Trident
- Thread starter vtct
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Had mine since September. Only one week of testing was similar to Hanna and icp. Now it reads only zeros. I have a support ticket been going since November 17. Went through all the hoops and now they finally asked for my shipping info to send a new one. So, no, very unreliable in my experience.
areefer01
5000 Club Member
Actually, I'm not sure the hobbyist will. The Neptune Trident NP has various threads with the squeaky wheel getting the grease. I guess my point is that yes, you will get some information, but is it actually helpful. Simple reasoning is that who is more likely to post, someone having issues or someone who is not...
There are a few posts on this forum from early launch with members having some challenges or concerns. I don't want to say issues for no other reason that trying to compare a manual test to an automated is, well, silly. Having said that they should be somewhere close one would think and this was sort of the frustration some had. On the other hand there are those that did not experience these problems. What the ratio is between the two is difficult to determine. Thus my reply.
What is known is that Neptune has released several AOS (Neptune Apex OS) and both Trident NP and ACM (original alk, ca, mg) units with firmware updates. Meaning Neptune stayed on top of it working through concerns or reports of issues and made updates if something was found. Another major change that they did was allow the calibration to run off a series of manual test results using the tanks water similar to what can be done with the original Trident ACM. This made some hobbyist happy as that is what they prefer or do with the other kit.
Long story short Neptune has made some changes since the launch that has improved the product. Is that enough, hard to say. Most recent update was just a few weeks back and seems to be received positive feedback.
Note: I was part of the Neptune pre-release testing so have a lot of reagents through mine to include multiple firmware updates and it continues to work well. I use both manual test and the included calibration solution with similar results.
Note 2: if one chooses to use manual test results for calibration I would recommend doing so about 2 hours before the scheduled test if not 3 hours. Collect a pint of water from the sample line location and use this water to run your manual tests. Run 4 to 5 manual tests of each (nitrate and phosphate). Throw out any odd test results then average the results. These will be the numbers you plug in. I've tested with average, mean, and 95th percentile. Anyway once you have these numbers take the remaining water and put the NP's sample line in there then follow the calibration task. This is important as you are using the same water for all tests - manual and now calibration. Once done move the sample line back to the test area and you are done.
Note 3: probably the biggest note I will leave. We, hobbyist, can use the same piece of equipment and have different results. Difficult to say why that is. Maybe environment. Maybe equipment. Maybe procedure, installation. Hard to say. It is also a hobby grade piece of equipment. Doesn't mean it shouldn't provide accurate results but it is a hobby kit vs something we would use on Mars or on the space station. Point is my experience is mine - yours may be different. They should be similar though.
TL: DR - Neptune has made several AOS and Firmware updates on the NP and there are positive signs of improvement. The only negative thing I have to say about it is that I really, and I mean really, wish Neptune would release 6 month reagent kits. They have a good record with the Trident ACM so there is also that.
Hope your day is well.
There are a few posts on this forum from early launch with members having some challenges or concerns. I don't want to say issues for no other reason that trying to compare a manual test to an automated is, well, silly. Having said that they should be somewhere close one would think and this was sort of the frustration some had. On the other hand there are those that did not experience these problems. What the ratio is between the two is difficult to determine. Thus my reply.
What is known is that Neptune has released several AOS (Neptune Apex OS) and both Trident NP and ACM (original alk, ca, mg) units with firmware updates. Meaning Neptune stayed on top of it working through concerns or reports of issues and made updates if something was found. Another major change that they did was allow the calibration to run off a series of manual test results using the tanks water similar to what can be done with the original Trident ACM. This made some hobbyist happy as that is what they prefer or do with the other kit.
Long story short Neptune has made some changes since the launch that has improved the product. Is that enough, hard to say. Most recent update was just a few weeks back and seems to be received positive feedback.
Note: I was part of the Neptune pre-release testing so have a lot of reagents through mine to include multiple firmware updates and it continues to work well. I use both manual test and the included calibration solution with similar results.
Note 2: if one chooses to use manual test results for calibration I would recommend doing so about 2 hours before the scheduled test if not 3 hours. Collect a pint of water from the sample line location and use this water to run your manual tests. Run 4 to 5 manual tests of each (nitrate and phosphate). Throw out any odd test results then average the results. These will be the numbers you plug in. I've tested with average, mean, and 95th percentile. Anyway once you have these numbers take the remaining water and put the NP's sample line in there then follow the calibration task. This is important as you are using the same water for all tests - manual and now calibration. Once done move the sample line back to the test area and you are done.
Note 3: probably the biggest note I will leave. We, hobbyist, can use the same piece of equipment and have different results. Difficult to say why that is. Maybe environment. Maybe equipment. Maybe procedure, installation. Hard to say. It is also a hobby grade piece of equipment. Doesn't mean it shouldn't provide accurate results but it is a hobby kit vs something we would use on Mars or on the space station. Point is my experience is mine - yours may be different. They should be similar though.
TL: DR - Neptune has made several AOS and Firmware updates on the NP and there are positive signs of improvement. The only negative thing I have to say about it is that I really, and I mean really, wish Neptune would release 6 month reagent kits. They have a good record with the Trident ACM so there is also that.
Hope your day is well.
amarti2038
Community Member
I’d like to share my personal experience.
I’ve had the Trident NP since October 2024, and a Trident ACM since 2023. The ACM has never given me a single problem and has been working perfectly for almost two years, testing every day. Its results are always very close to my ICP tests and to my Hanna and Salifert kits. My manual tests also match ICPs very well, and I absolutely love both the ACM and my handheld testers.
With the Trident NP, it has been the complete opposite. I honestly don’t trust it. I only use it during vacations, and after going through three sets of reagents, I’ve had only one “reasonable” experience with a single set. The rest of the time, results have been wrong.
On top of that, two of the five pinch valves broke. In my opinion, that only happens due to a valve defect or software behavior. Recently, the tubing also broke. Since this happened 1 year and 2 months after purchase, it was out of warranty and I had to cover all repair costs myself.
Replacement(fyi): https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256809930594691.html
DC 12V Micro solenoid operated pinch valve Normally closed
With relatively little use, the cuvette also gets dirty very quickly and is difficult to clean. I disassembled it and spent almost an hour getting it back into an acceptable condition.
From a usability standpoint, working with the NP is hard, while the ACM is a joy to use.
Today I recalibrated the NP again, and the first measurement was reasonably close to my manual tests. Let’s see how it behaves over time. I understand that measuring nutrients is complex, but still…
What I find significant is that if you search “Trident NP” on Reef2Reef, you’ll see many people selling their units.
I really love Neptune Systems, but in my experience the NP is not as refined or stable as the ACM. You can clearly see the effort put into firmware updates, but my experience with the NP has been poor. I truly hope that after this repair, the latest firmware, and this new calibration, it will finally perform better.
I’ll post my results here as they come.
I’ve had the Trident NP since October 2024, and a Trident ACM since 2023. The ACM has never given me a single problem and has been working perfectly for almost two years, testing every day. Its results are always very close to my ICP tests and to my Hanna and Salifert kits. My manual tests also match ICPs very well, and I absolutely love both the ACM and my handheld testers.
With the Trident NP, it has been the complete opposite. I honestly don’t trust it. I only use it during vacations, and after going through three sets of reagents, I’ve had only one “reasonable” experience with a single set. The rest of the time, results have been wrong.
On top of that, two of the five pinch valves broke. In my opinion, that only happens due to a valve defect or software behavior. Recently, the tubing also broke. Since this happened 1 year and 2 months after purchase, it was out of warranty and I had to cover all repair costs myself.
Replacement(fyi): https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256809930594691.html
DC 12V Micro solenoid operated pinch valve Normally closed
| Brand | BOSHUN |
| Product name: | SOLENOID VALVE |
| Modle | BS-0838V |
| Rated voltage | DC12-48V |
With relatively little use, the cuvette also gets dirty very quickly and is difficult to clean. I disassembled it and spent almost an hour getting it back into an acceptable condition.
From a usability standpoint, working with the NP is hard, while the ACM is a joy to use.
Today I recalibrated the NP again, and the first measurement was reasonably close to my manual tests. Let’s see how it behaves over time. I understand that measuring nutrients is complex, but still…
What I find significant is that if you search “Trident NP” on Reef2Reef, you’ll see many people selling their units.
I really love Neptune Systems, but in my experience the NP is not as refined or stable as the ACM. You can clearly see the effort put into firmware updates, but my experience with the NP has been poor. I truly hope that after this repair, the latest firmware, and this new calibration, it will finally perform better.
I’ll post my results here as they come.
Last edited:
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