Trident reagents

Gtinnel

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So I am not using even close to twice as much of reagent A as I am B and C. I recently setup the trident and haven't had to replace any of the reagents yet, but I suspect when I need to replace B and C the second bottle of A will be about 3/4 full. What do you guys who have been using a trident for a long time do when this happens. Do you go ahead and replace all 3 just throwing away the left over A, or can I just do a reset on bottles B and C?
 
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Gtinnel

Gtinnel

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You will use 2x as much reagent A as anything else unless you changed from the default testing schedule.

I have it testing the minimum each day which is the 2 alk tests and 2 tests for all 3. So far I've used about 30% of B and C but still only 40% of A. I'm not using A at twice the rate of B and C and I'm not sure what to do once B and C need replaced. If I should just throw away any reagent A that is left then I'm going to start doing some manual tests of A to run it out at twice the rate of the other 2. Unless there is some way to automatically do more tests of just alk without testing cal/mag more often.
 

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I have it testing the minimum each day which is the 2 alk tests and 2 tests for all 3. So far I've used about 30% of B and C but still only 40% of A. I'm not using A at twice the rate of B and C and I'm not sure what to do once B and C need replaced. If I should just throw away any reagent A that is left then I'm going to start doing some manual tests of A to run it out at twice the rate of the other 2. Unless there is some way to automatically do more tests of just alk without testing cal/mag more often.
When you initially setup the Trident and run the initial calibration, it does waste a bit of reagent (if I recall, it was about 10-5% of each for me). If you've run the calibration a few times that could possibly explain some of the discrepancy. As you progress through the month you'll find that usage of reagent A picks up a bit.

I'm almost month into my Trident and my reagent A is @24% and B/C are @51% each.
 
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Gtinnel

Gtinnel

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When you initially setup the Trident and run the initial calibration, it does waste a bit of reagent (if I recall, it was about 10-5% of each for me). If you've run the calibration a few times that could possibly explain some of the discrepancy. As you progress through the month you'll find that usage of reagent A picks up a bit.

I'm almost month into my Trident and my reagent A is @24% and B/C are @51% each.
That makes sense. If you don't mind me asking what do you run your alk at? While trying to do some research on what to do I had read somewhere that you would only use twice as much of reagent A if you run higher alkalinity. I keep my alkalinity around 8 so mine isn't real high.
 

blaxsun

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That makes sense. If you don't mind me asking what do you run your alk at? While trying to do some research on what to do I had read somewhere that you would only use twice as much of reagent A if you run higher alkalinity. I keep my alkalinity around 8 so mine isn't real high.
Not at all. My alkalinity fluctuates between 8.5 and 8.9. It always drops down a bit in the evening and recovers during the day. According to my Apex Trident I'm averaging around 8.7 alkalinity. This range seems to be the sweet spot, yielding a PH between 8.0 and 8.1.
 
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Gtinnel

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Not at all. My alkalinity fluctuates between 8.5 and 8.9. It always drops down a bit in the evening and recovers during the day. According to my Apex Trident I'm averaging around 8.7 alkalinity. This range seems to be the sweet spot, yielding a PH between 8.0 and 8.1.
Ok so your alk is higher than mine but not by a lot. I tend to keep mine toward the lower end of what is commonly considered an acceptable range because my system is fairly low nutrients so I'm trying to avoid burnt tips on my sps.
 

blaxsun

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Ok so your alk is higher than mine but not by a lot. I tend to keep mine toward the lower end of what is commonly considered an acceptable range because my system is fairly low nutrients so I'm trying to avoid burnt tips on my sps.
I have more soft and LPS and hardly any SPS, so it sounds like your alkalinity is probably ideal.
 
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Gtinnel

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I have more soft and LPS and hardly any SPS, so it sounds like your alkalinity is probably ideal.
I have a little bit of everything but I've gravitating toward sps recently. My collection of corals increasing is what finally made me decide to get an apex/dos/trident.
 

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I have a little bit of everything but I've gravitating toward sps recently. My collection of corals increasing is what finally made me decide to get an apex/dos/trident.
You can also try recalibrating your Trident when you open your next box of reagent. Note the numbers of the white container (this is what you'll have to change in your calibration settings).
 
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Gtinnel

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You can also try recalibrating your Trident when you open your next box of reagent. Note the numbers of the white container (this is what you'll have to change in your calibration settings).
I just did my initial calibration about a week or so ago after letting it run for close to a week. The only difference it made was correcting my calcium levels. Before calibration my calcium was reading about 100 higher than it actually was.
 

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when it is time to switch, I would toss what ever is left over in the other bottles
 
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Gtinnel

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I know they say not to do it but I do else I’d be wasting stupid amounts of reagent A.
So do you add the leftover reagent A to the new bottle, or do you just reset B and C (I am assuming resetting them in settings tells the trident they're full again)?
 
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