Reef Bot Vs. Trident

[PapaDragon]

I’m really torn on this one. I have an apex and I love it. My initial thought was that I would get the Trident when it came out and didn’t really consider anything else. However, with the Trident on backorder it gave me a little time to look around. In my opinion, the Alkatronic isn’t even worth considering. It’s way too expensive for measuring one thing. The Mind Stream looks cool, but if I’m going to drop $1k on a chemistry monitor it has to do Calc, Alk, Mag, Nitrates, and Phosphates at a minimum. So that leaves me with the Trident or Reef Bot. Obviously they have a $300 price difference. The Reef Bot clocks in at $899 while the Trident is a slimmer $599. The Reef Bot can monitor all the parameters I care about while the Trident only monitors Calc, Alk, and Mag. I think Reef Bot allows you to create your own testing schedule while Trident has a minimum testing schedule which forces a minimum reagent purchasing schedule. I think I will work on a spreadsheet to see if the Trident reagent cost will cause it to be more expensive over time.


Please don’t think this is a Reef Bot lovefest. $300 more money and another interface to work with is not appealing. I’m worried about the accuracy of the product and longevity of the company. I’m pretty sure Apex isn’t going anywhere and have always treated me with great customer service.

For those that have one, what are your thoughts? Are there other things I need to consider?

Please someone help me decide! ;Nailbiting

 

[Oiva]

I’m worried about the accuracy of the product and longevity of the company.

Can always take a look at GHL. I was unsure about GHL and APEX. I like how user friendly Apex is when it comes to usage and setup.

However, the Trident kinda forces you to test x amount of times and you have to buy reagents at their paste. This really bothered me.

Sure the GHL KH Director and ION Director will be more expensive investment. But you dont need a controller to use it. You can test once a day if you want to, machine is user servicable, its accurate, reliable. Of course i can’t speak for the ION Director since its not out yet. But i am really happy how my KH Director is working.

Just something to consider :)

 

[steve bergmann]

I have to say, I have had the Trident now for a couple of months and it is waaaaay better than I thought it would be. I have it controlling the dosing and it has kept my DKH, Calcium, and Mag incredibly consistent. It is definitely worth holding out for. If you are going to have it control your dosing than I think testing the ALK 4 times a day is nice. Great for SPS corals!!!!!!

 

[smartwater101]

I'm a big fan of both the Alkatronic and especially the GHLs KH director. Both run really well, though I feel the build quality is better with GHL and the Alkatronic has some iffy Bluetooth issues. Neither need a controller which is great. The nice thing about the KHD is its a good "toe in the water" when it comes to GHL hardware and the app. So if you're on the fence about their controller, the KHD (or even just a doser) is a good place to start. Their reliability is also second to none.

I'm not a fan of Neptune anymore, plus the Trident is never in stock anyway. Neptunes build quality leaves a lot to be desired, especially for the cost. I'd rather wait, save, and spend a bit more and have something I know I can rely on.

I have used a ReefBot. Unfortunately I had a lot of problems with it. :( I worked with their engineer and chemist but could never get it calibrated properly and the Alk readings were all over the place. (Phosphate and Nitrate seemed fine) Its possible I received a lemon. I'm not sure, even with the title "Reefbot for early adopters," its ready for wider customer sales. It feels like it should still be very much in beta. Really cool tech though and I look forward to the next iteration.

Focustronic has the Mastertronic coming out at some point. (Hopefully this year) and I'm keeping an eye on that as well as GHLs ION Director. I know the ION will be shown (released?) at Reefapalooza Chicago and I'm hoping to hear more about the Mastertronic as well. I'm leaning GHL but if I were you I'd check them both out.

Mindstream is a hard pass for me until I hear more from the users, over the next year or so.

Oh, and then there is Xepta aBex but I don't know enough about that company or the product...

 

[Addicted2Coral]

Alkatronic is amazing. Look at long term costs, alkatronic is actually cheaper. And you aren't forced tests. With Trident you are testing cal 3x a day. My cal hasn't changed in 6 months and I'm sps heavy. You truly only need to know alk readings when talking the big 3 cal alk mag. Alk alone tells you when things are not in balance. Also, with mastertronic coming out, hugeeeee game changer. Reef bot is great as well. Anything but Trident lol.

 

[smartwater101]

Alkatronic is amazing. Look at long term costs, alkatronic is actually cheaper. And you aren't forced tests. With Trident you are testing cal 3x a day. My cal hasn't changed in 6 months and I'm sps heavy. You truly only need to know alk readings when talking the big 3 cal alk mag. Alk alone tells you when things are not in balance. Also, with mastertronic coming out, hugeeeee game changer. Reef bot is great as well. Anything but Trident lol.

This is a great point. Alk is very high on the list of importance. Its amazing what you learn when you have a pulse on the day to day, and even hour to hour, changes in your system.

 

[SuncrestReef]

I love my Trident. I used to manually test my alkalinity once per day every morning (as shown in red below), and I thought things were pretty stable. I had no idea how much the alk was fluctuating throughout the day until the Trident revealed it by testing multiple times per day:

I now have the Trident controlling my 2-part dosing based on the test results, so the daily swing is now down to about 0.05 - 0.10 dKH per day.

I also did a lot of research into the ReefBot. I don't really have enough space for its large footprint, and I'm surprised at how long some of the tests can take, as well as how often you need to refill the reagents:

Source: https://reefkinetics.freshdesk.com/...d-duration-for-each-test-brand-and-parameter-

The Trident can run approximately 100 tests before needing to replace reagents, and each test takes between 10 - 20 minutes.

 

[vangvace]

Hmm... the question is how often and what tests you would want to automate?

@SuncrestReef brings up a pair of points. Testing time I could argue doesn't matter depending on what the how often question, but the number of tests before refill would favor the Trident. Downside is that it doesn't do Nitrate or Phosphate.

GHL's lineup is out for lack of Phosphate testing. Abex... possible but I'm not sure of the release date.

Lastly, we are a monthish away from Black Friday.

 

[PigFarmer]

I got a reefbot.. loved it the 1st week! I was stoked!! felt like I had found a miracle!! Then it s.h.i.t the bed in a hurry.... tests over night were all of a sudden way off... tech support had me calibrate and now it over fills the chambers and floods out in the bottom. I do get to a send a daily email over to dude at tech support that replys once every 24hrs and has me jump back and forth thru hoops like a well trained dog tho. . bout 2 weeks deep of trouble shooting thru emails and still a $900 brick. Manual testing was much less time consuming... They are sending me a new pump I get to try to install now... Trying not to loose hope since i own the thing but i don't think the short high was worth this frustrating low. more temperamental than an old 2 stroke dirtbike

 

[User1]

With regards to black Friday I don't expect any of the automated testing systems to be on sale. The demand is just too high right now be it Trident or Mindstream. We all more or less know the Trident is difficult and every day I'm reading more and more about similar with the Mindstream. That is good news and bad news I guess but I think demand isn't going to help with sales.

First you mentioned Reef bot and Trident. There are others out there as you probably already know. Few on the horizon. My suggestion is this. Make a list of what "you" and "your" tank do with regards to testing and if you own a controller which one. This way you have a base line of what you have, what is already being tested automatically by a controller, and what you test. That also will say how much time you spend. Time is money.

The easy part. If you own a controller and they offer, or will offer, a automated testing solution then this may help you with your choice. See, buying something within the existing ecosystem will save you money. Also, if you have a controller and it is already testing A, B, and C, then you may not need one of the other automated systems.

Notice how I'm not being specific? That is because I really don't know what your requirements are and if you sort of answer the questions for you - then it may fall into place. For me I already had an apex ecosystem so the choice was stacked towards the Trident. I did look at Mindstream and in the end the cost to move plus the subscription fee was expensive. Yes, the Trident has reagents which some will argue it is subscription but I'm already buying test kits so it is a moot point. Then Neptune released the 99 dollars for 6 month supply, well, it was a no brainer for me.

GHL I think is promising with the probes. I think those with an existing GHL system should look there first. Apex of course Trident. Neither, then look to see if you want a controller, what you want to control, then pick. For what it is worth the Trident is pretty dang near rock solid. Hobbyist just need to decide what works for them.

Note: I've not used a reefbot nor considered it. I can't speak for it so remain neutral. Sorry I couldn't be specific on it.

 

[gregcoyote]

I'm a big fan of both the Alkatronic and especially the GHLs KH director. Both run really well, though I feel the build quality is better with GHL and the Alkatronic has some iffy Bluetooth issues. Neither need a controller which is great. The nice thing about the KHD is its a good "toe in the water" when it comes to GHL hardware and the app. So if you're on the fence about their controller, the KHD (or even just a doser) is a good place to start. Their reliability is also second to none.

I'm not a fan of Neptune anymore, plus the Trident is never in stock anyway. Neptunes build quality leaves a lot to be desired, especially for the cost. I'd rather wait, save, and spend a bit more and have something I know I can rely on.

I have used a ReefBot. Unfortunately I had a lot of problems with it. :( I worked with their engineer and chemist but could never get it calibrated properly and the Alk readings were all over the place. (Phosphate and Nitrate seemed fine) Its possible I received a lemon. I'm not sure, even with the title "Reefbot for early adopters," its ready for wider customer sales. It feels like it should still be very much in beta. Really cool tech though and I look forward to the next iteration.

Focustronic has the Mastertronic coming out at some point. (Hopefully this year) and I'm keeping an eye on that as well as GHLs ION Director. I know the ION will be shown (released?) at Reefapalooza Chicago and I'm hoping to hear more about the Mastertronic as well. I'm leaning GHL but if I were you I'd check them both out.

Mindstream is a hard pass for me until I hear more from the users, over the next year or so.

Oh, and then there is Xepta aBex but I don't know enough about that company or the product...

I had exactly the opposite problem. The KH Director has been a lemon right out of the box. Returned to CoralVue 4 times and over owning it over a year it has ran 30 days without a failure. Can not recommend it.

 

[bam123]

Bought a Trident on impulse. Never set it up. Selling it today to a local refer. I just don't want to bother with trying to buy reagents, calibrate... I would never set up auto-dosing via Trident (I am just to paranoid). It's just easier to check alkalinity a couple of times a week. Do AWC daily and have my doser dose ESV 2 part at night. Just my two cents.

 

[Filipino Reefer]

I have been thinking and tons of RIFing lately and all I see about apex and trident are the SPS and LPS dominating tanks. I currently own a 40 Cube drilled with 20 sump. I've got og bounce, sunkist and jawbreaker shrooms. Also have 2 types of zoas .. gmk and unknown name. 5 indo torches 1 hammer 1 frogspawn doing well. My pH is 8.3-8.5 dKH 8.5-9 calcium 500 mag 1400. High Po4 45 and No3 36. Weekly doing water changes of 11% and running gfo carbon in a reactor. It is really necessary for me to get apex trident? Or stick to Manual testing?