Alkatronic 250372 Alkalinity Controller User Manual

250372 Alkalinity Controller

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User manual English v 7.4

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Introductio

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Basic Philosophy

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Set-up-procedur

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Placement

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Connecting hoses and prepare the measuring-beaker

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Establish software connection

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Mixing reagent

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Prime hoses and Calibrate pumps/electrode

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Prime hoses

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Calibrate Pumps

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Calibrate the pH-electrode

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Last step

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Functions and Graph Screen

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Measurement interval

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HOME-screen

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Extra measurement

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Table/history

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Aquarium volume

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Reference values/actions

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Low reference value

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High reference value

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Action mode

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Normal Mode/Fast Mode

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Forced Test Interval

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Wash out mode

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Test Pump Accuracy

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Test pH-electrode Calibration

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LCD-Screen

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Concomitant pH measurement of the tank water

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Export Data

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Auto Update Mode

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Alert Reagent/Bu er Bottle

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Connection to an aquariumcomputer/pH-computer

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Setup connection between Alkatronic and Aquariumcomputer

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n f e f s

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Programming tip to Apex/aquariumcomputer-user

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Cloud-functions

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Baseline calibration

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Socket setup and connection

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Physical set-up

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Establish Bluetooth-connection

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Dosetronic mode

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Automatic Correction Modes of the dosing schedule

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Pump D options in Dosetronic mode

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Maintenanc

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Change hoses inside the pumps

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Pump A and C

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Pump B and D

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Change micro lter and external hoses

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Change internal hoses

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Changing the pH-electrode

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Recalibration

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pH-electrode

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Pumps

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Trouble shootin

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Bad accuracy

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Bad precision

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Machine is giving a “4.48 dKH” value or very close to that

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Machine is giving a “0.00* dKH” value

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A lot of “black dots” in graph

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Machine is not dosing

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No connection between App and machine

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No wi -connection

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Failsafe message “Code 01”

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Failsafe message “Code 02”

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Failsafe message “Code 03”

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Failsafe message “Out of Range/Re-Calibrate”

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pH readings increase the rst day/s after installment of a brand new probe 43

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Appendi

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Recipe for carbonate-solution

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Mixing reagent solution

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Changing hoses in Pumps

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How to restore a pH-electrode

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Options of dispose the waste water

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Contents in the Bo

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Speci cation

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Product Registration ­ Warranty Each unit of Alkatronic carries a limited factory warranty for 12 months from purchase date with o cial invoice from shop. Damages result from user error will not be included in the warranty. Online registration must be done within 14 days after purchase in order to be deemed valid. In the case of any disputes, FOCUSTRONIC has the right to make the nal decision. FOCUSTRONIC will also send update information such as rmware updates or new features information via the registered email account. Product warranty is not transferrable. Please register via our website www.focustronic.net/produc-registration.
pH probe carries a 6 month warranty.

Alkatronic is a standalone machine and needs no other equipments. But it requires besides what is included:
· Reagent. Is o ered in a 4 liters very economical package, so called “concentrated” and have to be diluted, see here. We o er
also ready to use solutions, that you do not need to dilute. Read on bottle carefully what sort you have!
· Single use packages of calibration uids of 4.00 and 7.00 for a pH electrode.

Alkatronic may not be exposed directly to water and not to be placed in humid area so that visible condensation is present to the machine. Failed to prevent the Alkatronic to expose to humidity may void the factory warranty

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Introduction
Congratulations on your choice of this highly advanced device, which automatically measures alkalinity in your aquarium-system, and also within your own settled reference intervals, performs actions to prevent alkalinity from going above or below your desired reference values.
Please read the whole manual very carefully before setting up and using the device. There may be slight di erences (of no importance) between what is on the screen of the device and the pictures within this manual.

Basic Philosophy
The basic principal of Alkatronic is to act like a safety belt, intervening when your alkalinity falls outside of the reference values you choose. The aquarist s primary technique for maintaining alkalinity, such as pH-computers for Ca-reactor or dosingstations for Balling, will still act as the primary means of alkalinity control. The safety and stability provided by Alkatronic is more reliable when acting in that capacity. It is like the “lane-assist” feature of a car, when you occasionally drift out of the lane, the machine will correct it for you. Alkatronic will dose carbonate-solution from a separate pump when alkalinity falls below your low reference value, and shut o a socket (for instance for your water-feeding pump if you run Ca-reactor or your Balling-unit if you have that) when alkalinity rises above your high reference value.

When Alkatronic interacts, you will be able to track these actions through an on screen graph or list, in our app. This contains information when Alkatronic had to interact, and exactly what it did. Based on that, you can then ne-tune your primary equipment.
The main purpose of the Alkatronic is thus to prevent a rapid drop (or increase) in dKH due to some failure, which can cause the death of all of your corals, and the second purpose is to achieve a very stable dKH value by helping you ne-tuning your ordinary equipment.

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Set-up-procedure
When setting up this device for rst time, follow every points below very carefully until page 15.
Placement
Make sure you place the Alkatronic in a location that allows you to easily manage regular maintenance. The machine must be placed in a horizontal position. Actually, some very very small tilting to the left is no harm, and actually some bene t (but is not needed), but never tilting to the right!
It is possible to mount the device directly on a wall with our included wall mount, or just let it stand on a at surface. The height di erence between the Alkatronic and the water surface level from where the machine will take the water for testing, should ideally not exceed 50-70 cm. The reagent bottle should be placed as close as possible to the machine and at almost the same level as the machine (maximum of 10-20 cm height di erence, but preferably same level). Make sure that if you adjust any of these positions (the reagent bottle or the machine itself), you recalibrate the pumps, as the delivery amount of uids can vary based on the suction heights.
Feel free to use the included wall-mount for easy installation on wall, se picture.

Connecting hoses and prepare the measuring-beaker
All connections are made of Luer-connections. The female part of the Luer is factory-mounted in the walls of the machine, and the external hoses described below (1-5) should be installed tightly on the male part of the Luer, which should then be twisted on the female part. See pictures below. This makes it very easy to detach the external hoses when moving the machine.

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Male Luer

Female Luer

External hose

(Mounted in
Twist to attach,

wall)

detach

In the package we include:

· Silicon hose, ID=1.6mm (For connection 1)

· Silicon hose, ID=3.2mm (For connections 2-5)

· Silicon hose, ID=4.0 mm (For safety drain

connection)

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Please note:

· You have to cut the proper length yourself, as that will vary

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between di erent set-ups.

· The hose for the connections 3,4 and 5, you can use an

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ordinary 4/6 (mm) hose of any kind, as these hoses are not

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crucial concerning function or accuracy.

· But never use other hoses than included concerning

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connection 1 and 2.

· It is recommended to have as short length as possible

concerning connection 1 (maximum 0.5m) and

connection 2 (maximum 2.0m).

1. Cut the hose 1.6 mm in a proper length (if needed).

Connect one end to the inlet “Reagent In (1)” and the other

end to the included long plastic pipe. Put this plastic pipe

down into a bottle (not included) which you later will ll up

with reagent.

2. Cut the hose 3.2mm in a proper length. Make it as short

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as possible, and ideally not longer than 2.0 meter. Connect one end of hose to the inlet “Water In (2)” and the other end to the included micro lter (look at picture for correct orientation of the lter). Place the micro lter in a sump area (or other area where you want to take the water sample to measure) where it will never be exposed above the water´s surface. Never use this hose without the micro lter, and make sure the micro lter never can oat up!

3. Cut the 3.2 mm (or similar hose, like an ordinary 4/6 hose of any kind) in a proper length. Connect one end of this hose to the outlet “Waste out(3)”, and place the other end in a container which will collect the wastewater from the measuring procedure. If you measure every 6 hours, the waste volume is around 1.5 liter/week. Every measurement produces around 55 ml of waste water. NOTE: It is actually possible to let the waste water go back to the tank, and for more information about that see here.

4. Cut the hose 3.2mm in a proper length. Connect one end of this hose to the inlet “Alk In (4)” and place the other end in a container of carbonate- solution, made according to our recipe (see Appendix), or another sort of alkalinity solution.

5. Cut the hose 3.2mm in a proper length. Connect one end of this hose to the outlet “Alk Out (5)”, and lead that hose to a sump area with ample circulation.

6. Put the included small white magnetic rod into the measuring beaker, and place the beaker inside the machine in its tting.

7. Wait to install the pH-probe until it is calibrated, let it be in the transport cup until then

For all 3 pipes, Silicon hose in close contact with pipeholder

8. Make sure the pipes inside the machine are in proper position!! The premounted silicon hoses on the pipes should be in contact with the pipeholder, and in that way guarantee correct positions. Ensure the following pipepositions ( g 2a,2b):

Figure 2a

To Pump C To Pump A To Pump B

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· Pipe from Pump C should be a few cm above surface of the water.
· Pipe from pump B must be in contact with the bottom. Very important!!
· Pipe from pump A must be around 2 mm above bottom. Very important!!

Figure 2b

Safety Drain From Batch 3 and onwards Alkatronic have a safety drain. Use an ordinary 4/6 hose to connect to this Luer, if you wants to add this extra security.

Figure 2b

Establish software connection
The next step is to establish a connection between the App in the phone/tablet and the machine.
The connection between Alkatronic and iOS-app is based on Bluetoothconnection, and the connection between Alkatronic and Android app is based on internet- connection (thus require router connection, see below).
When wi connection is established with router it is also possible to do all settings and operations through our web-based cloud interface.

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The App links:

For iOS users: Alkatronic iOS

For Android users Alkatronic Android

For iOS user follow this instructions: Do not open the app yet.

1. Make sure you have Bluetooth enabled on your Phone/tablet.

2. Power upp the Alkatronic with the AC-adapter. Never use any other adapter than the one provided!

3. Open the Alkatronic app. “Create an account” and then “Log in”. After that “Add new device” and enter the serial number. Now click on the device serial number and press “Connect” and app will connect to Alkatronic. Connection is con rmed by a green dot at the Alkatronic logotype. It can take 5-10 sec to get connection.

4. In the app on the Main-screen, click on settings, scroll down to wi- , and
type the SSID and password of your home-router. After entering the data, press save. Wait some so its really saved. Kill app. Reboot unit (power o , wait 30 sec, power on) after saved the router credentials. Wait approx 5 minutes and Alkatronic will connect automatically to the router. From fw V03.01.16 and later you don´t have to reboot the unit to get router connection.

For Android user follow this instructions: Do not open the app yet.

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a) Make sure you have Bluetooth enabled on your Phone/ tablet.

b) Power upp the Alkatronic with the AC-adapter. Never use
any other adapter than the one provided!
c) Open the Alkatronic app. “Create an account” and then
“Log in”. After that “Add new device” and enter the serial number.

d) Now click on the device serial number and this
screen will appear:

e) Now enter “Update Wi and System Settings” and enter the SSID and password of the router and press save.

f) Bluetooth connection is now established and the SSID and password data is transfered to Alkatronic.

7. Reboot unit (power o , wait 30 sec, power on) after saved the router credentials. Wait approx 5 minutes and Alkatronic will connect automatically to the router. From fw V03.01.16 and later you don´t have to reboot the unit to get router connection.

h) open app again, click on the device serial number, and choose “View”, and now app is up and running through internet communication to Alkatronic.

Note that rst command sent from the app can take up to 1 minute before Alkatronic respond, but after that every
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command will respond within seconds!

Mixing reagent
If you have purchased the “ready to use reagent”, you shall not dilute this, but use it directly. Most user have the “concentrated” reagent, and that must be diluted with RO water in a ratio of 1:4. Please check here to get instructions and tip how to perform this. When you have the reagent ready, ll up the reagent bottle (not included) where you have the plastic pipe positioned.

Prime hoses and Calibrate pumps/electrode
Prime hoses
Now you must prime the hoses from Pump A, C and D.

1. Go to the main menu and select “Test Pump Accuracy”, and begin with Pump A.
2. Press “Test”, and make sure the water is moving upwards in the hose from the
   tank water. Follow it carefully until it is delivered into the test vial and you are sure there are no air bubbles anywhere in the hose. The pump will stop by itself, and if need just press once more to restart the priming.
3. Now do the same for Pump C (reagent uid) , and Pump D (carbonate solution).

Do not worry if there is now some water/reagent in the test vial, there should be.

Calibrate Pumps
Now you shall calibrate pump A, C and D. Its the same procedure for each pump, with only one di erence: For the pump A use the large calibration cylinder, for pump C and D, use the small one!

1. Take out the pipe from that pump you shall calibrate, by moving the pipe forward from the probe holder, and place it in the test cylinder.

2. In main menu, press “Calibrate” and then select proper

Read the meniscus at lower edge

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pump.
3) Make sure the pipe is placed down in the test-cylinder, and press Calibrate.
4) Pump now starts, and stops automatically.
5) When it stops, take the pipe out of the cylinder, place the
cylinder on a horizontal surface, and read the water line. Make sure to read it correctly, see Fig. Observe that in 100 ml cylinder every line corresponds to 1 ml, and in the small cylinder every line corresponds to 0.5ml. See g.
6) Note the value in the number elds with one decimal, then press save. Make sure the command is taken by looking at the LCD, where the entered value will be shown. If it is not shown, press save again. Now return the pipe to its proper position in the holder.

8.5 ml

For the small cyl every line is 0.5ml!

Now when all 3 pumps are calibrated, the beaker must be lled up, as it is almost empty at this stage (If this is the rst time. Otherwise the beaker is already lled). So now press “Test Pump Accuracy” and choose “Pump A”, then it will automatically ll the test-beaker with exactly 50 ml.

NOTE: The rst 1-2 weeks a brand new machine (or after newly replaced hoses) require recalibration once a week, due to some short run in period of a new hose. After these 2 weeks, the hose is run in, and you can go back to recalibration of pumps every 8 weeks (which is default and machine will give you an alert.).

Calibrate the pH-electrode
When calibrate the pH electrode we strongly recommend single-use calibration uids (they are more accurate).

Brand new electrode

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1. The pH electrode´s BNC connection is already pre-mounted so you do not have to unscrew the back panel until you need to replace the electrode (every 2 years).

2. Take o the transport-cup on the pH electrode.

3. Make sure there are no air-bubbles in then tip after transport by shaking it gently
   and very carefully, to allow bubbles to escape upwards in the electrode.

4. Rinse the electrode carefully in tap water to eliminate crystals from transporting
   uid, and then rinse with some RO water also. Immediately proceed to the calibration procedure, and if you do not do that, make sure the electrode does not dry in the meantime. Never keep the electrode tip (the last 3 cm of the electrode) dry for more than 5 minutes.

Calibration procedure 1. Go to main menu and select “Calibrate”, then select “pH
electrode”.
2. Rinse the electrode carefully in RO or distilled water, and
then wipe the electrode carefully without touching the glass tip.
3. Place the electrode in pH 7.00 solution, then press the “pH 7″button.
4. On the LCD you will now see “Stabilizing XX s”. This is a count down of 2 minutes to let the electrode stabilize.
5. After the 2 minutes has passed, the calibration starts automatically, and also show you the pH value before and after the calibration, and is nalized with the message “pH 7.0 Cal, Done”.
6. Now rinse the electrode very carefully in RO or distilled water, and wipe o carefully with water, but do not touch the glass bulb.
7. Place the electrode in pH 4.00 calibration uid, and press the “pH 4” button.
8. Now same procedure and messages is repeated as for step 4-5, and is nished with “pH 4.0 Cal, Done”
9. Now the electrode is calibrated! Do not forget to rinse it again. Now proceed immediately to last step, as the electrode must not be left dry for more than approx 5 minutes.
Last step
1. Now immediately place the electrode in its proper position in the holder and make sure it is located correctly in the test-beaker. Use the rubber ring (is from factory placed on the electrode shaft), to make the electrode to be still in its proper position, which is around 2 cm above the bottom of the measuring
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beaker. Do not place it too close to the bottom, it must never touch the rotating magnetic rod and not touch the glass bottom! If you of some reasons do not nd the rubber ring, use an ordinary rubber band to get the electrode stay in proper position/height.
2. If you have followed instructions correct and nished the calibration part by ll up the beaker, you are now done. If you of some reason still have an empty beaker, now immediately press “Test Pump Accuracy” and choose “Pump A”, then it will automatically ll the test-beaker with exactly 50 ml.

It is extremely important that the pH electrode is never dry, so secure that beaker is lled with its “standby volume”
of around 50 ml.

NOW, the machine is installed, calibrated, and ready to start measuring!
NOTE, the rst 1-2 measurements after installing a brand new unit, may not measure correct values. It will normally take 2 measurements to get correct values after the very rst set-up

The electrode in Alkatronic is a high-end electrode of lab grade quality, perfectly adapted for our purpose. In
some situations, but not all, a brand new electrode needs to be adapted to the biological water. In that case you can see a small raise in pH the rst 1-2 days. If you see that just recalibrate the electrode once more after around 2-3 days. After that the normal calibration
interval is around every 8 months.
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Functions and Graph Screens
Measurement interval
The machine automatically measures dkH according to an hour interval you decide. You can set measurement intervals between 1h-12h. Go to the home screen, select settings, and then set your desired interval with the +/- buttons. This value is the time between 2 measurements.

HOME-screen
Home-screen is the rst view you see when opening the app. At the top you always see:

· Latest measured value
· When it was measured
· When the next measurement will be

Below this you will see a graphic history of the last 3 days. “Overview graph/history”.
This graph has two lines showing the settled reference value (see below). The white dots are measurements. If the dKH is above or below the settled reference value, the dots will be blue or red respectively, telling us that here the machine has also performed an action to correct a deviating dKH. Click on the “Show All Graph/History” to see what type of actions the machine performed, and also get more values in list form.
If a dot is black, the value was preceded by a wash out of a suspected error measurement. The black dot and that value is the correct and settled value. For more info see “Wash out mode”.
If a dot is purple it means that this was the rst test after a restart of the machine.
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Extra measurement
On the home-screen there is a button called “Extra measurement”. When pressed, the Alkatronic will immediately perform an extra measurement independently of the settled measurement interval. The time for coming scheduled measure will not be a ected of an extra measurement.
Table/history
On the home-page below the graph, there is a button
called Table/history.
When pressed, you will get additional data in table form. If you want older history, go to “cloud-functions”. From fw version V03.01.16 and later , you will besides the dKH value also see the pH value in the tank at same time as the dKh value was measured!.

Aquarium volume
In settings you can enter the total volume of your aquarium system. The machine uses this value to calculate the proper amount of carbonate to dose if your dKH gets below your low reference value. In settings, you also can choose the unit between liter and gallon.
NOTE: If you are running an alkalinity solution of a di erent strength than a so called standard strength (Balling classic recipe), follow this table to adapt to that situation to get correct doses from Alkatronic! Correction table for di erent KH recipes/brands

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Reference values/actions
This is where you set your low and high dKH reference values for when you want the machine to intervene if the measured dKH is outside these values.

Low reference value
In settings, choose this value with one decimal.
When the measured dKH is below Low reference value, and “action mode” is enabled, Alkatronic will dose carbonate from its inbuilt pump D, or make extra doses from Dosetronic in those channels that are in Alkatronic mode.

Algorithm for dosing carbonates When Alkatronic calculates the proper dose of carbonates, it uses the aquarium volume you have set, and the di erence between the measured dKH and the value of “low reference value”.

Alkatronic is using intelligent algorithms to dose the lacking dKH in a smooth and safe way, and also deliberately aiming 0.1dKH higher than the “low reference value”, to get the target dKH some above the low reference line. We recommend all users to start with normal mode, se algoritms below. Fast mode is for tanks with a very high coral growth rate , and the dosing algoritms in fast mode are some more aggressive.

Normal Mode (=Fast Mode Disabled):
· If the di erence of dKH and low reference value > 0.14, then the half dose of lacking alkalinity is dosed.
· If the di erence of dKH and low reference value <= 0.14, then the whole dose of lacking alkalinity is dosed.
· If the di erence of dKH and low reference value >= 0.6, then Alkatronic will never dose more than 0.35 dKH at same time.

Fast Mode:
· In “Fast Mode” it will always dose the whole amount of lacking alkalinity.
· If the di erence of dKH and low reference value >= 0.6, then Alkatronic will never dose more than 0.7dKH at same time.

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Remember that when machine is doing an action, it will do next measure (and if needed an action again) every 2 hours. When the dKH value are back within the reference intervals, the measurement frequency is back according to the settings.

High reference value
When the measured dKH is above High reference value, and “action mode” is enabled, Alkatronic will shut o the socket. (For socket installation see here) and also block pumps in Dosetronic that are in Alkatronic mode.

When dKH is below your settled High reference value, Alkatronic will keep the socket open and unblock the dosing schedule in Dosetronic.

As long as the dKH is outside these reference values, Alkatronic will measure at an interval of 2 hours, independently of the measurement interval you have selected in settings. When the dKH is back again within the settled reference values, the machine will continue to measure according to your settings in “measurement interval”.

Action mode
When action mode is set to o (white), no actions like dosing carbonates and/or closing the socket, will be taken. When action mode is set to on(orange), the machine will interact according to the explanations above. Factory settings for security reasons is “o “, but machine will remember and keep the settled status, so if machine for instance is restarted and you before restart had action mode enabled, the action mode will automatically remain enabled BUT rst after the rst measure after a restart, of security reasons.

Normal Mode/Fast Mode
When action mode is enabled, you can also customize the dosing algoritms based on your systems demand. We recommend all users to start with “Normal Mode” (Which is same as Fast Mode Disabled), and that is default. Fast Mode is sometimes suitable for heavily stocked sps tanks, if you notice that the dosing actions in normal mode is not enough to bring the dKH back to levels above the low reference line. For the di erences between these modes see page 14 (algoritms for dosing carbonates).

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Forced Test Interval
When machine measure a dKH value outside the settled reference values, Alkatronic use a measure interval of 2 hours as default, thus deliberately not following the scheduled interval. In extreme situations this 2 hours interval can have to be adjusted, and that can be done by changing “Forced Test Interval”.
Our recommendations are these:

· Normal dKH consumption: use the default settings of 2 hour

· Extreme dKH consumption (like 0.2dKH/h or more): Set it to 1 hour

· Very low dKH consumption: Set it to 3 hour

Wash out mode
Even though the machine measures with very high precision, rarely an error measurement may occur. One example would be due to temporary air in the hoses. To avoid actions as a result of these potential error measurements, the machine will always compare a new measurement with the previous measurement. If the di erence is more than 0.20 dKH, the machine will redo the measurement for safety reasons. It could ofcourse be a true deviation from the previous measurement, for example if your measurement interval is very long and you could have actually had that big of a deviation. In that case, the machine will re-measure and accept that value as true. The main principal of the wash out mode is that the machine will redo a measurement if the di erence in alkalinity is more than 0.20 dkH from the previous measurement, and when the di erence is <=0.20, accept that value and set it for true.
The washed out value/s will not be shown in either the graph or the history as we interpret them as false. But, as an indication that a value was proceeded by a wash out sequence, that value will be marked with a black dot. Thus, this “black value” is correct, but gives you info that 1-2 values before that have been washed out.

There are 2 reasons that the wash out sequence will kick in. One is, and that is the main goal of this algorithm, when the machine performs an error measurement. The other reason could be that the value is actually correct, but the time between 2 measurements is so big that the alkalinity has actually changed that much.

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If you notice that there are many black dots on the graph you should increase the measurement frequency. If you notice many black dots despite having a high measure frequency, you should check the physical installation to ensure everything is correct. If that still does not resolve the issue, look over the Ca-Reactor/Balling Station to make sure there are no issues with them that are causing the large variations between measurements.

Sometimes you do not want this wash out function. Maybe you deliberately measure with very low frequency, and therefore almost all of the time get more than 0.20 dKH in di erence between the measurements, Maybe you know in advance that the next measurement will deviate signi cantly from the last measurement (after a water change, the rst measurements of a newly installed machine, set up of a new new aquarium). In these cases it could be convenient to disable this function, which is done in the settings, by choosing “Wash out mode”, “o “(white). Orange button=On. Default mode is “on”, so please do not forget to actively set this button to what you desire. We encourage a measure frequency of at least every 6 hours, and strongly advice to have wash out mode always enabled. Notice that the rst measured value after a restart of Alkatronic will never be washed out, as Alkatronic need at least one measured value in history since restart, to compare with, AND this is also the reason why Alkatronic never do corrective actions based on the rst measurement after a restart.
Test Pump Accuracy
This function allows you to control the calibration status of the pump, for instance to help decide if there is a need to recalibrate the pump, and also a helpful tool if you of some reason have an inaccuracy issue.

When you press this button, Test Pump Accuracy, you test the accuracy of the latest calibration of pump A, C or D. Before pressing the button to start the test, take out the pipe from the probe holder from the pump you want to check, and place that pipe in the included calibration cylinder. For pump A use the large cylinder, and for pump C and D use the small one. Then choose the pump to test and press “Test”, and the pump will start and stop after a certain time. Read the delivered volume in the cylinder (see calibration chapter how to read the calibration
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cylinders correct). Ideally, the delivered uid volume should be the following:

· Pump A:49.5-50.5 ml
· Pump C:9.9-10.1 ml
· Pump D:9-11 ml
If the delivered volume deviates from the above intervals, go to calibrate and recalibrate that pump!
Test pH-electrode Calibration
If you correctly calibrate the electrode every 8 months, you should rarely need this function. When you press this button, test pH-electrode Calibration, and then push start, you will see a continuous pH reading on the LCD screen. You can now easily check if the pH electrode is accurate or needs recalibration. Carefully rinse the electrode in RO or distilled water, wipe it o , and place it in a solution with a known pH. Then compare the expected value with the reading on the LCD.
This function will help you decide if there is a need to recalibrate the pH electrode. If you correctly calibrate the electrode every 8 months, you should rarely need this function.
LCD-Screen
On the LCD-screen there is some basic info. Between measurements the machine is in standby mode and will always show the last measured dKH-value, when the next measurement is going to be performed, and on the second line, if any actions were taken based on the last measured value (Socket o , Dosed xx.xx ml, dKH OK).

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· Last measured value
· When next measurement will be
· If any actions were taken based

on the last measured value.
· dKH OK
· Dosed xx.xx ml
· Socket o
When making changes in settings, LCD screen will shortly show these settings. You will of course always see the settings in the App, as the App and Alkatronic remembers all settings, even after a power-o .
· Low reference value

· High reference value

· Aquarium Volume

· Baseline calibration factor

· Measurement interval (in hour)
Concomitant pH measurement of the tank water
Alkatronic uses a lab grade pH-electrode to titrate the alkalinity. That´s a reference method to establish the true alkalinity with very high precision, so this is one of all bene ts with our method. One very good bonus e ect using a pH electrode, is that we of course take the opportunity to measure, record and store also the pH value of the tank water. This is done by Alkatronic exactly before the alkalinity titration starts, giving you a 100% true pH value of the tank, at same time as you get the dKH value. So you will get as many pH values during a day as you get dKH values, making it possible to get a very representative pH visualization as well.

Export Data
In the main menu, you have a button called “Export Data”. When clicking on this, your mail-client will be opened and include the measurements from the history, in that mail.

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Auto Update Mode
When this button is enabled the rmware updates from Focustronic is automatically received and installed in the Alkatronic.

Alert Reagent/Bu er Bottle
In the settings you have the possibilities to reset the reagent and bu er(carbonate) bottles, in order to get an alarm/alert when they are needed to be re lled. If you for instance re ll the reagent bottle up to 1000 ml reagent uid, then click at “Re ll Reagent Bottle” and in popup window enter “1000ml”. After that, click at “Re ll Reagent” in the submenu “Alert” and enter (in ml) the remaining volume when you wants receive the alarm/alert.

Connection to an aquariumcomputer/pH-computer
Our included socket is mandatory for users with no aquariumcomputer, and also for users with no free pH-port on an existing aquariumcomputer. However, users with a free BNC-pH port on their aquariumcomputer can connect Alkatronic to that port through an ordinary BNC-cable, and send the latest dKH value to your aquariumcomputer (like an Apex or similar). Then in your aquariumcomputer you can handle that information anyway you want, like control the outlet to your CO2solenoid, feed pump for your calcium reactor, or Balling-station. Basically you can do the same things you would do with our own included socket, however you have the option to use the latest dkH measurement anyway you desire.

Setup connection between Alkatronic and Aquariumcomputer
3) Connect a BNC cable between the Alkatronic upper BNC output (BNC 1) and a pH input on the aquariumcomputer

4. In the aquariumcomputer, select the correct pH-port and go to that computer’s pH calibration process

5. In the Alkatronic app, select “Calibrate”, then select “BNC”

6. Go to the aquariumcomputer s pH calibration menu (for reference see manual),
   and select pH 7.00 calibration.

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7) In the Alkatronic app now click the 7.0 button. Now the Alkatronic will send a signal to your aquarium- computer that simulates a “pH 7.00 signal”. When you are sure that your aquariumcomputer has received the signal, and it has stabilized (2-3 minutes), press calibrate on the aquariumcomputer. Please refer to your aquariumcomputer’s manual if you do not know how to perform it’s ph calibration process. If you need any support, contact the aquariumcomputer’s manufacturer.

8. Go to the aquariumcomputer’s pH calibration menu (for reference see manual), and select pH 10.00 calibration.

9. In the Alkatronic app, click the 10.0 button. Now the Alkatronic will send a signal to your aquariumcomputer that simulates a “pH 10.00 signal”. When you are sure that your aquariumcomputer has received this signal, and it is stabilized (for sure, wait 3-5 minutes), press calibrate on the aquariumcomputer. Again, reference your aquariumcomputer’s manual if you need any help with it’s ph calibration process.
   Now, your aquariumcomputer will understand the dKH values that Alkatronic will be sending.

OBS: As the signal from Alkatronic is analogue, and the signal to the third party aquariumcomputer is rounded to nearest tenth (In Alkatronic we have the resolution of hundredths) , there could be a small di erence between the true value from Alkatronic and the shown value on the aquariumcomputer by +-0.05dKH( but mostly within +- 0.02dKH) . Of same reason, that the signal is analogue, you can sometimes see in the third party aquariumcomputer a small uctuation of the signal by 1-2 hundredths. This is normal and depends on how the receiving aquariumcomputer handles the signal. Anyway, this is not a problem, as you never make actions based on di erence of only hundredths. Please also read chapter below and using the “defer” command in for instance the Apex to avoid actions based on a small sudden uctuation of these hundredths. Also remember that the aquariumcomputer can only receive dKH values from 7.00 and upwards, and the upper limit depends on the aquarium computer’s limit to show high pH values. So if your aquariumcomputer is showing a dKH value very close to 7.00dKH, the true value could be that or lower. The correct values will of course always be displayed on the Alkatronic LCD screen and in the Alkatronic app and at our cloud. The measure range of Alkatronic is between 4.48dKH-15.4dKH. Alkatronic will also of course perform all of the actions you want it to, independent of what value you have on your aquariumcomputer.

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We can not take any responsibility for whether or not the aquariumcomputer interprets the value as correct, we can only control our signal from Alkatronic and guarantee that is correct.

Programming tip to Apex/aquariumcomputer-user
As the signal to Apex/Pro lux/other “third party aquarium-computer”=(TAQ), is analogue, it will uctuate some 1/100ths up and down. This is the case for all analogue signals, like temp, pH, ORP etc. In the TAQ you will probably want to set reference levels when you want di erent things to happen if your value is below, or above a certain level. Remember to always use the command “Defer”, to prevent bouncing between on and o if the values are very near your settled reference value.

Ex: In your Apex you want to shut o the CO2-solenoid if dKH is above 8.50 dKH. If Alkatronic measures for instance 8.45 dKH, the value in your Apex from time to time could go above 8.50 due to the small instability of the analogue signal. You do not want your Apex to react to these minor and temporary uctuations above your reference values. You need to add a function in your Apex code that tells your apex to only react if the value have been outside your reference values for a certain amount of time. In Apex you call this Defer.

In the example below, you want Apex to shut o an outlet if dKH is above 8.50 dKH, but only if it is above that level for more than 10 minutes. This will prevent the Apex from bouncing between on and o , if you are very close to the settled reference level.

Fallback ON
Set ON
If dKH > 8.50 Then OFF
Defer 010:00 Then OFF

Cloud-functions
From our server/cloud, you can reach Alkatronic and control all functions from all places in the world as long as you are connected to internet and Alkatronic to your home-router.

There is 3 di erent way to access the cloud and all are actually the same.

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From iOS app
Use the shortcut in iOS app “Access Remotely”.
From Android app
For the Android app, as thats running on internet
you just have to click “view”.

From Web browser
https://alkatronic.focustronic.com/login

As some functions must never be started by mistake, specially those functions including that pumps are running, we both have an ordinary screen lock, but also for the motor and calibration functions a number-code to unlock this area. This code is always the 4 last digits in the serial number of your machine.

Baseline calibration
This function should not replace a calibration of the pumps and pH-electrode, but is ideally used if you of some reason have a reagent concentration that is not correct, thus leading to a signi cant inaccuracy. The typical situation you would need this function is if you mix the reagent yourself, and do some failure in that process, thus leading to a reagent with not perfect concentration. Thus this function will save you, and you can still use the reagent. But there is actually one more situation you could use this function: If you have calibrated the pumps perfect, but the measure cylinders have some inbuilt inaccuracy, then this function can compensate for that as long as you have a reference KH test to compare with.

Correct calibrated pump A and C, and correct calibrated pH-electrode, but still a dKH measurement from Alkatronic which is deviating more than 0.2dKH
from the true dKH measured by a high quality reference test.
Following condition must be true, if this function should be used:

If you decide to use this function, and all conditions is ful lled for that (see orange box), then go to “Baseline calibration” in settings.

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Slide the button to “ON/Enable(Orange)”, to make it possible to enter data. If you have the button in OFF-position, it will not be possible to enter any data, and the Baseline calibration is not active( and that is equal to that baseline factor is 1.00).

In the data- eld enter following dKH values:

Field 1: “dKH value from Alkatronic” Field 2: “dKH value from a reference test
Make sure you really have correct values when you enter these in the data- elds. Thus, concerning the Alkatronic dKH-value, let Alkatronic measure at least twice and be sure these 2 values are very near each other as an indication that the measurement is correct performed. And concerning the dKH from the reference test, make it twice of same reason, and be absolutely positive that the reference test is showing the true dKH value.
Press save. From now, all values measured by Alkatronic will be recalculated with a factor which compensate for the not perfect mixed reagent.
All values in the app and LCD-display will be marked with a “*”, if this function is enabled.
Do not forget to disable the function again when you re ll with reagent with correct concentration!
Socket setup and connection
To let Alkatronic also control dKH in the upper direction, you can use the included wireless socket/smart-plug. By using this, Alkatronic can close/open the alkalinity addition from both a calcium-reactor or a third party dosing station.

Physical set-up
For Calciumreactor-user with pH-probe controlled CO2-dosing 1) Plug the Alkatronic-socket into a power plug from wall.

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2) Put the cord from the pump that feeds the calcium reactor with aquarium water into the Alkatronic socket. See Figure 4.

Now, as long as the Alkatronic socket is “open”, which is indicated by a red light on the socket, the Alkatronic socket gives power to your pump that feeds your Ca-reactor (which usually is a peristaltic pump for continuously use). Only when a measured dKH is above your settled high reference value (and action mode is enabled), will the Alkatronic plug shut o , and thus shut o the feeding pump, so that no alkalinity is added to the aquarium.

Socket in wall

Socket from Alkatronic

Cord to pump that feeds the Careactor with aquariumwater, or cord to a third party Dosing-station.

Figure 4 For Calciumreactor-user with timer-controlled CO2-dosing 1) Plug the Alkatronic-socket into a power plug from wall.
2) Plug the timer that controls the CO2-solenoid into the Alkatronic socket. See Figure 5.

Now, as long as the Alkatronic socket is “open”, which is indicated by a red light on the socket, the Alkatronic socket gives power to your ordinary timer that controls the solenoid to the CO2-supply. Only when a measured dKH is above your settled high reference value (and action mode is enabled), will the Alkatronic plug shut o , and thus shut o the CO2, independently of what your ordinary timer wants to do. See gure 5.

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30 Ordinary timer, controlling CO2solenoid

Socket from Alkatronic

Cord to CO2-solenoid.

Figure 5

For Balling-user 1) Plug the Alkatronic-socket into a main power plug from wall,
2) Plug the cord from the dosing station of Balling solutions into the Alkatronic socket. See Figure 4

Now, as long as the Alkatronic socket is “open”, which is indicated by a red light on the socket, the Alkatronic socket gives power to your Balling- station, and therefore your dosing station is controlled by its internal schedule. Only when a measured dKH is above your settled high reference value (and action mode is enabled), will the Alkatronic socket shut o , and thus independently of what your dosing station “wants to do”, it will shut down until dKH is back again within the reference values.

For Calciumreactor and/or Balling users with an aquariumcomputer with a BNC- port for pH electrode These users can, instead of or in addition to our own Alkatronic socket, connect Alkatronic to an ordinary pH input of an aquarium computer (or pH computer) through an ordinary BNC-cable. The aquarium computer will then receive the dKH values from Alkatronic on its pH-input, and you can use this dKH-information to implement any actions you desire through your aquarium computer’s programs.

Establish Bluetooth-connection
· Go to settings and enter the MACaddress (see attached info in package) of the included socket at “Plug 1”- eld, slide the button to orange, and press save. If your are not able to slide the button to orange (shadowed), then go to settings and switch “action mode” to enable, then try again.

Now that you have a BT-connection between Alkatronic and the socket, the socket should have turned on. Try to toggle the Plug 1 button and make sure the socket reacts. Do not forget to leave it on enable (orange). If for some reason it is not turning on, check that you have BT-connection

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(green dot on home-screen), and action mode enabled. If “action mode” is disabled, the control of BT-socket is deliberately locked.

As long as the measured dKH is below the “High reference value” the socket will be left on. If the machine measures a dkH above the settled High reference value, and action mode is enabled, the socket will be turned o , and the machine will measure again after 2 hours. When a subsequent dKH measurement is below the High reference value, the socket will go back to “on”.

If action mode is disabled, the socket will not react to the dKH values, but will be left in it’s last position. For safety reasons, the socket is always in ON-mode (orange) after a power up of the machine. Remember that if you want to be able to change the socket both manually with the toogle-button, or let the machine do so by automatic actions, you must have “action mode” enabled.

Dosetronic mode
When you set “Dosetronic Mode” to enable, the pump D in Alkatronic will be disabled, and all dosing and autocorrection instructions from Alkatronic will be performed by Dosetronic. The wireless socket still responds as normal also in Dosetronic mode. For more info refer to user manual of Dosetronic.

Automatic Correction Modes of the dosing schedule
One of the unique and game changing features of Dosetronic, is that it can in combination with an Alkatronic, autoadjust the scheduled doses based on the KHmeasurements from Alkatronic.

We have 2 di erent autocorrection functions, with slightly di erent purposes. Overall Dosing Adjustment, and Selective Dosing Adjustment. You shall not use both at same time, and to prevent that, the software only allows one to be enabled each time. You nd the buttons to enable/disable these in the Alkatronic app.

These autocorrection functions will apply to all channels in Dosetronic that are in Alkatronic mode. For more information about this, refer to user manual of Dosetronic. Users that don´t have a Dosetronic just leave this button in “O ” position, (and Dosetronic mode in disabled position)

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Pump D options in Dosetronic mode
When Alkatronic is in Dosetronic Mode, all dosing and regulations based on the values from Alkatronic, is performed by Dosetronic (in the channels that are in Alkatronic mode), and thus pump D in AT is automatically disabled for that purpose.
But, in Dosetronic Mode, its actually possible to use pump D as an isolated dosing pump, with 2 options:
· Dosing X ml after a nished measurement from
Alkatronic. Typical use of this is to pump back x ml salt water to compensate for what consumes during a test.
· Dose x ml according to a xed interval, where doses will be performed xx:30.

This function needs following software and app versions: · Alkatronic software: V 03.03.00 or later
· App versions: “All in one app”:

· iOS : V 1.1.3 or later
· Android: V 114 or later

Maintenance
Change hoses inside the pumps
Pump A and C
Every 6 months (based on a mean-measure frequency of 6 measurements a day). In app there is a hose counter that reminds you when time to change.
Pump B and D
Every 6 months (based on a mean-measure frequency of 6 measurements a day). In app there is a hose counter that reminds you when time to change.
OBS: Always use original hoses from FOCUSTRONIC for this purpose. We will not guarantee precision/accuracy, nor safety, if you use other hoses than our replacement hoses. It is of the utmost importance that these hoses are of correct quality, diameter, length, with correctly positioned stops, and are specialized for this machine and it´s pumps.

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Change micro lter and external hoses
From time to time depending on how much dedritus and light the external parts is exposed to, you have to exchange the micro lter, and the external hoses as well. Concerning the external hoses to pump A (“Water in”) and C (“Reagent in”), and the micro lter, only use those from Focustronic. The replacement interval can vary quite much, but as a guideline we recommend to exchange the lter as well as the external hoses every 6 months. We strongly recommend to follow these replacement guidelines, and your local dealer or distributor have the spare kit for you. Its specially important to change the external hose between reagent bottle and machine on a regular basis.

Change internal hoses
Besides the hoses inside the pumps and the hoses outside machine, there is also a few hoses internal mounted in chassi. These last very long, but that hose that carry the reagent uid should be replaced at same time as you replace the pump C hose (and external part of reagent line).

This is the internal hose that carry the reagent. Do not forget to change this when change hose inside C pump, or if you have issues with many black dots.

Changing the pH-electrode
The included pH electrode is of high quality and is specially chosen for this purpose. If properly handled, it will last for 2-2.5 years. After these 2+ years it will need to be replaced. You can purchase the electrode at Focustronic, or at the local dealer where you bought the machine. When you replace the electrode you have to unscrew the back-lid and in the upper right corner of the circuit board connect the BNC cable to the BNC-contact. Be very careful not to touch the electronics on the circuit board. If you are concerned about performing this task, please contact Focustronics support and we will guide you through it. After that, follow the instructions on here, from point 2 and onwards.

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Recalibration
pH-electrode
The electrode in Alkatronic is a high-end electrode of lab grade quality, perfectly adapted for our purpose. In some situations, but not all, a brand new electrode needs to be adapted to the biological water. In that case you can see a small raise in pH the rst 1-2 days after installed a new electrode. If you see that just recalibrate the electrode once more after around 2-3 days. After that the normal calibration interval is around every 8 months, due to its very high quality and precision.
The electrode will last around 2.5 years if handled properly.

Pumps
Pump A, C and D Every 8 weeks. You can always run the function “Test Pump Accuracy” to check if calibration is needed, as the interval could di er depending on the age of the hose inside the pump. Thus every 8 weeks in only a guideline, and could vary. The machine will give you an alert when time to calibrate, as a reminder.
NOTE: The rst 1-2 weeks a brand new machine (or after newly replaced hoses) require recalibration once a week, due to some short run in period of a new hose. After these 2 weeks, the hose is run in, and you can go back to recalibration of pumps every 8 weeks (which is default and machine will give you an alert.)
Pump B Pump B never needs to be calibrated

Trouble shooting
Bad accuracy
De nes as more than 0.2-0.3dKH di erence from the known dKH.
Lets start with the summary, as that contains all details below:

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Summary: If Alkatronic is correct calibrated and reagent is correct, and despite this is inaccurate, it always depends on some inbuilt inaccuracy in the measure calibration cylinders. Just use the “Baseline calibration” to compensate. Done.

First of all:
· Make sure that you really know the “correct” dKH. That is not easy, as even a
brand new manual KH test from the market, mostly have an inbuilt inaccuracy of around 0.3dKH.
· Make sure that the pipes are in correct positions! The pipe from pump B must be in contact with bottom and the pipe from pump A must be around 2 mm above botton.
Inaccuracy is always a matter of calibration and there is 3 di erent areas where the calibration could have been not perfect:

1. The A and C pumps Check pump calibration status for Pump A and C, by using the “Test Pump Accuracy” function. If the volume of the delivered uid isn´t within the ranges below, redo the calibration of that pump.
· Pump A:49.5-50.5 ml
· Pump C:9.9-10.1 ml

Make sure you are reading the measure cylinders correct when you calibrated! Read the lowest line in the water surface, and observe that in the 25 ml cylinder (the small one) every line corresponds to 0.5 ml!!. See gure!
Fig. The value here is 8.5 ml. 2. pH electrode
Check pH electrode in this way:

1. Use a new, not opened, bottle of mineral water, NO gas, with labeled pH on it.
   Here is a few brands that have labeled pH (with good accuracy as water is with high alkalinity):
   Evian, Aqua d’Or, Gerolsteiner, Volvic, Fiji etc. 2) Rinse electrode in tap water , wipe o carefully, do not touch glass bulb, and then rinse in some of the mineral water you shall use.

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3) Pour up the mineral water in a completely cleaned and rinsed bucket (rinse that in RO), and place electrode there, and shake a few times carefully.
4) Now press “test pH-electrode Calibration” from app.
5) If value is within 0.2pH from the labeled pH your electrode is good and you dont´ have to recalibrate. If its outside 0.2pH from labeled value, then recalibrate the electrode.
6) After that recalibration (if any) redo the “mineral water” test, and if still outside 0.2pH from labeled value, consider change electrode.
3. Reagent
Do not forget to dilute the reagent if it is the so called “concentrated”!
Follow instructions here how to dilute.

The “ready to use reagent” from Focustronic, you do not have to test, this test below is to check if you have diluted the so called “concentrated reagent” in an accurate way.

Check the accuracy of the Alkatronic reagent you use in the machine, in this way:

· Perform an ordinary salifert test (use 4 ml of tank-water as usual, 4 drips of color dye etc) , BUT use the Alkatronic reagent (diluted/ready to use) instead. Now do this math:

( 1-syringe reading ) x 250 x 0.056 = dKH
Example:
If syringe when color is change to violet is showing 0.45ml, then:

( 1-syringe reading) = 1 – 0.45= 0.55ml
So the formula will in this case be:

0.55 x 250 x 0.056 = 7.70dKH

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If this calculated dKH value (7.70dKH in the example above) is within 0.3dKh from a reliable manual test, then you know that the Alkatronic reagent is correct! But if it deviates more there is slight inaccuracy of the reagent caused by not perfect dilution of the so called “concentrated” reagent. To correct this use the “Baseline calibration”.

If you have gone through all 3 steps above, thus con rmed that Alkatronic is correct calibrated and correct mixed reagent, and still experience inaccuracy, then the inaccuracy is depending of small inaccuracy of the measure calibration cylinders. You solve this in same way as when not perfect diluted reagent: “Baseline calibration”.

Bad precision
De nes as more than 0.1dKH variance between 2 measurements immediately after each other.

1. Check the micro lter for obstructions and make sure it is not too dirty (do you need to wash it or replace it?) , and make sure it can never oat up.
2. Check for large amounts of visible air in the hoses concerning the reagent line (C line). A small amount of air is normal and will not in uence the results. Best place to check is at the hose section between pump C and pipette. In the beginning of the titration cycle, there should be very little air traveling in that part. Around 1-2 cm air totally is normal. If there is much air check these things:

· A lot of air bubbles in the reagent canister? Use your ngertip or something similar to tap the outside of the container in order to let any air bubbles dissipate and escape from the reagent vial wall.

· Make sure the reagent vessel is not lower than 20 cm below the machine.

· Check that the pipe in the reagent bottle is below the surface.

· Check so all luer-connections and hoses are tight.
· Check the plastic connectors in pump C, so there is no
crack on that.

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· Check all parts of C-hose, outside and inside machine so there is no sharp bend or knick, or air leakage due to cracks. Very small crack can be di cult to see but will have an impact, so check very carefully. One weak point can be if you have to sharp angle in junction between pipe and hose. See g.
Also very old C-hoses (more than 8 months), can be more vulnerable to cracks. Follow our guidelines concerning replacing interval and if still issues replace both external and internal hoses in reagent line and pump C hose. Check here.
3. Check the magnetic stirrer, ensure the magnetic rod is in place, and moves during the titration phase.

4. Check that the placement of the machine and reagent bottle is according to our
guidelines.
5. Make sure that the pipes are in correct positions! The pipe from pump B must be in contact with the bottom and the pipe from pump A must be around 2 mm above the bottom, and the pipe from pump C should be around 20 mm above surface level when the measurement vial is in standby mode (containing 50.0 ml).

6. Check so the pH electrode is not in contact with glass bottom, but is around 2-3 cm above. Use the rubber ring included to hold it in place. If you lost the rubber ring just use an ordinary rubber band.

7. Brand new hoses in the pumps, could need some run in time, so after installing new hoses in pump, the rst 1-2 days could be with slight lower precision (but probably not). That will very fast disappear, and need no actions.

Machine is giving a “4.48 dKH” value or very close to that
1. You really have this low value
2. Of some reason, no water is delivered to the machine for a test cycle
3. You have forgot to dilute the “concentrated” reagent!

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If the reason is none of the above and still these 4.48 values or at least very low values, go to chapter “Bad accuracy”.

Machine is giving a “0.00* dKH” value
This can sometimes be seen in a brand new machine. During some circumstances in the very rst set up, and very rst time you start the unit from factory settings, the so called Baseline calibration-factor can be a N/A-value, leading to this “0.00” results.Of course the value is not 0.00, so to correct this do this:
· Go to settings in the app, and toogle the Baseline calibration button to disable,
so you see the factor 1.00. Then press save, and check LCD screen and con rm that you in LCD see “F1.00”.

A lot of “black dots” in graph
Read above about wash out mode.

Some “black” dots is normal, as that can be due to true alkalinity uctuations in the tank, especially if you measure quite seldom (every 6 hours or less). And also, machine can as a very very seldom event, do a temporary error, and that is also detected and washed out, and in that case also normal with a black dot in the graph. But if you have very many black dots, like several every day, you can go through this check list:

· If the time-tag after a washed out measure ends with something close to XX:10, that means that the value was correctly measured by Alkatronic but that the di erence compared to previous measured value was >0.2dKH, and therefore Alkatronic only redo the measure once and then settle the value. In this case, everything is correct in all aspects, but consider to increase measure frequency.

· If the time-tag after a washed out measure ends with something close to XX:20 or more, that means that the rst value was incorrectly measured by Alkatronic and therefore Alkatronic redo the measure twice or more, and then settle the correct value. If this “XX:20-measurements “, happens only 1-2 times a week, you do not have to do anything, but if it happens more often:

· Go through the check point in “Bad precision”.

· Check so you do not dose any carbonates in time and place very close to the water intake to Alkatronic. In best case try to dose all Balling solutions downstream from the water-intake to Alkatronic.

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Machine is not dosing
Toggle the action mode button and con rm that you in LCD see “Action mode enabled”, AND immediately after that press save in app. Do not leave the screen before pressed save button in app. Also check so Dosetronic mode is disabled.

No connection between App and machine
· For iOS,
· Make sure you have BT connection enabled at phone/table.
· Make sure you always close app after a session. Having app open longer than 30 minutes can cause connection issues.

· For Android
· Android app runs with internet communication, so if not respond you most likely have failed in get Alkatronic connected to the router.
Go back to page 9, and redo the steps from point d. Make sure you really enter the correct SSID and password for the router, and that router is running at 2.4 GHZ.

No wi -connection
iOS user: If issues with connecting to your home router, thus connection issue to the web cloud page try this:

If you have had connection to router before and just lost it then start with just restart the Alkatronic, and make sure the app is closed. And a restart is performed by just power o Alkatronic, wait 30 sec, then power on.

Only If restart doesn’t solve it, or you never have had connection with router from start, proceed to below:

1. Restart the Alkatronic
2. Wait for BT connection
3. Clear the wi credentials and press save
4. Enter the wi credentials and press save
5. Enable alerts for “dKH high” and “dKH low”, and press save
6. Kill app
7. Restart Alkatronic again. DO NOT OPEN THE APP NOW.

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8. Wait for a few minutes (still do not connect with app)
9. Check in router to see if you can see Alkatronic serial nr, if you do, Alkatronic
now communicates with your router.

If this still do not solve the problem, the problem is very likely on the router-side. In that case refer to the router settings and user manual. Sometimes it is su cient with restart the router and sometimes it is a security setting in router, where for instance “guest-mode” can solve the problem in some routers. Also note that Alkatronic communicate at 2.4GHZ, so that must be the option in the router settings.

Once you have got this connection to the router, you will normally not have to do these actions anymore (and mostly not at all, as also the rst connection is automatically).

Android user:
If issues with connecting to your home router, thus connection issue with the Android lite app and the web cloud page, try this:

If you have had connection to router before and just lost it, then start with just restart the Alkatronic. And a restart is performed by just power o Alkatronic, wait 30 sec, then power on.

Only If restart doesn’t solve it, or you never have had connection with router from start, proceed to below:

·

Go back to page 11, and redo the steps from point d. Make sure you really

enter the correct SSID and password for the router, and that router is running

at 2.4 GHZ.

Failsafe message “Code 01”
If you got this error message, it depends on that machine have done 2 measurements after each other where both values <= 4.48 dKH. This indicates that it can be either

1. You really have this low value
2. Of some reason, no water is delivered to the machine for a test cycle
3. You have forgot to dilute the “concentrated” reagent!
4. Issue with the electrode

Machine will close down, and do no more measurements, until you have checked the reasons, and will need a restart to start over again.

Start the trouble shooting with following chapter “Bad accuracy”.

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Failsafe message “Code 02”
If machine is doing more than 4 retests in one session (see wash out algoritm) , there is some installation issue outside machine, like air leakage in C-line, micro- lter oat up, not correct pipe-positions, damaged electrode, or something else giving constantly variabel readings. That reason must be xed, so if that happens machine says Code 02,, and will stop measure, until you have restarted the machine and located the reason. To troubleshoot that part, follow same points as during “Bad precision” and “A lot of black dots in graph”.

Failsafe message “Code 03”
If LCD shows “Code 03”, this is a fail-safe action from Alkatronic due to that the measured value of some reason was higher than 15.4dKH.
The reason can be one of these (The most common reason is 2 and 3) :

1. The true dKh value is really above 15.4 dKH
2. No reagent
3. Incorrect mixed reagent, in this special case, far too
diluted.
4. You have reagent, with correct concentration, but its not
correct delivered:
I. Hose inside pump C got loose. This is of course not normal, and very very uncommon, so in this case, contact support for a replacement of hose and also emergency help.
II. Check “points 2-6” under chapter “Bad precision”

If the reason is none of the above , go to chapter “Bad accuracy”.

Failsafe message “Out of Range/Re-Calibrate”
When you calibrate the pump/s, and enter an invalid data, thus a volume that is out of allowed range, this message appear. The allowed calibration ranges are:

· Pump A: 35<X<80
· Pump C: 5<X<20
· Pump D: 5<X<20

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pH readings increase the rst day/s after installment of a brand new probe
The electrode in Alkatronic is a high-end electrode of lab grade quality, perfectly adapted for our purpose. In some situations, but not all, a brand new electrode needs to be adapted to the biological water. In that case you can see a small raise in pH the rst 1-2 days after installed a new electrode. If you see that just recalibrate the electrode once more after around 2-3 days. After that the normal calibration interval is around every 8 months, due to its very high quality and precision.
The electrode will last around 2.5 years if handled properly.

Appendix
Recipe for carbonate-solution
The machine’s dosing algorithms are based on the carbonate-concentration from an ordinary classic Balling recipe or similar.

Here is such a standard recipe:

· Recipe based on NaHCO3
1 liter RO-water
81 g NaHCO3

· Recipe based on NaHCO3/Na2CO3 1 liter RO-water
66 g NaHCO3
10 g Na2CO3

· Recipe based on Na2CO3 1 liter RO-water
52 g Na2CO3

Many new brands today are using recipes with higher concentrations. So If your carbonate strength/recipe is X times stronger than a Ballling classic recipe above, just divide you aquarium volume by X , and type that value in settings under Aquarium volume.
Here is an helpful guide with many common brands today:
Correction table for di erent KH recipes/brands

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Mixing reagent solution
The reagent solution comes in two versions:
· Ready to use solution
· Economic concentrated solution

The “ready to use solution” does not need any preparation, and can be used from scratch. The economic “concentrated solution” is an extremely favorable solution in regards to the running cost, and is mixed with 4 times more RO/distilled water than the reagent volume. This 4/1 relation is also correct if you choose to weight the reagent and water, as the reagent have same speci c gravity as the RO-water. (Theoretically the reagent have slight higher speci c gravity but the di erence is extremely small so we can without loosing accuracy, neglect that).

Thus, depending on your equipment at home, you can choose between either using the “weight method” or the “volume method”.

The volume method, with a volumetric ask, can give an accuracy of the ready to use solution by 0.1%, so we recommend user to sooner or later purchase a volumetric ask to make this mixing both accurate, fast and easy. Most user may not have this volumetric ask to start with, then its perfect to use the weight method meantime.

Weight method Use a kitchen scale of reasonable quality with a resolution by 1g, and preferably a maximum weight capacity of at least 2500-3000g.

It is advisable to not mix too much at each occasion. We recommend mixing a maximum of 2500-4000 g each time. Remember: If the concentration of the
nal reagent is not perfect, NO problem, just compensate that by using “Baseline calibration”.
The advantage with this method is that you perform the whole procedure by one single weighting, and in that way reduce errors.
As the speci c gravity of our reagent is 1.00g/ml we can still use the 1/4 relationship between the weight of the reagent and RO water.

Practical procedure:
In this example you wants to make 2000ml of a ready to use solution:

· Place a canister (please make sure it is completely clean and only are used for this purpose from start) on the scale.

· Press “tare” on the scale to make the readings to 0.00 g

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· Now carefully ll upp with reagent to the readings of exact 400g.
· DO NOT remove the canister from the scale, let it be, still reading 400 g of
course, and now add RO-water until you read exact 2000 g at the scale. Done!

Advice:! It is maybe not easy to hit the weight targets exact, so when you are quite near the target value, use a pipett or syringe (never used before) or similar to add the last reagent/water very precise! Plastic pipette or syringe (use it only ones, and use new and completely clean) are easy to get from pharmaceutical shop or aquarium shop.

There is of course very easy maths behind this, but for your convenience look at this table as a help:

Weight of reagent 200 g 300 g 400 g 500 g 600 g 800 g

Final weight after adding RO-water 1000 g 1500 g 2000 g 2500 g 3000 g 4000 g

Volume method
If you choose this method you should have a 500ml or 1000ml volumetric ask. We also recommend using a funnel to avoid spilling any reagent or water. The volume relation between reagent/RO water should be exact 1/4. Remember: If the concentration of the nal reagent is not perfect, NO problem, just compensate that by using “Baseline calibration”.
If you for instance wants to have 5000ml of a ready to use
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Volumetric ask

46

solution, then use a 1000 ml volumetric ask and pour up reagent to the line of the neck (1000ml). Then pour that into a completely clean container. Now ll up with same volumetric ask 1000 ml RO water, and pour that into the container, and repeat that so you totally have added 4000 ml RO water.

There is of course very easy maths, but for your convenience look at this table as a help:

Volumetric ask of
1000 ml

Volume of reagent 1000 ml

Volume of RO-water 4000ml (1000ml x4)

Final Volume of ready to use solution
5000 ml

Volumetric ask of
500 ml

Volume of reagent 500 ml

Volume of RO-water 2000ml (500 ml x4)

Final Volume of ready to use solution
2500 ml

Changing hoses in Pumps
Change hoses in pumps according to our recommendations.
Please refer to following text and pictures how to perform this changing procedure.

1. Turn the plastic housing a few degrees counterclockwise. Then it should be very easy to lift o the plastic housing.

2. Now you have to carefully pull out the hose, and start with pushing the attachment towards you. It should be with no signi cant resistance, so take
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47
care to not break the plastic part.
3. Carefully pulling out the hose and at same time with your ngers rotate the
wheel some degrees. Now it should be quite easy to remove the hose.
4. Take the new hose and start with push down the attachments, and make
sure it is pushed down all the way.
5. Now push down the hose between the inside wall and
wheel.This is more easy if you simultaneously with your nger rotate the wheel.
6. Now make sure that the hose is pressed down enough so there is some space between the rim and hose.

With the larger hose (Pump A,B and D) this could be a little tricky part. Then use the following method to ne adjust the position of the hose:
· When the hose is in position but just have to be
pressed down a few more mm, start the pump with “prime hose”. At same time as the pump now is running, take the the plastic housing and carefully replace it. If you feel that the plastic housing is touching the hose, then just use the plastic housing to press down the hose some more, until you feel that the plastic housing is not touching the hose anymore. Then the hose is in proper position. If you nd this di cult, contact our support and we will guide you.

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Important:
1. When a new hose is installed it requires a short time of run-in, so after the
hose is correctly installed, run the pump with “prime hose” for around 5 minutes.
2. Then wait 5 minutes (the hose properties is di erent if it is warmed up by long
time running), and then calibrate the pump.
3. If the pump, after newly installed hose, is stalling, then that depends on that the
hose is to close to the plastic housing. Then try to push it further down so it is not attaching the plastic housing at all, AND also run in the hose further some minutes.
4. Sometimes a newly installed hose, even if it is in perfect position, may stall a few seconds. This is very soon disappearing after only a few minutes of running time, and depends on that a completely new hoses is some rigid.
5. Even if our hoses is of very high consistent, they may have some slight variability the rst days after newly installed. Therefore we advice user to check the calibration status with “test pump accuracy” and if necessary recalibrate a few times the rst days. After that, a calibration frequency of every 8 weeks, should be su cient.

How to restore a pH-electrode

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FOCUSTRONIC

Guidelines how to restore a dry damaged pH electrode
Introduction pH electrodes must stay wet. If they of some reason are left dry too long, they will not work correct. But in many cases there is a good chance to restore a damaged electrode with this procedure. This procedure can also be performed if you suspect any issue with the electrode of other reasons, like impossible to calibrate correct or despite good calibration, odd readings afterwards.
Method 1. Soak the electrode for 20 minutes in “electrode cleaning solution”, typically 0.1Molar HCl (Hydrogen Chloride). 2. Rinse the electrode in tap water and let it soak in “probe storage solution” for approx 12 hours. The solution is typically a 3.5 Molar KCl (PotassiumChloride) solution. 3. Rinse again and soak the electrode in a “ph cal 4 solution” for 2 hours (don´t use this cal solution for subsequent calibration!). 4. Rinse carefully in RO water and recalibrate the electrode as usual (7 and 4 solution)
/Jonas Roman, Designer 2021-05-12
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Options of dispose the waste water
It is absolutely no harm to dispose the waste water back in the tank. The reagent is biological harmless and only contains a bene cial and natural substance already existing in huge amounts in a natural sea water. The theoretical impact of the water will only be a totally insigni cant decrease in alkalinity, which in any way, Alkatronic will autocorrect. But in small tanks combined with high measure frequency, the impact will be some higher, but still very very small.

As an guideline following table can be used showing the theoretical e ect of alkalinity if you dispose the waste water back to tank: The table shows how much the alkalinity in ONE day will be decreased if you dispose the waste water back to tank.

Tank volume
200 l 500 l 1000 l

Measurements/day, Measurements/day, Measurements/day,

12

6

4

0.03dKH

0.01dKH

0.009dKH

0.01dKH

0.005dKH

0.003dKH

0.005dKH

0.003dKH

0.002dKH

Contents in the Box
· Main unit, pH probe included
· Measure beaker
· Magnetic rod (to be placed in measure beaker)
· Hoses (3.2mm and 1.6 mm)
· Plastic pipe for reagent bottle
· Smart Bluetooth power socket
· USB cable
· 12 VDC Adapter
· Micro lter
· Luer connections

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· Measure cylinders for calibrating (25ml, 100ml)
· Wall mount

NOT included:
· Ph cal uids. You need 1-2 packages of 4.00 and 7.00 of any kind/brand, but we
strongly recommend single-use package! · Reagent. We recommend strongly to purchase our “concentrated 4 l”, as that is
very economical. If measure every 4 hour, it last for 15 months, giving a very low month running cost. Purchase at same retailer you purchased the Alkatronic.

Speci cations

Accuracy and precision Measure range Water amount/measure
Reagent amount/measure Dimensions Connectivity Update procedure Software On board-LCD Pumps Basic technology Measure intervals Regulating dKH BNC output I
Other connectivity Need of other equipments Cloud feature Energy consumption
(as max during a measure
cycle)

+- 0.05dKH
4.48dKH-15.4dKH
50 ml
8 ml
22x14x27 cm
Wi /Bluetooth, USB(fw update)
Wi or USB
iOS app, Android app, URL through cloud
Yes
2 steppers, 2 DC-motors
pH-electrode-based titration
1-12 hours
Doses carbonate, and controls a socket (BT)
yes, to any third party aquarium computer/pH controller
Prepared for Dosetronic and Mastertronic (wireless)
No, standalone
yes

12W

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References

• Login
• ‎Alkatronic i App Store
• Alkatronic WiFi – Appar på Google Play

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