Switching again, now from moonshiners to Triton

[BryanM]

Honestly not sure how I missed the Triton method, and I'm not exactly happy about a $99/mo subscription, but I am very happy to not have to be managing 20+ trace element bottles.

It was also designed around having a refugium, I have a large ATS, and it supposedly helps replenish what those nutrient export methods use up in the tank too... AT least that's what I've read.

Anyway, moonshiners worked great, clearly saw increased coral growth, especially in my elegances, which I've had to rehome because they got too dang big, and they are pretty nasty stingers.

 

[JTP424]

 

[picea]

People use both systems with success, so you should be able to as well. Don't hesitate to reach out to the Triton guys for help, and they host a livestream every week for questions.

 

[BryanM]

I was surprised they’ve been around since 2008

 

[Idech]

What’s included in the 99$/month ?

 

[BryanM]

Ic-oes testing and custom trace element mixes

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Fwiw, an ATS and a refugium take out mostly the same things so that should not be an issue.

 

[BryanM]

That’s what I was assuming, and it intrigues me since the moonshiners always looked like a daunting moving target.

 

[dloberry]

I have the triton, not seeing a difference honestly. I did not have much hope too see a difference.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I have the triton, not seeing a difference honestly. I did not have much hope too see a difference.

No difference compared to what?

 

[dloberry]

No difference compared to what?

With the triton lab subscription they send you trace elements they identify as lacking in your tank. I have one tank i use the triton lab for testing and trace elements, i have an identical tank I test myself and do not add trace elements. Both tanks are dosed with polyp lab reef roids once per week. The growth rate of coral is the same. Once subscription runs out I will not be renewing

 

[mmorrison55]

Bryan, how much was moonshiners costing per month? Im curious about the cost difference.

 

[RevMH]

Interested to see where this conversation goes.

 

[slingfox]

Bryan, how much was moonshiners costing per month? Im curious about the cost difference.

I don’t believe Moonshiner’s month to month cost is significant once you have a supply of the trace element bottles. The largest monthly cost is the ICP-MS. It doesn’t sound like cost is the primary concern but the manual labor required to dose 20+ trace elements consistently.

 

[BryanM]

Bryan, how much was moonshiners costing per month? Im curious about the cost difference.

I don't really know, I only did it for a few months, and the initial cost was close to $700 in elements.

 

[rtparty]

Hope it goes well! You’ll likely come to the conclusion that these are all just marketed gimmicks to get you spend money and none of them can provide any evidence why theirs is “best”

After two full years on Moonshiners on multiple systems, I realized it was a giant money pit that didn’t even work the way I thought it was.

I’d never lock into a $99 a month ICP subscription personally. Especially with Triton who has been shown to be one of the lower confidence tests out there.

Pick a good dosing system that has trace elements, do your water changes, and be done. Saves a lot of time, money, and guessing IME

 

[BryanM]

Considering the Oceamo-MS is 64$ + 17 shipping, the cost of the subscription is more than reasonable IMO.

Now fast forward to 9months to a year, I do wonder if they would switch to quarterly testing or not, assuming a baseline stability has been achieved.

It would also be nice if Triton switched to MS testing, but I'm failing to find critiques beyond that for them.

 

[rtparty]

One is an ICP-MS test from arguably the best ICP testing company we have and the other is an ICP-OES test from a company that doesn’t have a great track record with being reliable and consistent.

Does Triton send you the results and have you confirm you want those lacking elements added in the mixture or they just make it and you trust they didn’t make a single mistake?

 

[BryanM]

@rtparty

I agree with you the moonshiners icp-ms test is better.

Past that I don't exactly know why you're seemingly so against Triton. There are several high profile tanks/farms that use them, ICP-OES testing isn't exactly garbage, and yes, I trust them to correctly make the trace element solutions that I will be dosing in to my tank.

I highly doubt they could stay in business selling snake oil since 2008.

 

[rtparty]

@rtparty

I agree with you the moonshiners icp-ms test is better.

Past that I don't exactly know why you're seemingly so against Triton. There are several high profile tanks/farms that use them, ICP-OES testing isn't exactly garbage, and yes, I trust them to correctly make the trace element solutions that I will be dosing in to my tank.

I highly doubt they could stay in business selling snake oil since 2008.

Plenty of companies have been around much longer selling snake oil in this hobby

If you look at ICP testing as a whole, especially when tested against each other, you’ll find Triton in the bottom half

It’s your tank and money, hope it works well!