick out, I used Photoshop for the API Ammonia test too. Tada! No doubt about it 😁: 

Edited March 26, 2021 by Anita

[anewbie]

I'd really like if aquarium-coop carried the chihiros wrgb 2 light. I picked one up for my 120 to use with the fluval 3.0 and it really seems quite superior. The only downside is short warranty which is worrisome and the app requires location service/registration which is inappropriate.

[Koi]

@Anita I actually started trying to use my test strips again when I saw that post on your journal! What a clever method! I had some idea how you did it but wasn't fully sure so thank you.

For the last picture, did you mean API ammonia test or is the photo just an example? But if you also use the Tetra Ammonia Test Strip I would love to know what your experience was with it. At this point I'm not sure if I might have contaminated my test trips or if they were faulty to begin with. I even dipped my test strip into a cup of water with windex in it just to see what an ammonia reading would look like and the color did not come out as dark as I expected it to.

I definitely will have to try your method for my ph liquid test kit to see if helps me hold my ph steady.

[Anita]

1 hour ago, Koi said:

@Anita I actually started trying to use my test strips again when I saw that post on your journal! What a clever method! I had some idea how you did it but wasn't fully sure so thank you.

For the last picture, did you mean API ammonia test or is the photo just an example? But if you also use the Tetra Ammonia Test Strip I would love to know what your experience was with it. At this point I'm not sure if I might have contaminated my test trips or if they were faulty to begin with. I even dipped my test strip into a cup of water with windex in it just to see what an ammonia reading would look like and the color did not come out as dark as I expected it to.

I definitely will have to try your method for my ph liquid test kit to see if helps me hold my ph steady.

Oops, my bad. I meant API Ammonia Test. Sorry about that! 🤪

Also, after posting the photos, I thought of an even simpler Photoshop solution. Copy just the test strip into a new, transparent layer. Trim off any background so only the test strip is visible. Then drag the test strip over the color chart and move it around, comparing the test strip to the blocks in the color chart. I have to run, but I will post photos of what I mean. Just wanted to address you questions! 😎