Jestersix

The triton method

Fish Boss

Fish Boss

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Hello everyone!

Just wondering who here uses the triton method for maintaining their reef. I guess my main questions would be
1. What’s your total water volume?
2. Approximate fuge volume
3. Macroalgae choice?
4. Total gallonage of water changed a month
5. Do you do anything different or use extra equipment like maybe a Calcium reactor?
 
I am in planning phase, hope to start running in May.

150 gallon DT, sump will be synergy Triton 44 which I think will have 15~20 gallon water in fuge when running.

I will setup automatic water change but only run at minimal amount needed. Obviously no idea yet how much that will be, maybe 1-2 gallon a day?



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Triton method does not involve water change or calcium reactors. You are looking at traditional sump with cheato along side their core 7 additives ( two parts + trace elements )
 
Ranjib Dey said:
Triton method does not involve water change or calcium reactors. You are looking at traditional sump with cheato along side their core 7 additives ( two parts + trace elements )
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Wouldn’t it be possible to add a calcium reactor so there would be less stuff to dose?
 
Fish Boss said:
Wouldn’t it be possible to add a calcium reactor so there would be less stuff to dose?
Click to expand...
You can , but then it gets complicated. There’s this standard triton method which involves the stock, sump and core 7 additives and then the other method where you mix and match stuff. You are looking at the second one.
I can’t say much beyond this, I myself don’t follow any of this, I do water changes. Bunch of reef-pi builder in r2r use triton , my information is based on their experience and brs videos
 
i use ATI essentials. which is ATI version of triton.
1. What’s your total water volume? 16g i believe
2. Approximate fuge volume? 2 little fishies 150 reactor
3. Macroalgae choice? cheetos
4. Total gallonage of water changed a month? zero
5. Do you do anything different or use extra equipment like maybe a Calcium reactor? no
 
The triton method follows a very specific setup. If you deviate from that that, I would be inclined to not call that the triton method anymore.

Here are the details about the triton method:

https://www.triton.de/en/products-services/triton-method/

Can you use a calcium reactor in a no water change setup? Sure, but you'll need to figure out what trace elements your carx media is missing and you'll need to dose those.
 
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RandyC said:
The triton method follows a very specific setup. If you deviate from that that, I would be inclined to not call that the triton method anymore.

Here are the details about the triton method:

https://www.triton.de/en/products-services/triton-method/

Can you use a calcium reactor in a no water change setup? Sure, but you'll need to figure out what trace elements your carx media is missing and you'll need to dose those.
Click to expand...


Which is what I am using since I am running a CaRx. I wouldn’t call it the Triton method either.

No water changes in the 40b for over 2 yrs now I think. I do top off when equivalent salt water removed from skimmer cup or when doing acclimation. That is the extent of my ‘water changes’


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RandyC said:
The triton method follows a very specific setup. If you deviate from that that, I would be inclined to not call that the triton method anymore.
Click to expand...
I thought the basis behind the "Triton method" was to simply use a very large (compared to setups of the past) "green" refugium as a forum of nutrient export, and then replenishing various elements that might normally be done with water changes, and oh hey look we also sell magic elixirs for doing that! (which very well might simply be a well controlled 3-part solution with some "trace elements" thrown in), then using periodic water testing, hey we provide that service too! :D to figure out what you need adjusting. With a calcium reactor you'd basically be able to deal with everything the coral needs (including trace elements since those were in the corals when they were alive), and the only real thing to worry about is perhaps what your macroalgae is taking out of the water (which should be able to be derived from the ICP testing), iron perhaps?

Basically Triton is a method to clean your water without water changes and using some method to replenish stuff, the products they sell will help achieve that, but are not the only ways to do "the method"
 
sfsuphysics said:
I thought the basis behind the "Triton method" was to simply use a very large (compared to setups of the past) "green" refugium as a forum of nutrient export, and then replenishing various elements that might normally be done with water changes, and oh hey look we also sell magic elixirs for doing that! (which very well might simply be a well controlled 3-part solution with some "trace elements" thrown in), then using periodic water testing, hey we provide that service too! :D to figure out what you need adjusting. With a calcium reactor you'd basically be able to deal with everything the coral needs (including trace elements since those were in the corals when they were alive), and the only real thing to worry about is perhaps what your macroalgae is taking out of the water (which should be able to be derived from the ICP testing), iron perhaps?

Basically Triton is a method to clean your water without water changes and using some method to replenish stuff, the products they sell will help achieve that, but are not the only ways to do "the method"
Click to expand...

Using a carx definitely doesn't put all the trace elements back in that you need. I've seen at least the need to dose iron and iodide from my ICP tests. @Vhuang168 says in his setup he doses more than just those.

I'm not saying the triton method isn't simply what you're saying it is, but to call all no water change methods, the Triton method, wouldn't be correct. For instance, they call out specific fuge sizes and return rates in their method. And specifically call out equipment use or not use.
 
ICP testing is a key aspect of the triton method., which is what gives the fine details of host of elements.
If we simplify things we are likely to find everything same. All wheels are same, they are round and they rotate, hence an ox cart wheel is same as f1 racing car.


Triton is very specific about the details,
- icp testing ( frequency and interpretation)
- only skimmer as the recommended equipment in sump
- calling out no water changes , explicitly
- focus on the feedback loop

I am not saying it’s the best, but it’s definitely has things different from previous methods. Three parts and some random trace elements are not equivalent. Also without icp test it’s hard to understand what’s out of f level. I think this simplifies the process a lot. Dialing in calcium reactor itself is a work of art.
 
Ranjib Dey said:
ICP testing is a key aspect of the triton method., which is what gives the fine details of host of elements.
If we simplify things we are likely to find everything same. All wheels are same, they are round and they rotate, hence an ox cart wheel is same as f1 racing car.


Triton is very specific about the details,
- icp testing ( frequency and interpretation)
- only skimmer as the recommended equipment in sump
- calling out no water changes , explicitly
- focus on the feedback loop

I am not saying it’s the best, but it’s definitely has things different from previous methods. Three parts and some random trace elements are not equivalent. Also without icp test it’s hard to understand what’s out of f level. I think this simplifies the process a lot. Dialing in calcium reactor itself is a work of art.
Click to expand...

I agree, not doing water changes was around quite a while before triton came out, they just stream lined it into a product they could sell. You could do everything the system calls for without using their system but it’s arguably easier (and more expensive) to use theirs. I don’t use the triton meathod but I use the techniques that it’s based off of. The whole point of WCs is to remove the bad and replenish what was used up; it just was never very efficient.

Say you replaced 20%of the water, theoretically you would have removed 20% of the no3 and po4, that’s great but you also removed 20% of the other beneficial elements too. Adding back in the 20% water volume you then dilute the 80% of the no3 and po4 that you didn’t remove and the increase to the wanted elements is negligible because that increase is diluted into the remaining 80% as well. We’ve done WCs for so long though because it worked. I don’t think we had the proper understanding of the chemistry of how our reef tanks work back in the day (I don’t know for sure since I’ve only been reefing for a number of years).

I haven’t done any WCs in at least 8 months. I have a 120 gallon dt and a 20 gallon fuge filled with chaeto. You don’t necessarily need a fuge but you need some way of removing the same amount of nutrients as what goes into the tank from feeding. You could use an Algea scrubber, pax bellum, skimmer (if it can handle the demand). Then you need a way to replace what is used up major elements like Ca and alk can be done via normal means, kalkwasser, 2 part, CaRx. Triton chose the two part (well three part really) method because I think it’s what most people are familiar with and they could implement the trace elements with it. It’s possible they could have tailored their system to use kalk or a CaRx but I think the 2 part makes good business sense. Now, the key for me has been how much of the minor and trace elements to add.

Before the triton system was developed there was triton icp testing. You’d be able to send on your water sample and see all the elements in it. This way you’d know what was too high or too low. I suppose you could buy individual test kits for all the elements but that would be super expensive and who wants to spend hours and hours testing their water. Triton isn’t the only icp testing company though. There is at least one that I know of in the US and is a fair amount cheaper than triton. Once it’s tested you can add exactly what you are deficient in. In my case, I just use the Red Sea coral colors trace elements and add it based off of my Ca uptake. It’s not nearly as detailed as triton but it seems to work.
 
Thanks for the info guys! i guess I was a little too specific with calling this the triton method. I’m asking because I will be moving soon, so I will be breaking down my 40b and 20l and consolidating fish and coral from both tanks into one. I plan on setting up a small low nutrient tank/frag tank in the near future, that will be sps dominant so I can start growing out frags for my big tank once I set it up. I’m thinking a 20l with an equal volume sump, nice skimmer with a ton of chaeto, maybe another algae as well ( I’m not sure if different algaes release different aminos or whatnot), and kalk mixed with ATO water with some additional dosing as needed. Also, does kalk just add alkalinity, or does it add calcium as well?
 
I’ve read that macros release good stuff like aminos into the water column. I’m not 100% sure it is true, but I believe I read it in the r2r (or maybe the other forum, can’t remember) triton method thread.

I just did a quick search through some research papers. They talked about amino acids when the algae is ingested by humans, and nitrogen assimilation and release in the water column, but that was all I could find right now. I’ll try to find a reliable source that states macros release aminos into the water column tonight. It’s possible that post wasn’t true
 
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sfsuphysics said:
was to simply use a very large (compared to setups of the past) "green" refugium as a forum of nutrient export,
...
replenishing various elements that might normally be done with water changes
...
then using periodic water testing, to figure out what you need adjusting.
Click to expand...
So basically what I said :)
 
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