Trident FAQ

[Silentreefer]

Post $595 literally has a post that one could probably safely assume is about Trident. Doesn't say anything about scrapping a design and putting it back a year, though...

Didnt see that I just skipped to the last page. But that is just what I heard and the cor pumps came to mind how they were announced like 2 years ago and only got released this year. Oh well not expecting the trident to come out any time soon, but I am hoping it does.

 

[Dr. Reef]

what did you all bashers do before trident was announced???? keep doing what you did before and when time comes upgrade.
its best they fix all the bugs and issues now as its only going to cost them but if they deliver a product to you and its got bugs and issues its going to cost you an entire tank. you choose.

Another point: neptune doesnt make money with just announcing products they make money after they sell products so i am sure they would love to take your money but they cant till they have a good product.

 

[redpine42]

I don't think this is an accurate assessment or comparison.. Neptune doesn't not play nice with others. WXM works well with Ecotech products (except the pumps, which is an Ecotech limitation, not Neptune). Neptune has 0-10v ports. Their new IOTA initiative is already off to a seemingly good start (using that with a AI light on a 2nd tank). While they aren't Microsoft that allows for a ton of crapware ruin their experience with a completely open system, they seem to be willing to play nice with other companies by many accounts that I use (personally I control a Reef Octopus skimmer, Ecotech Radions, MP40s, Kessil light on refugium, and AI light on QT tank, all from 1 Apex - that doesn't sound like a closed system).

Open System is one which publishes an API and conforms to open standards, such USB or Restful interfaces. This allows independent companies to build their components to work seamlessly with the equipment. Sure we can hack a skimmer or light to work with Apex, but it's a hack and not a seamless experience and that doesn't make it an open system.

 

[siggy]

what did you all bashers do before trident was announced???? keep doing what you did before and when time comes upgrade.
its best they fix all the bugs and issues now as its only going to cost them but if they deliver a product to you and its got bugs and issues its going to cost you an entire tank. you choose.

Another point: neptune doesnt make money with just announcing products they make money after they sell products so i am sure they would love to take your money but they cant till they have a good product.

My opinion as if it matters is that, They had NO business showing a CONCEPT at Macna last year and stealing Best In Show from the WORKING products that were released and available. The KH director, Alktronic and others that were recently released were overshadowed by this PLOY and it has cost them sales from those of us expecting a working unit. This system is a game changer no dout and will out sell everything when its released.
MACNA should only allow NEW WORKING & RELEASED items to be submitted for consideration. That was very small of them.

 

[Dr. Reef]

This is called business tactic and you cannot compare Banana to Apple.
All those products you mentioned are either people having problems with mostly to do with pH probe or equipment itself. Some you cannot even get reagents for.
All those products are 1 and 1 test only and they can't even keep the equipment in line and in check to work properly while trident is 3 in 1 test. There is no comparison.
No one said hold on and buy trident it's ones own decision.
There were prototype 4 yrs ago of 2 products that I wanted.
1 robosnail, an automatic glass cleaner.
They did release it but not for 1/2"or more glass thickness.
2 ReefBot, it was supposed to been in market hasn't yet.
There are too many concepts that don't make it.
By the way alk monitor was also a prototype showed in macna by one man 3 or 4 years ago that one big company bought rights to and that became reality later.
By them showing off trident, maybe some Chinese company may come out with a similar device half the price and in half the time.
I am sure they are also aware of such.

 

[siggy]

This is called business tactic and you cannot compare Banana to Apple.

They still don't have a working unit and may never have one. But they won Best in show,
in the hopes of developing one and getting it to market. BTW do you really think there wont be problems with this? if it ever gets to market.

 

[Dr. Reef]

I would rather wait and have less issues so I am avoid a disaster in my tank that is worth 1000 x the cost of trident

 

[WWIII]

what did you all bashers do before trident was announced???? keep doing what you did before and when time comes upgrade.
its best they fix all the bugs and issues now as its only going to cost them but if they deliver a product to you and its got bugs and issues its going to cost you an entire tank. you choose.

Another point: neptune doesnt make money with just announcing products they make money after they sell products so i am sure they would love to take your money but they cant till they have a good product.

It seems like quite a few bought a 2016 Apex with the trident being their main justification. So in a way Neptune did make money from simply announcing a product. I don't think they should be bashed for not releasing a product, but can understand some people being frustrated.

 

[Dr. Reef]

I agree it was a great tactic. They announced trident along with a warning that it won't work with classic. Forced hobbyist to upgrade and bunch did. Whether Trident ever comes to Market or not they were able to make money by just upgrading to Apex 2016.
If you remember Apex 2016 was a package for $799 then they came out with just upgradable brain unit for $400.
They know what they're doing.
All this bashing is not going to cause them to come out with Trident early. They're in it to make money and the only way they can make money is by putting the product on the Shelf. And trust me they want your money.

 

[Shawn Dahl]

To all those that are bashing, every industry has unforseen delays, with that said we are all here because we love our Neptune products and know it will be a game changer when it's released, so just sit back continue testing like you have since the beginning of your time in the hobby and in due time Neptune will let us all be a little lazier with our reef tanks.

 

[ScooterV]

Their USB plug that isn't a USB plug, but a proprietary solution, is one example. They could of followed USB standards, created an open API and others could of easily hooked up.

Neptunes closed standard is just plain greed.

Even being more open with their secret telnet commands would be nice However, I'll disagree on the USB point. Standard USB is 5V and limited to 15 feet. They obviously felt this wasn't efficient for powering Aquabus devices, as well as many of us need much more than 15ft. They could have used a proprietary plug for the bus as well, out of greed, and charged us a fortune if we needed a 60 foot cable. They did us a favor using a cable type readily available if short, and not too expensive to have made if needing a long one.

Also, their announcing it so early I think was partially a business decision. Many mention it lead people to upgrade to the 2016 to be ready. However, even without that, they still have much to gain. There's a large pool of existing Apex users. If they hadn't even announced they would have a product many would have already tried another product. Telling us the Trident is coming has given many of us pause to wait, rather than go elsewhere. They are saving those future sales so we don't wander astray Bummer they ran into parts sourcing and manufacturing issues though.

 

[Reefcowboy]

IMO bashing isnt helping either. I dont believe some people would buy an apex JUST because of the Trident. They bought it as the controller has an excellent value AND because the Trident is a great addition.

Not wanting to say this to anyone in particular on this thread, but bashers hate and threaten to sell their systems, go GHL, Vertex, Ekoral...hate the trident and say it will fail...but they never go elsewhere or drop the bone.

I'm not a Neptune fanboy as the company has flaws. Lots of my apex stuff has crapped out too early, but if the market only had the current competitors and no Neptune, it would be really dissapointing.

 

[themcfreak]

They still don't have a working unit and may never have one. But they won Best in show,
in the hopes of developing one and getting it to market. BTW do you really think there wont be problems with this? if it ever gets to market.

Where do you get that the 'don't have a working unit" ? Terence has shown us his in videos before. It seems pretty clear based on what I have seen (and announcements they have made) that they have a working unit, and it works well. The issues (as they have said) are in mass production and getting each unit produced to work consistently.

 

[Dr. Reef]

A full-fledged working unit has been displayed two years in a row at Macna

 

[themcfreak]

Open System is one which publishes an API and conforms to open standards, such USB or Restful interfaces. This allows independent companies to build their components to work seamlessly with the equipment. Sure we can hack a skimmer or light to work with Apex, but it's a hack and not a seamless experience and that doesn't make it an open system.

I don't remember 'hacking' my skimmer or lights. I plugged them into the Apex, and the Apex did what I wanted with programming used in the way Apex uses programming. Just because they don't use "USB" doesn't mean they aren't playing nice. And, as I said, they are publishing an API for the IOTA initiative. It is up to other manufactures to come and work with Neptune. Neptune is doing their part, in my opinion, to play nice with others.

 

[ReefTeacher]

This is called business tactic and you cannot compare Banana to Apple.
All those products you mentioned are either people having problems with mostly to do with pH probe or equipment itself. Some you cannot even get reagents for.
All those products are 1 and 1 test only and they can't even keep the equipment in line and in check to work properly while trident is 3 in 1 test. There is no comparison.
No one said hold on and buy trident it's ones own decision.
There were prototype 4 yrs ago of 2 products that I wanted.
1 robosnail, an automatic glass cleaner.
They did release it but not for 1/2"or more glass thickness.
2 ReefBot, it was supposed to been in market hasn't yet.
There are too many concepts that don't make it.
By the way alk monitor was also a prototype showed in macna by one man 3 or 4 years ago that one big company bought rights to and that became reality later.
By them showing off trident, maybe some Chinese company may come out with a similar device half the price and in half the time.
I am sure they are also aware of such.

There are those who would call this an unethical business tactic. I went and bought a Dr Bridge KHG monitor. I paid only $500, but it exists! I have been monitoring my calc for almost a year now. There are no issues inspite of the rumors those who do not own one say. The APEX can control the alk dosing based on the reading from the KHG. Given the reliability issues Neptune has had with WAV and AFS, and their bad support and response to their customers with their products. I would be VERY careful of entrusting my tank to a Neptune peripheral. They know things are wrong but don't make them right. This is not a business decision; this is deception. The company was never like this before Terrance joined. Curt is very much a stand-up guy. But money has taken over quality here.

 

[themcfreak]

so many people who dogging Neptune, saying Neptune sucks, saying Neptune is unreliable.. why are you in a Neptune thread then? Can you all just leave so that me and my fellow excited friends can discuss Neptune products without you clogging our threads?

 

[ScooterV]

This doesn't look like an FAQ thread anymore

I do have a question though, if anyone knows or a Neptune rep wanders by.

I have seen in many places that the Trident will initially only monitor, and control to be added later. I'm hoping "control later" means it simply won't have a GUI Wizard to configure control. Will it at least store the most recent test results as a variable WE can use for our own programming?

 

[Shawn Dahl]

This doesn't look like an FAQ thread anymore

I do have a question though, if anyone knows or a Neptune rep wanders by.

I have seen in many places that the Trident will initially only monitor, and control to be added later. I'm hoping "control later" means it simply won't have a GUI Wizard to configure control. Will it at least store the most recent test results as a variable WE can use for our own programming?

This thread looks like a political election at this point.
Vote Neptune, Make Reefing Great Again!

 

[ScooterV]

This thread looks like a political election at this point.
Vote Neptune, Make Reefing Great Again!

Reefing was always Great!!!

LOL