Apex Trident Pros and Cons
- Thread starter thanh510
- Start date
Coral reefer
Past President
Only con I can see is price.
ofzakaria
Guest
I do not like the ca and mag daily testing. I think it's a waste.
I feel something like a khg, alktronic or khd for daily alk testing is better return on investment.
Or something like khg or khd for alk, and ghl ion director for no3, potassium and ca is also better in term of useful paramaters to test for...
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I feel something like a khg, alktronic or khd for daily alk testing is better return on investment.
Or something like khg or khd for alk, and ghl ion director for no3, potassium and ca is also better in term of useful paramaters to test for...
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sfsuphysics
Supporting Member
Not using it personally but...
Pro: The ability to see Calc, Alk & Mag daily, with further ability to tweak dosing to your tank, this may or may not be that beneficial though more so with 2/3 part dosing that CA reactor I would think, although if your tank is growing I could see equal usages either way
Enable the LAZY!!!!
Con: Availability still(?) I want one... can I get one now? No? yeah that's a con. And the fact some greedy SOBs out there decide it's a great way to make a quick buck by selling above asking price is a dick move.
Need for latest Apex, this may or may not be an issue if you have the "latest" version, but people who went all in on the earlier version are quite literally getting screwed
Reagent availability? I know there were some issues obtaining certain reagants at one time
Minimum tests, currently 4/2/2 per day for Alk/Calc/Mag, this has rubbed people the wrong way. I don't care about the technical aspects, I just care that I can't test less which costs me money
Price(??) It's an expensive piece of equipment, but looking at the other players out there, maybe not as expensive as them. However based off your need, it may be too expensive, If you happily test Alk once a week like clockwork and readjust as necessary then yeah you fall into this category, expensive lazy enabler
Pro: The ability to see Calc, Alk & Mag daily, with further ability to tweak dosing to your tank, this may or may not be that beneficial though more so with 2/3 part dosing that CA reactor I would think, although if your tank is growing I could see equal usages either way
Enable the LAZY!!!!
Con: Availability still(?) I want one... can I get one now? No? yeah that's a con. And the fact some greedy SOBs out there decide it's a great way to make a quick buck by selling above asking price is a dick move.
Need for latest Apex, this may or may not be an issue if you have the "latest" version, but people who went all in on the earlier version are quite literally getting screwed
Reagent availability? I know there were some issues obtaining certain reagants at one time
Minimum tests, currently 4/2/2 per day for Alk/Calc/Mag, this has rubbed people the wrong way. I don't care about the technical aspects, I just care that I can't test less which costs me money
Price(??) It's an expensive piece of equipment, but looking at the other players out there, maybe not as expensive as them. However based off your need, it may be too expensive, If you happily test Alk once a week like clockwork and readjust as necessary then yeah you fall into this category, expensive lazy enabler
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ofzakaria
Guest
Yes they do, I pre ordered already.
Ion director value is with the no3 and potassium which gives better insights than ca and mag.
Agreed khd is bit on the higher cost side but its stand alone which means it doesnot need a controller like trident.
I personally love my khg, good price,stand alone and it test and dose at the same time.
I also I can return my test water back to the system which none of the other testers do.
Am adding the ion director for the no3 and potassium..
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Oakland Evan
Guest
Been using one about 3-4 months so far. Ton's of pro's for me personally. Like Mike said, only con is price, especially if you don't have an Apex controlled system.
@sfsuphysics I like that it enables laziness! Is there such thing as a lazy reefer?
I do have the APEX EL so it makes sense to get Trident. Although the ION director looks pretty promising but will be very pricey. I think i'll try the Trident and keep a keen eye on ION director. Hopefully they will make an integration into the APEX.
I just expressed interest for a Trident with Aquatic Solutions and it sounds like I will be second in line for one. Finger's crossed!
I do have the APEX EL so it makes sense to get Trident. Although the ION director looks pretty promising but will be very pricey. I think i'll try the Trident and keep a keen eye on ION director. Hopefully they will make an integration into the APEX.
I just expressed interest for a Trident with Aquatic Solutions and it sounds like I will be second in line for one. Finger's crossed!
I was on the fence with the various pros/cons/alternatives for quite a while. I am already deep into the Apex environment, and I’m overall happy with it, which makes the Trident a lot more attractive since it can also modify your dosing within parameters.
I don’t think laziness has anything to do with it. If you compare testing infrequently like most people do vs using the Trident with the accompanying waste emptying, reagent level montoring/changing, sending in for service every 2 years, I’m not really expecting this to allow me to be lazier. I’m expecting more data, more reliable schedule of testing, and the ability to see trends that were invisible before.
I finally decided and on Sat I ordered a Trident with 6 months of reagents, will get it in a week or so.
I don’t think laziness has anything to do with it. If you compare testing infrequently like most people do vs using the Trident with the accompanying waste emptying, reagent level montoring/changing, sending in for service every 2 years, I’m not really expecting this to allow me to be lazier. I’m expecting more data, more reliable schedule of testing, and the ability to see trends that were invisible before.
I finally decided and on Sat I ordered a Trident with 6 months of reagents, will get it in a week or so.
Flagg37
Guest
Sure there is. You haven’t met @The_Lazy_Reefer yet?
Coral reefer
Past President
His name is a lie!
Coral reefer
Past President
You're not getting it from Aquatics Collections are you? They said someone was ahead of me!
Sounds like a goal to be crowned the new king?
rygh
Guest
It is a hot new complex product, so it is not all that surprising that the machine itself is totally back ordered.
Might even be deliberate to make sure they can support it properly.
But being out of reagents is potentially a long term concern.
Barring coronovirus, why would they be out? Simple chemicals in bottles.
Key: the reagent sales go up exponentially versus machine sales.
Reagents sales include those with new machines, plus the sum of all previously sold.
As machine sales increase, reagents sales go way up.
That is usually a good thing. Think printer ink...
Might even be deliberate to make sure they can support it properly.
But being out of reagents is potentially a long term concern.
Barring coronovirus, why would they be out? Simple chemicals in bottles.
Key: the reagent sales go up exponentially versus machine sales.
Reagents sales include those with new machines, plus the sum of all previously sold.
As machine sales increase, reagents sales go way up.
That is usually a good thing. Think printer ink...
treylane
Guest
Some folks are militant about testing all their parameters and making micro-adjustments regularly -- If that's you, you can probably save the $$ and carry on with your bad self.
As for the rest of us....
Before the Trident, I usually tested alk 2x/week, and mg/ca 1x/week, buuut life gets busy sometimes, and I traveled a lot for work - that schedule often stretched waaaay out. I'd randomly lose corals from time to time due to parameter spikes/drops ("oh shoot, my last test was 4 weeks ago!?")
I've had mine running since May, and it's a total game changer for ca/alk/mg stability. Zero mysterious coral RTN's since getting the trident program hooked into the CaRx control program.
I've been ordering my reagents directly from Neptune, and since they're local the box arrives 1-2 days after placing the order.
While I wouldn't give this thing up for anything, I think there are some quirks that are worth mentioning:
- My Ca readings tend to drift upwards, and Mg readings drift downwards towards the end of the 2-month reagent lifespan. I'm not sure if the reagents are degrading, or just running dry sooner than the machine expects.
- The long-drawer design for holding reagent bottles with the little tubes routing all over the place is a bit of a pain in the neck. Only have to deal with it 1x/month, but I feel this part of the system could have been a lot more polished and less prone to kinks in the tubing, having the feed tubes pop off the lids while screwing them on, etc.
As for the rest of us....
Before the Trident, I usually tested alk 2x/week, and mg/ca 1x/week, buuut life gets busy sometimes, and I traveled a lot for work - that schedule often stretched waaaay out. I'd randomly lose corals from time to time due to parameter spikes/drops ("oh shoot, my last test was 4 weeks ago!?")
I've had mine running since May, and it's a total game changer for ca/alk/mg stability. Zero mysterious coral RTN's since getting the trident program hooked into the CaRx control program.
I've been ordering my reagents directly from Neptune, and since they're local the box arrives 1-2 days after placing the order.
While I wouldn't give this thing up for anything, I think there are some quirks that are worth mentioning:
- My Ca readings tend to drift upwards, and Mg readings drift downwards towards the end of the 2-month reagent lifespan. I'm not sure if the reagents are degrading, or just running dry sooner than the machine expects.
- The long-drawer design for holding reagent bottles with the little tubes routing all over the place is a bit of a pain in the neck. Only have to deal with it 1x/month, but I feel this part of the system could have been a lot more polished and less prone to kinks in the tubing, having the feed tubes pop off the lids while screwing them on, etc.
This is my primary reason for getting my tank automated as much as possible. When I am traveling, I can monitor it and not worry about it.
Hearing real-world feedback is very valuable. Talking with Jess on the SF tank tour about her experience with the Trident was one of the deciding factors for me. Also another great example of how valuable our club is!
ofzakaria
Guest
"Some folks are militant about testing all their parameters and making micro-adjustments regularly"
That's me ha ha..
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