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Re: Milwaukee pH pen



Cavan,
I have owned pH pens, pH monitors, and pH controllers. Ph pens are just about 
useless, IMO.  IME they are inaccurate and require constant calibration. I 
have not had good experience with them. Maybe someone on the list has?

The monitors/controllers I have owned are American Marine (Pinpoint) and 
Milwaukee Instruments. The American Marine units are used a lot by folks 
keeping reefs. AM units are accurate and reliable. They have a readout to two 
places past the decimal point, such as 6.88, whereas the Milwaukee 
Instruments units have a readout to one point, as in 6.8. The AM units are 
harder to calibrate (more time) than the MI units, but many reefkeepers 
demand this level of accuracy. I have an AM controller on my 125 gallon, and 
a MI controller each on my 65 and 90 gallon. The MI units are reliable also. 
I personally think the MI controller units are accurate enough for a planted 
aquarium situation. Both brands have 2 point calibration. I would not buy any 
unit that did not have two point calibration.

An AM Controller will run you about $199 and a monitor about $89 MO. A MI 
controller can be purchased for, get this, $99 MO from the Spectrapure R/O 
site. That is where I bought my last one. I am not sure how much the MI 
monitor is, but I'd guess a bit less. My reasoning was why not get the 
controller if it is just a few bucks more. You can always use it as a 
monitor, but it's nice to have the option to control your solenoid if you 
ever go that route.

One reason for the price difference between the AM and MI controller is that 
the AM controller also has an outlet for turning on a device if the pH gets 
to a certain low point in addition to an outlet for a high point (CO2). Reef 
guys would use this low point for adding Kalkwasser, or something similar, to 
raise pH/KH. The MI controller only energizes the outlet at a high Ph 
setpoint.

The MI controller/monitors come with an A/C plug, whereas the Pinpoint 
monitor is battery only, and an A/C adapter must be purchased separately.

Hope this helps.
Dave