Here's my unvarnished take on the Trident so far:
I just want to say that I am seriously thinking about getting a Trident.
One problem is I still have a Reefkeeper controller, however, I've had this for many years and while I've been very happy with it, I don't expect to last forever, and was considering getting an Apex sooner or later.
So I've been following the lead up to the introduction of the Trident for quite some time and I saw all the info that Neptune sent out on Youtube. My interest is not sparked so much by the auto testing (I don't mind testing manually) although they do claim a much smaller margin of error than a hobbyist test kit, but I like the ability to automatically dose based on those results. To me that is very desirable.
So in rolling out the product they were saying it dosed in 4/2/2, 6/3/3, 8/4/4 ALK CA MG . The obvious question, which many people asked, was why not 2/1/1. While that's still more than most people test it seemed reasonable particularly if the shelf life of the reagents was limited.
The response from Neptune seemed like a "yes" for 2/1/1 but it wasn't what I'd call definite. I am somewhat disappointed that they decided against it.
For me, I knew that the reagents would be more expensive even @ 2/1/1 compared to my Hobby kits, but with the error rate they were promising it would have been well worth it. But at the minimum testing of 4/2/2 that adds quite a bit of additional expense.
Still, those error parameters such as +/-.05 for Alk is incredible and might be worth the extra money.
That segues into the purported performance of the Trident:
Earlier today I saw a video by a well known reef pro who compared the Trident with the Alkatronic. I thought he really did an objective comparison of the 2 machines.
My interpretation of his presentation was if you already have an Apex you almost certainly want to go with the Trident, if not, you might consider the Alkatronic since it has a built in pump to adjust Alkalinity. But for ease of use/setting up, cost of reagent, and accessibility the Trident seems to have the edge.
However there was one issue that I saw where the Trident appears to be lacking. It involved performance. The Alkalinty results for both machines were compared against a well known colorimeter device and an equally well known Hobby grade test kit. Three results, each, were taken for the device and the test kit and then averaged for a result of 7.5 DKH. The result from the Trident was 7.2 DKH while the Alkatronic gave a result of 7.6 DKH.
It was just one test. It could be an aberration, but the Trident may need more work.
BTW the Alkatronic also purports to have a margin of error of +/- 0.05
So basically, I'm sitting on the fence for now. I have no doubt Neptune will make updates and improve the model, and I'll wait.
I hope they have plans for going to a 2/1/1 dosing regimen. And if that is possible would that involve a software update or a new machine?
Finally, here are a few criticisms I have for Neptune:
I won't talk about their motivation but they clearly link the Trident directly with the DOS pump, with the direct threat that if you don't use our pump "you are on your own". This is not in the "reefing" experience that I've come to know.
Also, while I wasn't considering getting one until most of the reviews are in, I was amazed that after visiting all the websites I usually purchase from, none had any Triton's available - mere hours after they went on sale.
Considering the pent up demand that existed for a product that was two years in the making, I would have thought Neptune would have done a better job at recognizing demand.
I just want to say that I am seriously thinking about getting a Trident.
One problem is I still have a Reefkeeper controller, however, I've had this for many years and while I've been very happy with it, I don't expect to last forever, and was considering getting an Apex sooner or later.
So I've been following the lead up to the introduction of the Trident for quite some time and I saw all the info that Neptune sent out on Youtube. My interest is not sparked so much by the auto testing (I don't mind testing manually) although they do claim a much smaller margin of error than a hobbyist test kit, but I like the ability to automatically dose based on those results. To me that is very desirable.
So in rolling out the product they were saying it dosed in 4/2/2, 6/3/3, 8/4/4 ALK CA MG . The obvious question, which many people asked, was why not 2/1/1. While that's still more than most people test it seemed reasonable particularly if the shelf life of the reagents was limited.
The response from Neptune seemed like a "yes" for 2/1/1 but it wasn't what I'd call definite. I am somewhat disappointed that they decided against it.
For me, I knew that the reagents would be more expensive even @ 2/1/1 compared to my Hobby kits, but with the error rate they were promising it would have been well worth it. But at the minimum testing of 4/2/2 that adds quite a bit of additional expense.
Still, those error parameters such as +/-.05 for Alk is incredible and might be worth the extra money.
That segues into the purported performance of the Trident:
Earlier today I saw a video by a well known reef pro who compared the Trident with the Alkatronic. I thought he really did an objective comparison of the 2 machines.
My interpretation of his presentation was if you already have an Apex you almost certainly want to go with the Trident, if not, you might consider the Alkatronic since it has a built in pump to adjust Alkalinity. But for ease of use/setting up, cost of reagent, and accessibility the Trident seems to have the edge.
However there was one issue that I saw where the Trident appears to be lacking. It involved performance. The Alkalinty results for both machines were compared against a well known colorimeter device and an equally well known Hobby grade test kit. Three results, each, were taken for the device and the test kit and then averaged for a result of 7.5 DKH. The result from the Trident was 7.2 DKH while the Alkatronic gave a result of 7.6 DKH.
It was just one test. It could be an aberration, but the Trident may need more work.
BTW the Alkatronic also purports to have a margin of error of +/- 0.05
So basically, I'm sitting on the fence for now. I have no doubt Neptune will make updates and improve the model, and I'll wait.
I hope they have plans for going to a 2/1/1 dosing regimen. And if that is possible would that involve a software update or a new machine?
Finally, here are a few criticisms I have for Neptune:
I won't talk about their motivation but they clearly link the Trident directly with the DOS pump, with the direct threat that if you don't use our pump "you are on your own". This is not in the "reefing" experience that I've come to know.
Also, while I wasn't considering getting one until most of the reviews are in, I was amazed that after visiting all the websites I usually purchase from, none had any Triton's available - mere hours after they went on sale.
Considering the pent up demand that existed for a product that was two years in the making, I would have thought Neptune would have done a better job at recognizing demand.
