Mindstream Aquarium Monitoring System

[nuxx]

It's just too expensive...

The parameters I need are pretty simple to test once a week.

Also not being able to do anything with the numbers (dose) is a big deal breaker.

If my Apex could say "Hey your ALK is low, I'm going to dose a bit more the next few days. Also your CA is a bit high, I'm going to cut back." that would be ideal!

[Cyberdude]

I don't know that I want anything auto dosing. Who's going to take the blame when you spike your tank with alk or ca or etc. It would be nice to make adjustments but I wouldn't want the process automated.

[nuxx]

Originally Posted by Cyberdude

I don't know that I want anything auto dosing. Who's going to take the blame when you spike your tank with alk or ca or etc. It would be nice to make adjustments but I wouldn't want the process automated.

Guess it depends on how well it's implemented / tested.

[soulpatch]

Originally Posted by slief

If Mindstream's technology is worth the weight in gold or is far enough along in development and actually works, a company like Neptune or even Hanna could conceivably buy Mindstream for the intellectual property or license the technology but based on what I saw at MACNA, I don't think the product isn't ready for prime time yet. I suspect there are still some major developmental hurtles to address.

Had they done a better job at MACNA, they would have stood a much better chance at securing the investment funds they needed to move things along quicker as that was the venue that they really needed to make a big splash at. Instead they kind of blew a big opportunity IMO and created some doubts not only among their Kickstarter investors but also among potential investors and perspective users. Time will tell but if I were a betting man, I'd bet this product is much further from production than expected or at least the complete set of tests that they are touting. Don't get me wrong, the concept is great and while I wouldn't be chomping at the bit for something like this, obviously, there are many that would be and from a tech standpoint, it's a leap forward as far as testing goes.

As one in Marketing and after having done multiple product/service releases I can say that they screwed the pooch at MACNA. I know they are most likely tight on money or have none but some booth presence goes a long way. Have a small 20 gal breeder going with the unit running and dose it with various items so people could see how it read the changes. Couple that with some other test kits people are used to for verification (names striped from bottles and such of course) and people would grow comfortable with it.

Making it interactive would have drawn people in and sparked conversation. As is the small table with a unit in half and such was unimpressive and a huge turn off for me. It shows the company as being quite a ways away from being taken seriously. Even if they do release this year I would be worrisome about the longevity of the firm and the availability of the disks and cloud space.

[soulpatch]

Originally Posted by Cyberdude

I don't know that I want anything auto dosing. Who's going to take the blame when you spike your tank with alk or ca or etc. It would be nice to make adjustments but I wouldn't want the process automated.

I am with you here in a way. I am ok with cutting things back automatically while also alerting me so I can manually check but I would be against ramping anything up without time for me to verify.

[ArmanS]

Good 9 min Video on the MindStream Aquarium Monitor @ Macna with one of the Owners I believe, Jim, and Meerwasser Live TV who are conducting the interview.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYKKhfpsZrw

Worth the watch if your interested.

I would really buy this product if it was accurate and released but I really have doubts about it. He mentions that the discs will be 35$ ea if you buy 3 which is reasonable, 35$ for 1 month of continual testing.

The parts that make me skeptical is that he mentions that if they fail to reach the kickstarter amount the product will be delayed by several months. He also mentions that they still need to do lots of testing to validate the accuracy of the product. I don't see how they would ever have been able to make the December release.

What I don't understand is why they did not bring a working unit, he says they have one working in their lab on a tank, why wouldn't you bring it to demonstrate, and set up a large TV monitor showing the updated levels and the unit in action.

I think this product is a lot farther away from launch then we all are hoping but I hope I am proven wrong.

[jason2459]

Oh wow, so it really was a completely underwhelming booth by them. I didn't realize they didn't even bring a working model.

[Coelli]

Oh wow - they really missed the boat with that booth, especially if the Kickstarter was going while they were there. I work in the video games industry and have been working shows for 10 years now. I've worked everything from folding tables to 40x40 booths.

Last year I contracted with an indie developer in Paris who had a project they were Kickstarting and I handled the booth for a show in Boston. The Kickstarter info was all over the booth and we had a computer where people could log in and back it on the spot. We had a 70" monitor looping the Kickstarter video. We had multiple people in the booth who could do energetic, enthusiastic on-camera interviews (sorry Jim...). We had swag we gave to anyone who backed it at the show. And, most importantly, we had a working prototype to demonstrate.

We beat our fundraising goal by $200k, and we had some tiers that were much more than the cost of the Mindstream.

I wish I had run this booth.

[Ginu]

Too many kinks with this monitor system and pricey

[acesq]

Looks like Mindstream completed a new round of financing and are planning to launch this year. Here's the update they posted today on the Kickstarter page:

"New Update from SAI

Hi backers and supporters! We are very pleased to update you that we have closed a major round of financing for the MindStream monitoring system. Not only does this allow us to forge ahead towards launch with new momentum, it means we have solid support from committed investors to help get the innovative MindStream monitor to market. We are very fortunate to welcome these new investors to SAI, including the founder of a publicly held medical device company, owner of an aquarium service firm, five former executives from a major consumer products company, owner of a European-based aquarium business, an avid aquarium hobbyist and surgeon, and two very knowledgeable aquarists from New York. We are also thrilled to let you know we have begun expanding our team with numerous new full-time employees including CEO/CFO, (2) Mechanical Engineers, a Lab Manager/Technical Writer, and a Web Developer. With these new resources, we are accelerating towards product launch and will provide an update on the MindStream monitor beta testing and release date as quickly as we are able. We are still on track to hit the market this year, so stay tuned for another update soon!"

[soulpatch]

Hopefully those investors get them to real in price and stop setting unrealistic launch dates.

They should also hire a Marketing person to help with shows and PR releases...

[acesq]

From the press release, I would conclude they raised smart money. I'm excited about this product again.

[Opus123]

Sounds like they hired a bunch of expensive employees. I'm not sure this will get a lower price point. These people are not kickstarters that are happy to just get a working product, they will want a return on their investment.

[Salty150]

Interesting to see this thing "finally" come to fruition.

[acesq]

VC funding makes it more likely that (a) they put out a product that works (b) at a price point that will enable decent market penetration and (c) the company is around long term and continues to manufacture the consumable disks. All in all, its encouraging if you are interested in real time monitoring of the things they can test for.

It will be interesting to see if the retail price for the unit and the consumables moves at all. I was a buyer at the original listed prices.

[Opus123]

I didn't take it as VC funding, just the backing from some wealthy people that are in the business. It could mean they just want a real product to get out the door and then sell the company to make a quick profit from their investment. I've had that happen to me with these small startup companies.

[Salty150]

So.. $700 plus $35 a month...

[gcarroll]

I just can't see spending that much money on a product that cannot function without the cloud based calculations. It needs an on board computer to do the calculation then transmit to the cloud. That way it still functions without a connection.

[acesq]

Not a major concern of mine. This is just a testing mechanism, not system critical. And I rarely lose internet anyway. I do agree that it's expensive. But if it's as accurate as advertised it will greatly simplify my testing process. And, more toys!


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[soulpatch]

My main concern after seeing it at MACNA was size and the fact that they want it in the tank and not the sump. The cloud based nature doesn't bother me since I lose wifi perhaps a few times a year until a generator might power it all back up.

My larger concern honestly is that this company is asking us to shell out considerable money for a product that will NOT work without their cloud OR disks. Should they shudder their doors within a year this becomes an expensive paperweight.

I'm concerned many others will have this fear and thus it will be quite some time till the company is stable. I am greatly looking forward tot his product as I am horribly eratic in my testing but that said no way I would drop so much without a bit of stability.

Then you have products like the idip coming along that while not constant testing they are simply a strip with an auto log and such from a much more stable company.

I am in the market shortly for more testing automation and I hope Mindstream gets their act together but it has some major concerns of mine to hurdle before my money goes that way.

[Salty150]

Yeah, someone still needs to explain the advantages to people what would warrant a $700 outright purchase and then another $420 a year to make it work...

[dz6t]

I will like to see how accurate it measure, err, calculate ALK.
Also I need to know why I need to see these numbers every 15 minutes.




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[sayitfast]

I didn't see this one posted yet.

[Salty150]

If this thing actually works and they can finally get readings for nitrate and nitrite in saltwater to work - this could be huge...

It is a bit pricey though - $900 for the unit + $35/month monitoring fee + $?? a new disk every month.

[Opus123]

Did they have anything at MACNA this year? If not that might be a sign of how far off they really are from production.