Trident vs Alkatronic vs KH Director vs kh guardian

leepink23 · Jul 17, 2019

mitch91175 said:
Hey guys nothing major to update between the Trident and Alkatronic that hasn't really already been reported. They both are staying pretty consistent in measurement difference. I think I will have to replace reagent A tomorrow.

The new toy feel has worn off pretty fast. Maybe because I cannot tinker with my own schedule has a little to do with it.

Did you get the correct amount of tests from it?

User1 · Jul 19, 2019

Ohashimz said:
Btw am very intersted in the mindstream..if this product deliever what its promising it's going to be a game changer.
From cost stand point is competitive if I counter all factors like maintenance cost, reagent cost and equipment investment cost..and it will provide by far the most tests there is.
Am waiting to see.it.in hands of customers

Worth to keep an eye on it

I think it is worth keeping an eye on it but when I watched the video they posted and was asked about a price they said under $900 + subscription / disk replacement. I'm not going to get into what is is not or anything else other than the initial buy in is steep. If a disk lasts 30 days that can add up pretty quick.

I guess it will all depend on what you have, don't have, can they coexist, or do you want to change. I did not hear of any launch date. Also in the video you posted check the 1 minute 10 second mark. I got a laugh as the portal Randy is scrolling through has Tridents listed as in stock

Signed up on the first day the list went live and I'll be danged if a few of us still haven't been called...

CNDReef · Jul 19, 2019

Ohashimz said:
actually price is not that steep if you factor in everything (agreed on your point it will depend on hwo wants it and what person have already). To me as an example ion director still make sense, but operating something like trident or the coming Xepta will not be that far off and even more expensive in some situations. this is some calculation I saw by a user that I modified to suit my situation and to make things apple to apple.
calculation comes to:
Mindstream cost ~$2677. 10 parameters testing and monitoring
Neptune/Trident cost ~2700~$3500. Testing 7 parameters.
GHL 1800~1600+Ion director cost+prob maintenance cost
Xepta ~1300$~1400$+reagent cost+maintenance cost

This is referring to a 4-5 years model earlier user and resonated with me(with some modification I did to make it apple to apple and more comparable to me personally). please correct any wrong data you see here that I missed

Am trying to do similar calculation to xepta and ghl but some of the prices are not known yet so calculation will be missing. But what I know is in the details

Details:
MindStream
Base Unit Cost = $1,000
Service - Every five years = $0
Subscription Disk = $34.95 per month or $1677 for four years
Four Year Total Cost = $2,677

Neptune Trident
Trident Base Unit Cost = $600
Apex package= 800$ this come with 3 probs only
Apex head without probs=400$
Apex o2 prob+module=775$
Service - every 18-24 months is less than $100 for a self-service kit or $150-$200 for a factory job. = Self service $200 - Factory $300 to $400
Reagents for four years = $1080 (I confirmed the calibration standard ships with the reagents so you should recalibrate every two months according to Neptune's FAQ)
Four Year Total Cost ~ $27000 to $3500 without counting for the yearly maintenance for trident that is another adder.

GHL:
Profilux package=$1000 thinks comparable to apex package but has more functionalities..
Profilux basic=$800 this give you way more than apex head alone
Khd= $800
Ion director=??
Ion probs cost=??

Xepta:
My understanding this package that will test and dose is around 1300 to 1400$.
Probs and reagent cost=??

Nice breakdown

road_runner · Jul 19, 2019

These calculations do not factor in how often your probs and testers might need to be changed in case of ghl or Neptune.
I ask my self, do I really think these probs will survive even 4 years? To me the answer is no, I had to change my salinity and ph probs almost once every 2 years. Which means cost of other solutions will even be more...
Time will tell.

User1 · Jul 19, 2019

Ohashimz said:
actually price is not that steep if you factor in everything (agreed on your point it will depend on hwo wants it and what person have already). To me as an example ion director still make sense, but operating something like trident or the coming Xepta will not be that far off and even more expensive in some situations. this is some calculation I saw by a user that I modified to suit my situation and to make things apple to apple.
calculation comes to:
Mindstream cost ~$2677. 10 parameters testing and monitoring
Neptune/Trident cost ~2700~$3500. Testing 7 parameters.
GHL 1800~1600+Ion director cost+prob maintenance cost
Xepta ~1300$~1400$+reagent cost+maintenance cost

This is referring to a 4-5 years model earlier user and resonated with me(with some modification I did to make it apple to apple and more comparable to me personally). please correct any wrong data you see here that I missed

Am trying to do similar calculation to xepta and ghl but some of the prices are not known yet so calculation will be missing. But what I know is in the details

Details:
MindStream
Base Unit Cost = $1,000
Service - Every five years = $0
Subscription Disk = $34.95 per month or $1677 for four years
Four Year Total Cost = $2,677

Neptune Trident
Trident Base Unit Cost = $600
Apex package= 800$ this come with 3 probs only
Apex head without probs=400$
Apex o2 prob+module=775$
Service - every 18-24 months is less than $100 for a self-service kit or $150-$200 for a factory job. = Self service $200 - Factory $300 to $400
Reagents for four years = $1080 (I confirmed the calibration standard ships with the reagents so you should recalibrate every two months according to Neptune's FAQ)
Four Year Total Cost ~ $27000 to $3500 without counting for the yearly maintenance for trident that is another adder.

GHL:
Profilux package=$1000 thinks comparable to apex package but has more functionalities..
Profilux basic=$800 this give you way more than apex head alone
Khd= $800
Ion director=??
Ion probs cost=??

Xepta:
My understanding this package that will test and dose is around 1300 to 1400$.
Probs and reagent cost=??

I get the general idea and thanks for throwing it together (side note four year total cost has a typo under the trident (four year total cost - $27000 - extra zero).

I'm still going to go with the cost per test. This way it will factor in any other costs like disk or regent replacement and finally add in serving. I will assume buying the head unit(s) or other expansion modules are the price to automate testing be it entry or changing. This way I can stay vender neutral.

Edit: Not sure if I said thank you for the break down though! So Thanks

ReeferBud · Jul 21, 2019

While y’all seem to have moved on to the fancy future multi-test units, I’m super stoked today to have installed an Alkatronic on my tank to just measure Alk

. Measuring 8.0 dKH vs my 6 yr old Hanna at 8.2 dKH.

The new heart of the system! This thread helped me make the decision and thanks to everyone who shared their experiences about the product.

road_runner · Jul 21, 2019

ReeferBud said:
While y’all seem to have moved on to the fancy future multi-test units, I’m super stoked today to have installed an Alkatronic on my tank to just measure Alk . Measuring 8.0 dKH vs my 6 yr old Hanna at 8.2 dKH.

The new heart of the system! This thread helped me make the decision and thanks to everyone who shared their experiences about the product.

Man this is some mad setup you got there...just wow!

ReeferBud · Jul 21, 2019

Ohashimz said:
Man this is some mad setup you got there...just wow!

LOL, thanks man! Appreciate it!

I love the engineering and technical part of the hobby and I’m always trying to find new projects to make it better. Also a great way to relieve stress and put my mind to work on something I actually enjoy doing just for fun

road_runner · Jul 21, 2019

ReeferBud said:
LOL, thanks man! Appreciate it!

I love the engineering and technical part of the hobby and I’m always trying to find new projects to make it better. Also a great way to relieve stress and put my mind to work on something I actually enjoy doing just for fun

Man you are my idol now..I showed your setup to my wife just now and said "I want one like that" she freaked out ha ha

ReeferBud · Jul 21, 2019

Ha ha ha! Can’t tell you how many times my wife has freaked out. I actually got “permission” for the fish room after almost flooding the house when my RO unit reservoir overflowed... oops! Tell your wife to just imagine all the mess and fish stuff in a room out of sight!

road_runner · Jul 21, 2019

ReeferBud said:
Ha ha ha! Can’t tell you how many times my wife has freaked out. I actually got “permission” for the fish room after almost flooding the house when my RO unit reservoir overflowed... oops! Tell your wife to just imagine all the mess and fish stuff in a room out of sight!

You just gave me a great idea...hold my beer ha ha

mitch91175 · Jul 22, 2019

O kso quick update, over the weekend I changed out reagent A. Unit has been testing since then and the numbers are completely out of whack. Nothing changed but changing out reagent A in the Trident. Will need to run some comparison test against salifert and Hanna, but there is no way I will trust the numbers right now from the Trident.

Alkatronic:

Trident:

Either I have had an amazing amount of growth or something isn't right with the Trident. Which do you think? Magnesium doesn't drop from ~1500 to 1186 in a few days. No water changes and running a CaRx.

road_runner · Jul 22, 2019

mitch91175 said:
O kso quick update, over the weekend I changed out reagent A. Unit has been testing since then and the numbers are completely out of whack. Nothing changed but changing out reagent A in the Trident. Will need to run some comparison test against salifert and Hanna, but there is no way I will trust the numbers right now from the Trident.

Alkatronic:

Trident:

Either I have had an amazing amount of growth or something isn't right with the Trident. Which do you think? Magnesium doesn't drop from ~1500 to 1186 in a few days. No water changes and running a CaRx.

Am pretty sure this is coming from the peristaltic pumps, I do not think these pumps are accurate and I think the main reason trident is not shipping (at least high volume) is because they are getting bad yield either at the manufacturer or post manufacturing and they need to do something to manually adjust the unit before shipping which is slowing down shipments.
If you see BRS video, trident did not score high on accuracy and they did not test its consistency like what they did with other kits which make me to believe it's not coming with consistent results..
Time will tell.

User1 · Jul 22, 2019

Ohashimz said:
Am pretty sure this is coming from the peristaltic pumps, I do not think these pumps are accurate and I think the main reason trident is not shipping (at least high volume) is because they are getting bad yield either at the manufacturer or post manufacturing and they need to do something to manually adjust the unit before shipping which is slowing down shipments.
If you see BRS video, trident did not score high on accuracy and they did not test its consistency like what they did with other kits which make me to believe it's not coming with consistent results..
Time will tell.

If that was the case I'd expect all shipments to stop.

This is also the first time I've heard about it although not owning one I'm not scouring the Neptune trident forum. I did see a post in which case Neptune support ID'd a similar case with air in the line. I'd open a ticket if you haven't (to the person raising the question that is).

Silver14SS · Jul 22, 2019

mitch91175 said:
O kso quick update, over the weekend I changed out reagent A. Unit has been testing since then and the numbers are completely out of whack. Nothing changed but changing out reagent A in the Trident. Will need to run some comparison test against salifert and Hanna, but there is no way I will trust the numbers right now from the Trident.

Alkatronic:

Trident:

Either I have had an amazing amount of growth or something isn't right with the Trident. Which do you think? Magnesium doesn't drop from ~1500 to 1186 in a few days. No water changes and running a CaRx.

Thanks again for the update!

leepink23 · Jul 22, 2019

mitch91175 said:
O kso quick update, over the weekend I changed out reagent A. Unit has been testing since then and the numbers are completely out of whack. Nothing changed but changing out reagent A in the Trident. Will need to run some comparison test against salifert and Hanna, but there is no way I will trust the numbers right now from the Trident.
I would submit a ticket, that’s not good. I follow Neptune on Facebook and there have been a few report this and it seems to be air in the line

Alkatronic:

Trident:

Either I have had an amazing amount of growth or something isn't right with the Trident. Which do you think? Magnesium doesn't drop from ~1500 to 1186 in a few days. No water changes and running a CaRx.