High Tide Aquatics

Trident Test B fail

Mozby

Mozby

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After months of 0 issues (thankfully), I got this error msg. According to the troubleshoot guide, I should replace reagent B. But my concern is, the reagent supplies are supposed to line up with each other in timing (i.e 2x reagent A for every 1x of B and C, B and C normally get exhausted and replaced together). Am I right in thinking this? So it doesn’t make sense to replace just reagent B right? Should I do it anyway or replace all?


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A moves independent of B & C.

Between B & C, B always goes first... and C is 1-2 test behind... :). So yeah, replacing B & C together saves the annoyance of having another error thrown... esp if you are using it with DOS.
 
BTW, you'll find there's always a decent amount left in B & C. I don't throw then away but combine B and C together, respective, with other spend reagents. While Trident recommends not reusing old reagents, I don't think it's that big of a deal. I save ti for when I am in a pinch and out until my shipment arrives.
 
NanoCrazed said:
A moves independent of B & C.

Between B & C, B always goes first... and C is 1-2 test behind... :). So yeah, replacing B & C together saves the annoyance of having another error thrown... esp if you are using it with DOS.
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Gotcha. Thanks. So it seems if I did it separately, the discrepancy between B and C is just going to keep stacking. No point in letting that happen since we can only buy the reagents as a set and not separately.


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Shoot, as I was reviewing the apex task list, the only options for reagent replacements are replace A only or replace all. So apparently, one can’t even replace B and C without A. Hmmm...


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Generally the discrepancy is a only a few tests. A normally does have a little extra in it.

Normally when reagents run out it says, "reagent B empty" I thought?

When you look at he levels, what does it say they are for the reagents?
 
Meshmez said:
Generally the discrepancy is a only a few tests. A normally does have a little extra in it.

Normally when reagents run out it says, "reagent B empty" I thought?

When you look at he levels, what does it say they are for the reagents?
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Good question. The error said test B fail and Neptune troubleshoot guide said to replace. I did attempt to simply check the lines, prime B and run test again, but then after that it said reagent B empty


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Mozby said:
Shoot, as I was reviewing the apex task list, the only options for reagent replacements are replace A only or replace all. So apparently, one can’t even replace B and C without A. Hmmm...


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No.. just put in new reagents... then reset B and/or C. Then prime each. Then you're done
 
You can replace the bottle and then reset and prime whichever of the 3 you want manually in the settings for the Trident. The automated Tasks make for an easier way to do A or A/B/C only, because that’s how Neptune wants you to use the reagents. You can calibrate whenever you want, regardless of what you are changing.

The Alk test uses A. The Ca and Mg tests both use B and C. So B/C are always used together, but A is completely different- A used up relatively faster if your alk is high, slower if alk is low. I asked Neptune to make a task to replace B/C for obvious reasons, but they said no and cited mainly that they are sold as a set as opposed to a science/engineering reason. I still hope they will at some point, it is kind of annoying as is.

I change B/C when either is out. I change A when it is out. When I change a bottle, I don’t keep reagents from the old to mix with the new, because there is very little to be gained by it and these do have expiration dates. I also don’t refill A at the same time as B/C unless they happen to run out at the same time by chance. For me, with an alk of about 8.5 dKh, my A lasts quite a bit longer than my B/C.

At some point here I’m going to have to find someone with high Alk doing the same so I can sell my extra A and/or buy their extra B/C.
 
Rostato said:
Should have just gotten a KhG...Jk

But on a serious note, the trident does seem to be a PITA to work with
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Not for me, it has been very straightforward and reliable.

I’m just giving extra detail in the hopes that it will help the next reefer understand their system. I’m a detail guy, things are simpler and make more sense to me when I know more about how they work. Other people like black boxes so they don’t have to worry about the details, which is the route Neptune has taken for the most part with the Trident. The problem with that is that you don’t know what to do with the simplified output sometimes.
 
Rostato said:
Should have just gotten a KhG...Jk

But on a serious note, the trident does seem to be a PITA to work with
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KHG is not without issues.

Trident is very straightforward if you just change reagent when it tells you. It's literally plug n play. If you do stuff to extend reagent life it is only slightly more complicated. :cool:
 
JVU said:
You can replace the bottle and then reset and prime whichever of the 3 you want manually in the settings for the Trident. The automated Tasks make for an easier way to do A or A/B/C only, because that’s how Neptune wants you to use the reagents. You can calibrate whenever you want, regardless of what you are changing.

The Alk test uses A. The Ca and Mg tests both use B and C. So B/C are always used together, but A is completely different- A used up relatively faster if your alk is high, slower if alk is low. I asked Neptune to make a task to replace B/C for obvious reasons, but they said no and cited mainly that they are sold as a set as opposed to a science/engineering reason. I still hope they will at some point, it is kind of annoying as is.

I change B/C when either is out. I change A when it is out. When I change a bottle, I don’t keep reagents from the old to mix with the new, because there is very little to be gained by it and these do have expiration dates. I also don’t refill A at the same time as B/C unless they happen to run out at the same time by chance. For me, with an alk of about 8.5 dKh, my A lasts quite a bit longer than my B/C.

At some point here I’m going to have to find someone with high Alk doing the same so I can sell my extra A and/or buy their extra B/C.
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Thanks for weighing in. Very helpful. Since you change individual reagents as needed, do you then calibrate every time a bottle is changed?


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Mozby said:
Thanks for weighing in. Very helpful. Since you change individual reagents as needed, do you then calibrate every time a bottle is changed?


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I generally calibrate when I change the B+C reagents (about every 2 months), and whenever I’m not confident of the numbers I’m getting.
 
Mozby said:
Haah! I’ve come to expect Chris’ trident-hater comments in every trident thread [emoji12].


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I can’t help it. It’s overpriced, overhyped, and seems to be annoying to deal with. Plus, Neptune went back on their promise to the apex classic owners. They said that all new equipment would be compatible. Until the 2016 model came out.

I also realize Neptune isn’t the only company to do this to its customers. Aqua Illumination told us the same thing with their gen 1 light. “upgradable forever” they said. And Ecotech did that when they went fro Gen 3 to gen 4 lights.
Sorry for the rant.
 
Rostato said:
I can’t help it. It’s overpriced, overhyped, and seems to be annoying to deal with. Plus, Neptune went back on their promise to the apex classic owners. They said that all new equipment would be compatible. Until the 2016 model came out.

I also realize Neptune isn’t the only company to do this to its customers. Aqua Illumination told us the same thing with their gen 1 light. “upgradable forever” they said. And Ecotech did that when they went fro Gen 3 to gen 4 lights.
Sorry for the rant.
Click to expand...

We’ve spoken about this before and I really do get your point. However, in spite of all that, the device actually works well on a daily basis.


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Rostato said:
I can’t help it. It’s overpriced, overhyped, and seems to be annoying to deal with. Plus, Neptune went back on their promise to the apex classic owners. They said that all new equipment would be compatible. Until the 2016 model came out.

I also realize Neptune isn’t the only company to do this to its customers. Aqua Illumination told us the same thing with their gen 1 light. “upgradable forever” they said. And Ecotech did that when they went fro Gen 3 to gen 4 lights.
Sorry for the rant.
Click to expand...
I don’t think the Trident is more complicated or annoying than the KhG or other options. In fact it seems to me to be simpler and more reliable. Certainly simpler to set up and to access data for.

I think it’s mostly that Tridents sell 10x all the others combined (guesstimate) in our area, so you’ll hear more discussion and issues about the Trident. Also, in my opinion the Trident appeals to people who want plug-n-play whereas the others appeal to people who want to see gears and get more into the details. So there’s more frustration in Trident users because they don’t see issues as fun challenges to tinker with, but as the unit not living up to its promise.

The small annoyances I’ve had with the Trident are FAR outweighed by the day after day reliable convenience of it, and especially that it integrates with my Apex. The reason you don’t hear many people talking about the KhG is because the Trident is overall so good and well integrated, not the other way around.

I couldn’t care less about the backwards compatibility thing people sometimes complain about. It is completely reasonable that sophisticated new modules will sometimes not be compatible with old tech that was made before the new hardware was even an idea. That’s just the way tech of every kind works, not unique to this or reefing.
 
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