The Mindstream aquarium monitor is one of the biggest new aquarium products to be announced this year. It may not have touched down in the fish tanks of the public but until it is formally launched and released, Mindstream will be helping us to inform readers of its finer merits.
The first parameter that Mindstream wants aquarists to pay more attention to is dissolved oxygen, a critical value of life-sustaining water that reefers and planted aquarists ought to be more familiar with. Corals are constantly taking up and releasing oxygen throughout the day and excess oxygen can actually drive down rates of photosynthesis and coral growth. Hopefully when the Mindstream becomes avaialble to reefers and we learn how to use it to measure oxygen, this very important value will become our ally in fine tuning our saltwater environments to the benefit of our fish, corals and critters.
While the factory calibration math and procedures are being finalized here at Mindstream, we want to present an example that illustrates our monitor’s sensitivity to measuring oxygen.The above reading is showing oxygen data from our test salt water tank. This graph was produced in a scientific programing language called Lab View (not to be confused with the Mindstream user interface), it’s what our R&D team uses to make sure they develop the coolest aquarium monitor you’ve ever seen.
Over the 5 ½ day time period shown on the graph, you can see the resolution that the Mindstream System has to the parameter data it collects (in this case, oxygen). The graph indicates a classic photosynthesis day and night cycle because of the coral and algae thriving in this tank. When no light is present the photosynthesis stops and the oxygen drops. The blue region on the graph indicates the oxygen saturation limit for seawater at the current tank temperature.
That being said, one feature we’re really excited to release is the history collecting capability of the Mindstream System, allowing you to determine trends happening in an aquarium. Hobbyists will be able to review their automatically recorded parameter history to find out if their aquarium is heading towards dangerous conditions and if they are, fix what they need to before unhealthy water parameters start to interrupt their ecosystems.
Check out our Facebook page for anything Mindstream and – stay tuned for our official launch!
