While comparing the new ATI powercone and ATI purple plus T5 lamps to some products we spied at Germany’s InterZoo, we were reminded of this solar powered pH pen we caught disfiguring the side of a perfectly nice trimless tank. The solar powered pH probe from Macro Aqua is an interesting testing device with some bragging rights for a reduced environmental footprint. As you can see, the solar pH meter rests on the side of the aquarium where it’s solar cell can collect the energy it needs to measure your water. So what happens if the pH meter is removed from the light? Well it has no batteries whatsoever so being in full direct light is like being plugged into the wall. When the light is removed, the solar pH meter completely stops working. That is fine for testing a single tank, great for monitoring the pH of a single tank but that means no logs, no memory and no luck if you’re measuring in the dark. Not to mention that it is totally not ballin’ to have a ginormous solar powered pH pen resting on the edge of your trimless tank. The company that was hawking the Solar pH meter and other Chinese made goods wasn’t interested in exporting to the US so much as finding other companies to OEM their products. We don’t foresee any big shipments of the Solar pH meter to come stateside in the near future.
