Is anybody filtering the water before it gets into the Trident?

[robbyg]

I had a very close call today. I was cleaning out my sump and doing 30 Gal water change afterwards.
I think 4 months was to long between cleanings because a lot of crap had built up in the sump.

Long story short, I was 60% of the way through job and noticed that it was 5:55pm so I had to run like a headless chicken and get a small disposable plastic cup and fill it with the clean mixed water and insert it between the orange clip and the glass so that the tubing would not suck in any of the gunk that was swirling in the sump water. BTW this cup thing worked perfectly.

So now I am thinking that this little tube could get blocked by a sand grain or some other stuff in the water. I am kind of surprised that Neptune does not include a filter for this small line. Has anyone found a ready made filter that works?
If not I will have to design and make something.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[SuncrestReef]

I keep my Trident sample line in the return chamber of my sump which has the lowest level of detritus in my whole system due to pre-filtering, and I have it positioned high enough above the bottom so the odds of sucking up anything is very low.

 

[Sdot]

I keep my Trident sample line in the return chamber of my sump which has the lowest level of detritus in my whole system due to pre-filtering, and I have it positioned high enough above the bottom so the odds of sucking up anything is very low.

Same here

 

[robbyg]

I keep my Trident sample line in the return chamber of my sump which has the lowest level of detritus in my whole system due to pre-filtering, and I have it positioned high enough above the bottom so the odds of sucking up anything is very low.

Same here, but that is still not a guarantee that something wont get in the line.

 

[SuncrestReef]

Same here, but that is still not a guarantee that something wont get in the line.

There are absolutely no guarantees in anything reefing related. But you have to play the odds. Don't place your Trident line in an area highly likely to have debris floating in the water column. My return chamber is as close to debris-free as anywhere in my system and I've had zero problems for over a year with my Trident.

 

[robbyg]

I guess that's ok for most people, but Murphy has bitten me in the rear too often for me to leave anything that I have seen as a potential problem alone. My tank is highly automated and I have learned the hard way that if I see a potential problem then fix it before it bites me in the rear. Today I got lucky! Next time I am cleaning the sump I might not be so lucky and It could potentially damaged the dosing pump in the Trident. I am going to try a DIY filtering method that I have used on my other dosing line that I once used to feed my calc reactor.

 

[xiaoxiy]

Alkatronic has a little filter in the intake to prevent particles from getting in. I wonder if something of the sort can be stuck on the Trident intake. Of note, the filter on the alkatronic gets backflushed every test, which helps prevent buildup. As I don't own a Trident, I don't know if it also backflushes before tests. If not, the filter could get plugged up pretty quick.

 

[ksfulk]

Another problem with the inline filters is that they have a tendency to slow the water draw - since the water needs to permeate the filter. I can see this causing issues for pumps that are predicated on drawing a fixed amount of water in order to test. I would not recommend installing an inline filter there, or if you do, monitor the testing closely to make sure that your readings are consistent.

A better option is to place the intake line where you minimize the potential for detritus to enter the line, and perform regular checks on the line when performing weekly tank maintenance.

 

[User1]

I have mine in my sump return pump area also. I fall into the dirty sump owner category, not going to lie, and only had one issue with my Trident sample line being blocked. I was using Brightwells marine pure type block and it started to disintegrate one me which led to the issue. I think as others said just pick the spot that is getting consistent water flow and no micro bubbles and you should be good.

I'm not sure I'd add any sort of reverse check valve or pre-filter inline without checking with Neptune first. I'm not sure how much of that line is used for calculations or anything else based on length. So I tend to fall into the keep sump and sample line in a neat spot and all should be good.

I'm sure this will be a replacement part come time to maintenance in 18 month mark. Hope all is well with you and yours!

 

[robbyg]

Alkatronic has a little filter in the intake to prevent particles from getting in. I wonder if something of the sort can be stuck on the Trident intake. Of note, the filter on the alkatronic gets backflushed every test, which helps prevent buildup. As I don't own a Trident, I don't know if it also backflushes before tests. If not, the filter could get plugged up pretty quick.

That is pretty smart of them. I wonder how I could buy that by itself, I will check out their website.
The Trident also does a back flush but it's not all that much water. I think the ideal thing would be a version of this that is half the size or if that is not possible make one that does not depend on a backwash.

 

[Silver14SS]

Alkatronic has a little filter in the intake to prevent particles from getting in. I wonder if something of the sort can be stuck on the Trident intake. Of note, the filter on the alkatronic gets backflushed every test, which helps prevent buildup. As I don't own a Trident, I don't know if it also backflushes before tests. If not, the filter could get plugged up pretty quick.

Available directly from CoralVue https://www.coralvue.com/alkatronic-check-valve

 

[TheHarold]

That is pretty smart of them. I wonder how I could buy that by itself, I will check out their website.
The Trident also does a back flush but it's not all that much water. I think the ideal thing would be a version of this that is half the size or if that is not possible make one that does not depend on a backwash.

No, you do not want that. Adding a filter to the line will change the amount of pressure involved to pull water in, and reduce accuracy. ESPECIALLY as it clogs over time; your readings will just wander terribly. Same reason that you do not want to cut the intake line.

One approach would be to isolate an area of the sump to be cleaner (Like a filter sock? ) and draw water from there. But you should not add anything which increases fluid resistance.

 

[Silver14SS]

No, you do not want that. Adding a filter to the line will change the amount of pressure involved to pull water in, and reduce accuracy. ESPECIALLY as it clogs over time; your readings will just wander terribly. Same reason that you do not want to cut the intake line.

One approach would be to isolate an area of the sump to be cleaner (Like a filter sock? ) and draw water from there. But you should not add anything which increases fluid resistance.

Wasn't there another thread that stated the Trident does not backwash, but fills and dumps the vial and then refills with the test sample?

 

[TheHarold]

Wasn't there another thread that stated the Trident does not backwash, but fills and dumps the vial and then refills with the test sample?

Yes, which is unrelated to the actual topic of adding resistance to the input line. If you add resistance, it adds less than it should.

For example, you could compare adding a filter to adding a few millimeters of tubing. Or way more tubing than that as it gets clogged.

These are soft lines as well.

 

[Silver14SS]

Yes, which is unrelated to the actual topic of adding resistance to the input line. If you add resistance, it adds less than it should.

For example, you could compare adding a filter to adding a few millimeters of tubing. Or way more tubing than that as it gets clogged.

These are soft lines as well.

Will a filter that is backflushed have less intake resistance than one that is not? If so, seems like it may impact OPs plan to use a filter if they believe it backflushes and others say it does not.

 

[TheHarold]

Will a filter that is backflushed have less intake resistance than one that is not? If so, seems like it may impact OPs plan to use a filter if they believe it backflushes and others say it does not.

Even if it back flushes (the trident does NOT), having resistance will result in less water being transferred each time.

 

[robbyg]

Thanks for the warnings but I do not plan on cutting the line and adding a filtering in the center. I am going to put the filter at the end of the tube and the water will be sucked up from a pool of water in the center of the filter medium. It basically adds no extra pressure as the hose is just free floating in a area of clean water.

 

[TheHarold]

Thanks for the warnings but I do not plan on cutting the line and adding a filtering in the center. I am going to put the filter at the end of the tube and the water will be sucked up from a pool of water in the center of the filter medium. It basically adds no extra pressure as the hose is just free floating in a area of clean water.

That would work! That is what I meant when mentioning a filter sock earlier, just making the sample area cleaner. Mesh sock would probably prevent the majority of the detritus.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

I have my trident line in my display tank

 

[robbyg]

I have my trident line in my display tank

That idea was ruled out for me due to two reasons.
1) I cannot get the trident located higher than the first couple of inches of surface water of my DT. So if the hose came loose I would have a small siphon going.
2) There is so much stuff getting thrown around in the display, from food to fish poop and life forms. It seemed like the chances of something getting sucked up in that turbulent water was much more likely.