Bluelabs Truncheon Nutrient Meter

[BristledOne]

Good Evening everyone,

I thought I should try and do my part to contribute to the forum so I'd like to attempt a quick review.

About 12 months ago I purchased a bluelab's truncheon as a lazy way to check water quality in my bristlenose and guppy breeding tanks (it wasn't intented to replace water testing but I admittedly only bought my first test kit a fortnight ago)

The reason I went this particular one is that I was researching aquaponics and it seemed to pop up fairly often and touted as being reliable and fool proof (never need to calibrate), after a quick google search I found one locally and made the purchase ($120 at the time)

Product name:: "bluelab truncheon - nutrient meter"

Price at purchase: $120

Units measured:: CF, EC, TDS, ECx700

Range capable::

CF:

2-36

EC:

0.2-3.6

ppm500 (tds):

100-1800

ppm700 (ECx700):

140-2520

Resolution::

CF:

1

EC:

0.1

ppm500 (tds):

50

ppm700 (ECx700):

70

Accuracy::

CF:

-/+ 1

EC:

-/+ 0.1

ppm500 (tds):

-/+ 50

ppm700 (ECx700):

-/+ 70

Display type:: LED's next to chart, the lights flash on the rating it's at and you read across the chart to determine the value in the column you desire. If the measurement is between the written values then it will flash the LED above and

below the rated value indicating it's somewhere in-between

Batteries:: 3xAA (included)

Features:: Auto On/Off, Fully waterproof, no calibration required.

Warranty:: 5 Years

After 12 months of use I'm still finding it just as quick to get a reading, no issues at all so far. I think the ultimate question when reviewing a product I've purchased is "Would I buy it again", in this case I think it comes down to how accurate you need your readings to be and how low you need them to start reading. Specifically for shrimpkeeping I might not recommend this one as I think starting at ec of 0.2 might be a bit low if you are starting with RO water and having to re-mineralise. But as I've not had to do that just yet, it's yet to have a task it's not completed.

On that note, people that do use RO water what EC or TDS rating do you try to achieve? Anything under EC of 0.2 (tds of 100) this unit will act like it's off but it's size and design makes it great for stirring solutions.

Here are some pics of my particular one after 12 months of use

[ATTACH]6072[/ATTACH][ATTACH]6073[/ATTACH]

I hope I've covered everything important, if you have any questions let me know and I'll see if I can answer them :encouragement:

-BristledOne

[BristledOne]

Mods/admins not sure if I posted this in the right spot sorry?

[h=1]Forum: Shrimp Equipment/Accessories[/h]These are all the shrimp tank things that we use and there instructions/ reviews.

but then I found this::

• Forum
• Equipment & DIY
• Product Reviews

[ineke]

Thanks for the review, as luck would have it I was looking at this one myself and put it on the short list but might bypass it .

[fishmosy]

Mods/admins not sure if I posted this in the right spot sorry?

but then I found this::

All good. Thanks for the review.