Trident FAQ (official)

[Jon M.]

The important thing to do before calibrating is to observe precision in your measurements. I.E. to make sure there are no installation issues or unlikely hardware problems. Once precision has been established, then you can calibrate it to bring in the accuracy. In our opinion, it will take 2-3 days of observation after the initial setup to observe that precision.

I will keep an eye on it for another day or two. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Terence]

@NeptunePaul I installed my Trident two days ago as instructed. I did not calibrate it since it was not part of the instructions. My alk and mag are in line with my test kits but my calcium is 326 (Trident) vs 426 (Hannah). Should I give it more time or calibrate it. Also the inside of the bag for the calibration fluid was wet so seems the bottle was leaking.

The hanna calcium checker is notoriously difficult to get precise measurements with. If you use the hannah, first make sure you can do it three times and the numbers come in close to each other (<20ppm). If the Trident is giving you a pretty consistent reading, the best bet is to not trust the Hanna and use a couple of other titration tests, multiple times until you can get consistent results and then compare those results to the Trident.

 

[Jon M.]

The hanna calcium checker is notoriously difficult to get precise measurements with. If you use the hannah, first make sure you can do it three times and the numbers come in close to each other (<20ppm). If the Trident is giving you a pretty consistent reading, the best bet is to not trust the Hanna and use a couple of other titration tests, multiple times until you can get consistent results and then compare those results to the Trident.

This is what I have from Hannah prior to Trident. I know the Trident is more accurate but a difference of 100 ppm is my concern and it has only been setup 48 hours so more time may be needed. Plus my calc dosing pump failed OFF about two weeks ago so the 40 ppm drop from 5/17 is inline with my tank’s daily consumption rate.

 

[Terence]

Did you do the Hanna test three times in a row and get the same number?

Have you tried another titration test.

 

[Jon M.]

Did you do the Hanna test three times in a row and get the same number?

Have you tried another titration test.

426 436 418 Hannah just now. 410-420 Red Sea

 

[Terence]

Perfect. Now let the trident get some consistent measurements and then run the calibration using the task.

 

[Caravanshaka]

My calcium was testing around 350 consistently before calibration, after calibration it was right where I expected it to be at 430. Don't take your results as being accurate until after calibration. Get consistent results, then calibrate, then it should be accurate!

 

[MnFish1]

The important thing to do before calibrating is to observe precision in your measurements. I.E. to make sure there are no installation issues or unlikely hardware problems. Once precision has been established, then you can calibrate it to bring in the accuracy. In our opinion, it will take 2-3 days of observation after the initial setup to observe that precision.

The poster stated: I did not calibrate it since it was not part of the instructions. Is calibration required to get accurate test results?

 

[Caravanshaka]

The poster stated: I did not calibrate it since it was not part of the instructions. Is calibration required to get accurate test results?

Yes, it is. It is not part of the installation instructions, but it is intended to be run after a few days of getting consistent readings. They don't want you calibrating if you are getting inconsistent readings (could be due to installation issues like sucking in air-bubbles, which would make your calibration off). So, after a few days of consistent readings, then run calibration and you are good to go.

 

[Jon M.]

@Terence Since the bag that contained my calibration solution was wet on the inside, should I assume the fluid is no good since it states to use within 8 hours of opening. I have not opened the bottle to see why it leaked.

 

[Caravanshaka]

@MnFish1 is right, I should post this question here.

What is an acceptable volume of reagent to be left in the bottle after you get the 'reagent X empty' notification?

 

[venomcc]

I looked through the thread and website just want to double check. With the trident controlled dosing there is no option to dose two parts in equal quantities. Instead it is recommended to allow each dosing regiment to follow its own curve correct?

 

[Caravanshaka]

I looked through the thread and website just want to double check. With the trident controlled dosing there is no option to dose two parts in equal quantities. Instead it is recommended to allow each dosing regiment to follow its own curve correct?

you can use the Alk results to control multiple DOS channels, which would have them dose in equal parts.

 

[Brett S]

@Terence. Just got my Trident today and I’m super excited. This was from a fairly recent batch I believe (It was shipped from BRS on Tuesday the 4th). Unfortunately I’m not sure the leaky bottle issue has been totally resolved. There was a tiny bit of moisture both the bag with the calibration fluid as well as the bag with the reagents. The Neptune sticker that was in the bag with the reagents has some purple stains on it from the reagents as well.

It certainly wasn’t as bad as what some people have reported and there weren’t really even any visible drips collected at the bottom of the bags, but there was still some moisture and leakage where there shouldn’t have been.

 

[reefwreak]

@Terence. Just got my Trident today and I’m super excited. This was from a fairly recent batch I believe (It was shipped from BRS on Tuesday the 4th). Unfortunately I’m not sure the leaky bottle issue has been totally resolved. There was a tiny bit of moisture both the bag with the calibration fluid as well as the bag with the reagents. The Neptune sticker that was in the bag with the reagents has some purple stains on it from the reagents as well.

It certainly wasn’t as bad as what some people have reported and there weren’t really even any visible drips collected at the bottom of the bags, but there was still some moisture and leakage where there shouldn’t have been.

I just want to add that I also had the slight leaking from the calibration bag, or whatever it is, that got on my sticker as well. I had a more significant issue, but the AWESOME BRS and Neptune support teams handled it already and am ready to set up my new Trident this weekend!

 

[infinityends]

@MnFish1 is right, I should post this question here.

What is an acceptable volume of reagent to be left in the bottle after you get the 'reagent X empty' notification?

I ended up just telling my trident that I replaced the reagent A bottle to reset the count although I hadn’t actually swapped it because the bottle had about 20% of the reagent left.

The trident notifies for replacement of an empty based on the amount of fluid it has run through the pump since it knows that value, but not actually what the level in the bottle is.

So I assume the bottles have some extra reagent in order to make sure that they can’t run out early, as well as that the trident can always pump enough reagent since it obviously isn’t going to be Abel to entirely drain the bottle.

 

[Jon M.]

@Terence @NeptunePaul Do I just use the contact form on your site for support on the Trident. It only shows for Apex. My calc is still reading 100 ppm low after calibration despite being verified in the 420’s with Hannah and Red Sea.

 

[RussM]

@Terence @NeptunePaul Do I just use the contact form on your site for support on the Trident. It only shows for Apex. My calc is still reading 100 ppm low after calibration despite being verified in the 420’s with Hannah and Red Sea.

Put in your Apex info and contact info in the form where requested and describe your Trident issue in the big text block.

 

[Jstn]

So did my first reagent change and everything went well, how often should I be calibrating the trident ? I haven’t calibrated mine at all and the values it is producing is in close agreement with my manual test.

 

[Brett S]

So did my first reagent change and everything went well, how often should I be calibrating the trident ? I haven’t calibrated mine at all and the values it is producing is in close agreement with my manual test.

They include a calibration standard with each set of reagents, so I assume their intention is that you calibrate each time you change the full set of reagents.