Seneye

Does anyone on here use a Seneye?

I was gifted the basic one a few years ago, but it was one of the things that fell by the wayside when my tank was neglected.

Along with everything else, I'm now trying to get it going again and noticed that things have moved on quite a bit. I'm wondering whether all / any of the available upgrades are worth it. (Looking at the shop, it seems it could be a bit of a money sink)

I wondered what other people think of it.

I knew I had seen comments about Seneye on here before - you'll find them if you do a quick search - but this review might be the most helpful one: https://forums.thinkfish.co.uk/tank-equipment-reviews/review-of-seneye-home/msg20383/#msg20383

I'm afraid I have no experience of it whatsoever.

So I got some more slides and have set up my Seneye again. Now I've got a couple days data, in trying to work out what it is telling me!

Hi @Matt

I decided that my queries were more related to water chemistry, so posted here

https://forums.thinkfish.co.uk/general-fishkeeping-advice/water-chemistry-according-to-my-seneye/msg36127/#msg36127

Screen shots are a bit beyond me at the moment, as i'm on think fish on my phone and the Seneye software is on my laptop.

I can't actually remember whether plants take up ammonia or ammonium  but it doesn't really matter. Because ammonia and ammonium are in an equilibrium (pH and temp determining how much is in which form), if the plants use one of them, the equilibrium restores the balance. It's the same for the filter bacteria which only use ammonia.
[Think of it like old fashioned balance scales with a pan on each side. Add some beads to each pan so that the pans are equally balanced. Then take a few beads out of the left pan. To keep the pans level some beads have to be moved over from the right pan. Then take some more from the left, and more have to be moved over from the right pan. And with the ammonia/ammonium analogy, beads are also being added to each pan as the fish excrete ammonia so the pans are never completely emptied]



pH does vary with the time of day, particularly when there are plants in the tank.
Animals and plants respire. They take in oxygen and they release carbon dioxide. They do this 24/7.
Plants photosynthesise. They take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. But they only do this when it is light.

The net effect is that during the day the plants take in more carbon dioxide that is being released by the animals and plants, but at night more carbon dioxide is released than is taken in by the plants. There is more carbon dioxide in the water at night. Carbon dioxide dissolves in water to make carbonic acid. Therefore the water is more acidic at night and the pH is lower at night. The amount of carbon dioxide will build up during darkness so the pH will be lowest just before it gets light. As soon as it gets light (daylight or tank lights) the plants start photosynthesising, take up all the accumulated carbon dioxide and the pH rises.

Ha ha. Thanks @Andy The Minion . My issue is more about which device has which information. My Seneye page is best viewed on my laptop, but I access this forum from my phone. I contemplated emailing a screenshot, but was too lazy and decided that just taking a photo would be easier. 

Slightly out of context of where this conversation has gone, but this a comment about how I think the Seneye works, from another conversation.

There is the ability to 'trim' the Seneye readings, but I don't know about calibrating. I don't know how I would start doing that. But, the slides only last about 30 days and then need replacing. It is the slides that contain the pH and ammonia tests. From what I can see (without destructive investigation!) the ammonia and pH are like test strips with an optical reader.

Not sure about the need for a pre soak being needed but your reading seems fine (I thought you ask something similar a month or two ago) 0.03 with your pH of 7.7 and water temperature of 24.7C gives a NH3 of 0.00081ppm and the limit is usually as below 0.02ppm The Ammonia = zero doesn't apply to the higher resolution your sensor gives. If you are still concerned about the accuracy of the reading, what about removing the slide and forcing a recalibration now?

Thank you so much @Andy The Minion for your calculations.

I've reviewed the information on the Seneye website about ammonia and I've been cross referencing the information with the results chart of liquid test that I had previously used.

I think what happened is that the Seneye information is a little different to most about ammonia. And then I read the chart wrong on the nutrafin booklet and got myself in a pickle.

I think the apparent increase in NH3 as showed by my Seneye is because my pH is doing something a bit strange (though I've still not got to the bottom of whether this is genuine or as a result of my Seneye drifting / calibration).

The NH3 reading of 0.03ppm is stable and not increasing. So I'm stopping worrying.

Attached are the two charts I've been using, so hopefully others can make use of this conversation.

Yes, I do have a lot of plants. I would estimate at least 75% substrate coverage. And with the reduction in substrate and consequential increase in water volume, my current stock level is 18%, according to the community creator. I would expect the number of plants I have to enable me to push the boundaries of stock levels. But I'll use my Seneye and other water parameters to see how much that is the case, when I get there.

What is interesting to me is how much bigger the tank seems, all of a sudden. By reducing the substrate under my giant piece of bogwood, it has moved down in the tank by perhaps nearly 10cm. Which suddenly gives a large space above it. At the height it was previously, it felt like it filled the tank and now it doesn't. I might have to think about some floating plants to fill the space...