300g - Triton or something else?

[Claus84]

Hi all,

I have a long awaited upgrade tank arriving in around 1 months time and i've been trying to finalise how i'm going to run it, planning to go full triton method but I was hoping to get some opinions as to whether this is the best option for me.

Tank is 96x24x30 with 70x18x18 sump. I have designed the sump as per Triton method recommendations so the first compartment will be my algae fuge and will be 36" long, should comfortably hold at least 10% of the DT volume. I have most of the kit already split between various tanks, I plan to run:

- 2 x fluval sp4 return pumps (7200lph/1900gph US)
- bubble magus curve 9 skimmer
- 5 x maxspect gyre 250
- Tunze stream 3
- 2 x maxspect R420R 180w lights (I know I may need to add to these to get full coverage)
- around 300lb caribsea life rock

The main thing that appeals to me about Triton is the lack of water changes as i've had enough of carrying water all over the house to wc my existing 3 tanks, we are also expecting our first baby in march so I want to keep the maintenance as easy as possible in anticipation of whats to come!

The main reason I am questioning whether Triton is right for me is that I don't keep and SPS or LPS and plan to just keep large leathers and gorgonians mostly so I don't know if all that dosing is going to be overkill? Or will it just mean I can dose fairly small amounts and work out pretty cost effective in the long run? My current softie tank does use up a fair bit of alk but its packed full of xenia, GSP and zoa's etc in additon to the leathers and gorgs but I suspect these may dissapear once I add my cb majestic and blueline angels in to the reef so I don't think alk demand will be as high.

Any advice appreciated

Cheers

Nick

 

[HotRocks]

Hopefully someone will chime in soon. I'm not super familiar with the Triton method.

#reefsquad any thoughts here?

 

[Claus84]

Hopefully someone will chime in soon. I'm not super familiar with the Triton method.

#reefsquad any thoughts here?

Thanks for the bump!

 

[boxofrocks]

Triton is based on consumption. You only dose what the tank is using. A softy tank will be a fairly easy tank to maintain with triton method since it will consume less than a tank with corals that form skeleton. Do a round of testing on a regular schedule to adjust dosage as needed. Otherwise you’ll just keep the ATO topped up and the fish fed.
Keep it simple and you’ll be happy with all the extra time to stare at the tank instead of work on it.

 

[mitch91175]

Agree with @boxofrocks on this one. I wouldn't be too worried about using the triton method solely for a softie tank. Heck even for an SPS tank I'd still likely not do it. Not saying that is doesn't work, just doesn't work for me.

 

[boxofrocks]

I think triton works great but a softy tank can be very successful with a more simplistic approach. Simple + stable = successful tank
Macro in the fuge, skimmer, dose 2 part, and maybe do a water change every 6 months if you’re feeling froggy or have a test suggesting trace minerals have been depleted that you are unable to replenish with dosing.
Overthinking tank maintenance can kill the joy. Keep it simple and you’ll be happy with it. Any complex routines will be tough to keep up with when that new kiddo arrives and could make the tank feel more like another chore.

 

[symon_say]

Triton won't be overkill, it's a method to reduce water changes and keep parameters stable, I'm in place like yours, planning a 280g tank, and waning to skip water changes, I was set on triton but there seen to be a problem with supply, and with tanks this big, that can be a issue.

Check Ati essentials, is another method to achieve the same results as triton and is simpler, I'll go Ati route instead of Triton.

 

[Hitman]

Triton is not needed to avoid water changes. I have not done a water change from the day the tank was set up and grow SPS, LPS, Softies, Anemones very well. I do doze CA, ALK, & Kalk as well as Kent trace elements.
It’s more about stability then anything else in my opinion. Lately there seems to be more people moving away from Triton then going to it and I honestly don’t know why. I would guess it’s do to cost but again I don’t know.

 

[symon_say]

Triton is not needed to avoid water changes. I have not done a water change from the day the tank was set up and grow SPS, LPS, Softies, Anemones very well. I do doze CA, ALK, & Kalk as well as Kent trace elements.
It’s more about stability then anything else in my opinion. Lately there seems to be more people moving away from Triton then going to it and I honestly don’t know why. I would guess it’s do to cost but again I don’t know.

That's basically what Triton and other methods do but with better understanding of what you are adding to the tank.

There are a few factors that make me think why people are going away from Triton, the main availability sometimes it goes out of stock for months, they change packages to cardboard style and from what have read in reviews they arrived empty and finally cost.

 

[Hitman]

That's basically what Triton and other methods do but with better understanding of what you are adding to the tank.

There are a few factors that make me think why people are going away from Triton, the main availability sometimes it goes out of stock for months, they change packages to cardboard style and from what have read in reviews they arrived empty and finally cost.

I just looked the costs up compared to dosing B-Ionic and Kent trace. 1 year of the Triton supplements would pay for 10 years of what I do now and have great success. Then add in what youve stated about availablity and empty packages definitely would turn me away even if I was willing to pay the high price.

 

[boxofrocks]

Hitman is spot on.

Before I knew what Triton was (been keeping reefs since around 2006) I was keeping a fuge of chaeto, dosing 2 part, skimming, and doing zero water changes. Those are the very basic building blocks of triton and they work well. I found going to full triton method was complicating my simple upkeep and not for me. It does work though.

 

[mitch91175]

Yeah I agree that Triton method isn’t necessary at all. If nutrients is a problem in your tank there are soo many other approaches that you can take without having to buy into the Triton method. You can also not do water changes and still use something to add the trace elements. It really doesn’t get any easier than that to me to keep a tank stable. Go bottomless, no water changes, and adding trace elements - what a relief.

 

[mitch91175]

But then again there is always a reason for someone wanting to do something. If you feel that you would be willing to put in the work that comes with using the Triton method and feel that is the best approach for your setup, then definitely go for it. Every situation is different and sometimes things work for some that doesn't for others. There is a huge benefit to doing the Triton method, you absolutely will spend more time managing your tank from what I understand about using that method. I have never used it so I cannot say whether it'll do this or that, but when I was weighing on the direction that I wanted to go for my setup, Triton didn't make sense.

Triton is all about controlling specific amounts to this or that which leads to a need to ALWAYS have the products in hand and available. I know they have availability issues for sure and changed things up from bottle to cartons. That was a big no thank you to me just on that alone. Then having to continuously have to buy the specific items headache.

I ended up going with Red Sea ABCD and dosing based on calcium usage (at least low enough that I do not test it). It is highly available and seems to fit the bill.

 

[USMA36]

IMHO avoid Triton. Not because it doesn’t work, because it works great. I used it for a year. Their supply chain is horribly unreliable. There’s nothing worse than stabilizing your tank using the Triton method not being able to buy replacement bottles. Every time I needed a refill I had to wait. The last time was my last time. I waited over a month and still couldn’t get it. There customer service kept saying soon and giving an appoxamate date only to blow the date with no answers. I won’t even get started with their packaging issues. That’s a whole other discussion. I ended up switching to ATi essentials which is slightly cheaper, but much easier to get. I also like the fact that ATi was less concentrated so a small error with your doser didn’t overdose your tank. Triton is super concentrated. Small errors can spell big problems!

 

[Hitman]

@mitch91175 well said. Do as you personally chose too. I’ve read stories that people feel Triton is easy to them, I’ve read that it’s hard to others. With that said every tank is different and everyone has their own way of doing things. My way it very hands off and low maintenance for MY tank. It’s far from the only way but just easy and cost effective for me. I’m also one of those old guys that don’t like change lol

 

[mitch91175]

@mitch91175 well said. Do as you personally chose too. I’ve read stories that people feel Triton is easy to them, I’ve read that it’s hard to others. With that said every tank is different and everyone has their own way of doing things. My way it very hands off and low maintenance for MY tank. It’s far from the only way but just easy and cost effective for me. I’m also one of those old guys that don’t like change lol

That's really where the hobby has progressed if you think about it. You can do it this way or that way and get the similar results. Some may be slightly better than others and vice versa. All comes down to you do your research, make the best decision that your wallet, wife , etc. will allow you to, then keep it moving. See how things react and change if needed.

 

[Hitman]

@mitch91175 the wife being my ultimate factor in my decisions! That 5’ tall women scares the hell out of me when she goes to bed mad! Lol

 

[mitch91175]

@mitch91175 the wife being my ultimate factor in my decisions! That 5’ tall women scares the hell out of me when she goes to bed mad! Lol

Those little women can be mean ;Hilarious

 

[wranodj]

Triton is great, but expensive. I’m going back to 2-part.

 

[Claus84]

Thanks for all the responses, looks like I have some reading up to do on ATI essentials, Red Sea Reef Care and Triton before I come to a decision. I'm in the UK and i'm not too sure if there have been any supply chain issues over here with Triton but I'll look into it as I would imagine that would be incredibly frustrating not being able to source it once its up and running.

Any thoughts on the relative cost of the different methods (triton, red sea, ATI, 2 part)? I guess whichever method I use it would probably still be useful to do a Triton or ATI ICP test every once to adjust dosing accordingly?

Thanks

Nick