I was thing about getting a Neptune Trident to test my calcium, alkaline, and magnesium. How accurate is this system. Do you need the apex to run the trident or can you just plug it into the wall and let it run? Is it worth that expensive price?
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
You will get a million different answers to these questions. I absolutely think it is worth the price but it definitely isn't without flaws. In my experience, the alk is dead on accurate (which is the most important anyways). The other two tend to drift a bit. Yes, you need the Apex to use the Trident....it does not run on its own. What makes it so invaluable to me is the ability to change dosing amounts based on the Trident readings that happen throughout the day.I was thing about getting a Neptune Trident to test my calcium, alkaline, and magnesium. How accurate is this system. Do you need the apex to run the trident or can you just plug it into the wall and let it run? Is it worth that expensive price?
Was gunna say the same thing good luck with all the opinions good and badYou will get a million different answers to these questions. I absolutely think it is worth the price but it definitely isn't without flaws. In my experience, the alk is dead on accurate (which is the most important anyways). The other two tend to drift a bit. Yes, you need the Apex to use the Trident....it does not run on its own. What makes it so invaluable to me is the ability to change dosing amounts based on the Trident readings that happen throughout the day.
I think I might get it. It will save me lots of time. Don’t have the money to buy both so need to save up. What u mean but all is dead on accurate?You will get a million different answers to these questions. I absolutely think it is worth the price but it definitely isn't without flaws. In my experience, the alk is dead on accurate (which is the most important anyways). The other two tend to drift a bit. Yes, you need the Apex to use the Trident....it does not run on its own. What makes it so invaluable to me is the ability to change dosing amounts based on the Trident readings that happen throughout the day.
It is my piece of equipment that I love and hate the most at the same time. It’s nice always knowing your alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium values at all times. However, the thing can be very frustrating when you start getting testing failures for what seems like no reason.
It is also the controlled dosing that makes it worth the heft price tag in my opinion.
Do you need the Energybar 832 to run the trident and apex?I have owned most of the testing systems including the Trident and would say, based on my experience:
Pro's:
Tests Alk, Ca and Mg
Is accurate as long as it is well maintained
Pairs with Apex
Cons:
Not stand alone so must pay for Apex
Reagents are fairly expensive compared to some alternatives
Access in kind of a pain
IME, accuracy erodes over time
Hoses can easily pinch and leak.
NopeDo you need the Energybar 832 to run the trident and apex?
I was thing about getting a Neptune Trident to test my calcium, alkaline, and magnesium. How accurate is this system. Do you need the apex to run the trident or can you just plug it into the wall and let it run? Is it worth that expensive price?
Tank is 3 months old. I have mainly soft corals/lps. I am planing on haveing mixed reef. I use hanna teat kit and salifert for magnesium. Corals are not that big. I test about every 2 days and it takes about an hour. Yes I have reef does for Alk, Ca, Mg. No worried about price.
- How old is your tank?
- What type of reef are you keeping? Soft, LPS, Mixed, combination of them?
- How mature are the corals? 1/4" frags or 6 to 12" colonies?
- What test kits do you use?
- What is your testing frequency today?
- How long does it take you to run through your tests?
- Do you dose Alk, Ca, or Mg?
More importantly:
- Do you have a tank budget?
- Does the budget separate coral, fish, supplements, hardware?
- Do you meet the requirements to have a trident?
The reason why some here in this thread great, opinion, good luck, accurate, and what not is because people use the same product yet have totally different experiences with it. Environmental, product, reagents, parameter levels, location, and more. The answer sort of comes back to the hobbyist and what they hope to achieve. Do they have the budget set aside to maintain it and supply the reagents required. Furthermore do they have the controller or any other component required to run it.
The product has been out for a good while now and still available today. That alone speaks for itself.
Tank is 3 months old. I have mainly soft corals/lps. I am planing on haveing mixed reef. I use hanna teat kit and salifert for magnesium. Corals are not that big. I test about every 2 days and it takes about an hour. Yes I have reef does for Alk, Ca, Mg. No worried about price.
Thanks for your help. I think I will hold off and wait to get it in a few months. Maybe Christmas!!!! How do you like your trident and apex. So to run the trident you need the apex but do you need the Energybar 832? When I look it up to buy it comes as a pack with the trident, apex, and energy bar. Can I just buy the trident and energy bar separately and plug it into a normal power strip?Thank you for the reply. The reason for my questions rather than a direct answer was to get an idea of the need. If I was in your shoes, and I was at one point, all of us have been, would be to recommend holding off for a bit. The age of the display and coral type lead me to believe it isn't required. You can manually test for Alk to get an idea of consumption rate and then go from there.
If you are going to be in the Neptune controller ecosystem then a Trident makes sense. Alk, phosphate, nitrate all Hanna kits testing can be done in a couple minutes. 7 actually as the Hanna nitrate kit takes the longest. Alk is more or less instant and phosphate is 3 minutes.
Point is your system is still maturing so the money can be better spent elsewhere. Just my opinion. Regardless of your decision welcome to the hobby and all the best.
Thanks for your help. I think I will hold off and wait to get it in a few months. Maybe Christmas!!!! How do you like your trident and apex. So to run the trident you need the apex but do you need the Energybar 832? When I look it up to buy it comes as a pack with the trident, apex, and energy bar. Can I just buy the trident and energy bar separately and plug it into a normal power strip?
Good to know thanks for the help.I'm a bit biased as I've been a long time Neptune customer going back to around 2000 or so. Having said that I'm satisfied with the products I use from them to include the Trident.
I think it was already mentioned by @Sisterlimonpot (who is pretty unbiased btw) but the Trident does not need the energy bar. It requires the A2, or A3 Apex model to run. 1 Link port or 24v power supply and aquabus cable. I have mine attached using the 1 Link.
Again as mentioned here some love it, some are frustrated by it, many users never post either way about it. It has been out a couple years now so must be doing well in our small hobby market. Neptune reagents when buying the 6 month kit isn't too bad at 94 or so dollars. Not too bad.
Trident page, FAQ:
Trident - Marine Aquarium Water Analyzer
A key ingredient to a great reef aquarium is maintaining proper levels of Alkalinity, Calcium, and Magnesium. The Trident is an automated testing system that regularly tests alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium in your saltwater aquarium — and then communicates this information to your Apex so...www.neptunesystems.com