Looking to buy a automated testing solution for my Waterbox 6025 peninsula. Stuck between the popular Trident option or going for the Hydros X10+IVPro. I wanted to get the communities thoughts, especially on Hydros if you have any. Feedback is so few and far between. I feel like the right answer should be Hydros...but truly conflicted.
Hydros:
- Pro: I already have several Hydros controllers and everything else is on Hydros. But testing/dosing is largely separate from everything else from a control standpoint so I don't think it is that much of an advantage.
- Pro: Can drain waste back to tank so no waste container...quality of life improvement.
- Pro: Cheap reagent.
- Con: Cheap reagent. You have to worry about the shelf life, mix consistency, etc. Vs more expensive but out of the box reagent experience.
- Con: Price is only $120 cheaper....but with APEX I get another smart power strip and access to other Neptune offerings, redundancy, etc. The X10 is priced in a way that makes having other Hydros controllers not as much of a competitive advantage.
- Con: Not a lot of user feedback and reviews.
- Con: From what I have read and seen on the Hydros forum and elsewhere...works really well but is finicky...requires tinkering. Recommends replacing pump heads every 6-12 months. More maintenance. Vs the Trident that might be less accurate but is largely set and forget in my experience.
Trident:
- Pro: Used for years in the past so familiar. Has its kinks but has worked decently enough for me. I don't care as much about accuracy as much as I care about consistency for dosing guide rail purposes.
- Con: That said I do not have APEX so it would be a $1,100 purchase (maybe a little less if I get one of the JR packages with adapters, but no thank you). But you also get an EB8 with it...which I don't need right now but more smart power strips is never a bad thing.
- Con: I would have to keep and maintain a separate container for waste water (negative compared to Hydros).
- Con: Two separate ecosystems/apps/etc. .
- Meh: I don't care about Calcium/Magnesium testing. I use TM AFR so I really just test for Alkalinity dosing and occasionally manually test the other two to verify things are within acceptable range. Also why I don't care to wait for the Maven.
Hydros:
- Pro: I already have several Hydros controllers and everything else is on Hydros. But testing/dosing is largely separate from everything else from a control standpoint so I don't think it is that much of an advantage.
- Pro: Can drain waste back to tank so no waste container...quality of life improvement.
- Pro: Cheap reagent.
- Con: Cheap reagent. You have to worry about the shelf life, mix consistency, etc. Vs more expensive but out of the box reagent experience.
- Con: Price is only $120 cheaper....but with APEX I get another smart power strip and access to other Neptune offerings, redundancy, etc. The X10 is priced in a way that makes having other Hydros controllers not as much of a competitive advantage.
- Con: Not a lot of user feedback and reviews.
- Con: From what I have read and seen on the Hydros forum and elsewhere...works really well but is finicky...requires tinkering. Recommends replacing pump heads every 6-12 months. More maintenance. Vs the Trident that might be less accurate but is largely set and forget in my experience.
Trident:
- Pro: Used for years in the past so familiar. Has its kinks but has worked decently enough for me. I don't care as much about accuracy as much as I care about consistency for dosing guide rail purposes.
- Con: That said I do not have APEX so it would be a $1,100 purchase (maybe a little less if I get one of the JR packages with adapters, but no thank you). But you also get an EB8 with it...which I don't need right now but more smart power strips is never a bad thing.
- Con: I would have to keep and maintain a separate container for waste water (negative compared to Hydros).
- Con: Two separate ecosystems/apps/etc. .
- Meh: I don't care about Calcium/Magnesium testing. I use TM AFR so I really just test for Alkalinity dosing and occasionally manually test the other two to verify things are within acceptable range. Also why I don't care to wait for the Maven.
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