Waited for the trident, got the alkatronic

[joeyamador]

At the end of the day if you care about noise as I do then we find solutions to lower the noise.... does anyone remember dynomat? I lined my 150 gallon stand and foam stripped the doors and it has significantly reduced the noise.. sounds just like a regular dosing pump.. I don't see the trident or any "gear" as me losing touch with my hobby as there is always plenty to do on any of my tanks.. I see it as another way/method of trying to reach the pinnacle of our hobby.. we all strive for stability which could be argued that we are striving for perfection... yes I know nothing is perfect hence the word striving.. this hobby has changed significantly in just the Last 15 years I have been it (only 12 years active the other 3 I dreamed and read about it as I traveled to much). Regardless of our opinions everyone (vendors) are looking for new ways to advance our hobby and I feel the trident is a good advance... yes you need an apex and technically the cost is greater overall compared to the khdirector or the alkatronics but let's face it most of us who purchase these items have either been doing this awhile or are gear junkies (self professed gear junkie here). Most new hobbyist aren't pushing the limits like us and those who are and can afford can now attempt to be more successful during their learning curve without adding to the numerous people who are killing corals due to impatience and inexperience. To each his own but I like the idea of the trident. I'm rambling.. thanks a lot whiskey lol.

 

[road_runner]

This is what happen to peristaltic tubing in 1 year. This is on a pump that is used every 6 hours btw. Keep in mind the more frequent you use these pumps the faster the wear and tear will be.
I doubt trident have any special or proprietary tubing, it must use what's available in the industry...So, I wonder what the accuracy will be in 1 year without changing these tubing.
Probably this is the reason for the 1 year only warrante....

 

[road_runner]

I am waiting for the Abex Xepta.

I cannot find enough info about this but looks great...almost too good..

 

[tgrick]

I am waiting for the Abex Xepta.

Im waiting also.

 

[marlinmon]

I notice the same, high alk consumption during the photoperiod and little overnight. I have heavily stocked 120g SPS tank running a GEO618 calcium reactor. Wish I had a way to automatically adjust output throughout the day.

Overall I’m happy with the Alkatronic, it’s been running without issue for ~9 months. I’m heavily invested in Apex gear but I just didn’t have the patience to wait.

I'm one that doses kh. Very high consumption starting at 2PM up to right before lights out. Lights on at 10AM, lights off at 10PM. Here's my dosing schedule that keeps dkh pretty steady:

 

[shred5]

I cannot find enough info about this but looks great...almost too good..

https://reefs.com/2019/05/02/reef-a-palooza-orlando-2019-product-spotlight-abex-xepta/

Yea it does allot more than all of them combined and with no Reagent..

I truly believe this is why the trident launched when it did. This thing even if it does half of what it says will be the best unit out there.

I would love to get my hands on one of these. Coralvue is very quiet about stuff though, I have Beta tested stuff for them and I bet this is out there and some are using it. They do not talk about stuff or let others till it is time. It is the right move so you do not end up with the whole trident launch fiasco and waiting forever.. When they start showing stuff it is getting close. With it being at RAP the gates will now be open.

 

[road_runner]

https://reefs.com/2019/05/02/reef-a-palooza-orlando-2019-product-spotlight-abex-xepta/

Yea it does allot more than all of them combined and with no Reagent..

I truly believe this is why the trident launched when it did. This thing even if it does half of what it says will be the best unit out there.

I would love to get my hands on one of these. Coralvue is very quiet about stuff though, I have Beta tested stuff for them and I bet this is out there and some are using it. They do not talk about stuff or let others till it is time. It is the right move so you do not end up with the whole trident launch fiasco and waiting forever.. When they start showing stuff it is getting close. With it being at RAP the gates will now be open.

Yup the ion based prob seems to be the future of testing. I also believe this news what made Neptune rush launch trident like that. It was comical listing to Neptune lash out on people and claim that this poorly planned launch was all part of the plan ha ha.

My prediction is that either Neptune will jump on ion based prob waggen and move on from the trident to catch up with the market. Which means throwing ppl who got trident under the bus.
Or they will keep on the same path of trident which will make them obsolete.

I still like ION director cause GHL have a solid ecosystem. But will wait till both releases and we see which oath to go.
Either way, good time to be a reefer...

 

[CDavmd]

“Rush launch” [emoji15] Seriously??

If anything this was not a rush job. It’s been almost two years since it was announced. People on the thread were losing it and some even saying it wasn’t real. Hence the Unicorns...definitely not a rush job.

 

[road_runner]

“Rush launch” [emoji15] Seriously??

If anything this was not a rush job. It’s been almost two years since it was announced. People on the thread were losing it and some even saying it wasn’t real. Hence the Unicorns...definitely not a rush job.

Rush in a sense that the date it was released is rushed.
They had like 100 units only available. Brs had 80 or so, other outlets had couple here and there. So yes, it was rushed and not planned.
If after 2 years of hype, they emerge with 100 unit to north America market and this is the plane, then they have horrible operation and marketing....

 

[shred5]

“Rush launch” [emoji15] Seriously??

If anything this was not a rush job. It’s been almost two years since it was announced. People on the thread were losing it and some even saying it wasn’t real. Hence the Unicorns...definitely not a rush job.

What they did is start showing it to early, people have no patients. Just because something is talked about for years does not mean it was not still rushed at the end and still was not ready for market.
I think it was not ready for launch yet. I think either they launched without having nearly enough units because the Xepta is right behind it.
It is either that or it was they launched early with so few and was intentional because they are worried about issues and do not want thousands in peoples hands with issues.
Also could have launched this way to get the got to haves riled up. I got one you don't hahaha making the got to haves want one even more, intentional shortage.

 

[mitch91175]

Rush in a sense that the date it was released is rushed.
They had like 100 units only available. Brs had 80 or so, other outlets had couple here and there. So yes, it was rushed and not planned.
If after 2 years of hype, they emerge with 100 unit to north America market and this is the plane, then they have horrible operation and marketing....

Yeah that is a fair assessment if you ask me

“Rush launch” [emoji15] Seriously??

If anything this was not a rush job. It’s been almost two years since it was announced. People on the thread were losing it and some even saying it wasn’t real. Hence the Unicorns...definitely not a rush job.

The rush is really surrounding the extreme limited quantity that was initially released. You can look at that a number of ways:

1. It was pure marketing genius to create more demand.
2. It will back fire. They will still sell units, but give people more time to think rather than react and make a spontaneous purchase.
3. There are some manufacturing issues that aren't know to the general public.

I think it will be a little of each. Some people have jumped ship and ordered competing products (no matter whether it is better or not). Some people are now going to wait yet again for the next best device (procrastinators).

I do see a lot of inexperienced reefers with the Trident though. Just hope that they understand the consequences of turning over the keys to the kingdom.

I bet that we'll end up seeing some of those "This <enter device name here> nuked my tank".

 

[shred5]

Yup the ion based prob seems to be the future of testing. I also believe this news what made Neptune rush launch trident like that. It was comical listing to Neptune lash out on people and claim that this poorly planned launch was all part of the plan ha ha.

My prediction is that either Neptune will jump on ion based prob waggen and move on from the trident to catch up with the market. Which means throwing ppl who got trident under the bus.
Or they will keep on the same path of trident which will make them obsolete.

I still like ION director cause GHL have a solid ecosystem. But will wait till both releases and we see which oath to go.
Either way, good time to be a reefer...

I agree.. Unless you are the one on the loosing end and your unit gets put on the cutting room floor.

My other worry is those with dosing capabilities not being ready and nuking some tanks. I have some distrust for something like that this early.

This could be a good future with not having to test your water anymore. I mean it can change the hobby for sure. Stuff will eventually come down in price too with competition.

 

[road_runner]

Yeah that is a fair assessment if you ask me



The rush is really surrounding the extreme limited quantity that was initially released. You can look at that a number of ways:

1. It was pure marketing genius to create more demand.


2. It will back fire. They will still sell units, but give people more time to think rather than react and make a spontaneous purchase.
3. There are some manufacturing issues that aren't know to the general public.

I think it will be a little of each. Some people have jumped ship and ordered competing products (no matter whether it is better or not). Some people are now going to wait yet again for the next best device (procrastinators).

I do see a lot of inexperienced reefers with the Trident though. Just hope that they understand the consequences of turning over the keys to the kingdom.



I bet that we'll end up seeing some of those "This <enter device name here> nuked my tank".

I doubt this is it at all. Not like that...not 100 units for all noth America. Even BRS was annoyed and got in tough spot..


That is my real worry. The industry have became more about equipment and less about the coral and fish..I remember how many tanks got nuked by dos during the first couppenof months, and how many floors got flooded by ATK...
The reefing equipment industry have done a good job confusing people in to buying things and mixing what really matter and what doesn't.

 

[road_runner]

I agree.. Unless you are the one on the loosing end and your unit gets put on the cutting room floor.

My other worry is those with dosing capabilities not being ready and nuking some tanks. I have some distrust for something like that this early.

This could be a good future with not having to test your water anymore. I mean it can change the hobby for sure. Stuff will eventually come down in price too with competition.

Could not agree more. I remember the scary threads of dos dumping everything in the tank or atk flooding

 

[BZOFIQ]

Between all the options already available and the Ion Director coming online in give or take 6 months future of testing looks pretty sweet.

If the Ion Director can indeed test alk, nitrate and phosphate at launch I might even forgive the lack of Ethernet port.

At that point this would be the only Trident I'd buy

I love having options!

 

[road_runner]

Between all the options already available and the Ion Director coming online in give or take 6 months future of testing looks pretty sweet.

If the Ion Director can indeed test alk, nitrate and phosphate at launch I might even forgive the lack of Ethernet port.

At that point this would be the only Trident I'd buy

I love having options!

The last comment won the comment of the day ha ha

 

[shred5]

Thinking about ion testing kind of makes the trident obsolete before even launching.

 

[Tony Thompson]

With regards Ion probes, we will all have to wait and see. As far as I am aware , the problem with ion probes, (which have been / are used quite commonly in laboratories) is that their design is not usually compatible with using salt water, water consisting of complex mixes of elements or water samples with high levels of organics. Will be very interesting to see how they overcome this problem.

For now, in my opinion, especially for us European reefers, the GHL Director is the one to go for. Simply monitor your Alk , and control your calcium reactor. I just don`t see the need to separately continuously monitor Calcium and Magnesium levels. Each to their own I suppose.

 

[David S]

Keep in mind, this is my personal opinion.

I was waiting on the trident for months. The entirety of the time I was thinking “what about the alkatronic?” After the poorly done Neptune’s trident release I immediately jumped on a alkatronic. The monthly operating price for the trident is high but what really turned me off is how they handled the release. In my opinion it was just poorly done.

Fast forward to yesterday I took the day off to sign for this beauty

Overall impression of the machine.. it is well made. For $900 it better be. Speaking of the price $900 is a steep price tag for just monitoring alkalinity. My train of thought is I’ve always just tested alkalinity. I tested calcium maybe once a month and magnesium even less. I keep my parameters stable with 10% weekly water changes, dosing kalkwasser on a timer, and with a calcium reactor. But what about the $900 alkatronic vs $600 trident... just with the the $300+ in reagent for the trident within the first year the trident running cost would be more than the alkatronic.

I’m not going to sugar coat the set up process was a pain in the butt. It wasn’t difficult. There was just a lot of steps to it and it took quite some time. My advice is to just read the instructions on the app, do not watch the coralvue video. The video skips steps that the app does not. I messed up on mixing the reagent so my initial test was off reading 10.56. The app allows you to use a reference value which immediately put the following tests spot on. Ive been verifying the alkatronic’s test with a salifert alkalinity test. For the first few days I’ll be testing every 2 hours to get a base line on how my alkalinity fluctuates with lights on vs light off.

By no means is the product quieter than my tank. The tank is on a wall in between my living room and kitchen. It’s definitely audible over the other equipment but the tv easily drowns out the alkatronic test.

Overall... i am happy with my purchase. I picked the focustronic alkatronic over the Neptune’s trident not because it is better. I picked the alkatronic because I want to be less invested in Neptune’s apex system. I’m personally disappointed with Neptune’s. They cost basically the same at the end of a year. I work out of town so an alkalinity monitor is a peace of mind I’ve always wanted

I thought the Alkatronic has a pump with which you can program to dose additional alkalinity, which the Trident can't do

 

[SneakyTortuga]

I thought the Alkatronic has a pump with which you can program to dose additional alkalinity, which the Trident can't do

It does. You would have to buy a dose in addition to the trident to dose with the trident