Why so many Neptune Tridents for Sale?

[dank reefer]

BTW I don't see a V2 trident coming anytime in the next few years maybe 5.

I bet.
I'm sure they are working on their secret lights, and might take them another year or 2 before that gets released.

Maybe Ecotech Marine is working on one that will test/monitor what lacks on the Trident ;Bookworm

 

[Biokabe]

It's inevitably what happens when you have an in-demand item that's manufactured traditionally. I've seen the pattern repeat itself with basically every in-demand electronic device: There's an initial scarcity when the demand for the thing exceeds the conservative estimates that the manufacturer used to begin manufacturing. There's a continuing low-grade scarcity while the necessary molds, tools, etc., are produced to ramp up production levels. Finally, once the manufacturing process is optimized and the additional production lines come up to speed, the product is produced in large quantities and is readily available. It's less that there's now a glut of people selling them, and more that the supply of new Tridents is strong enough now that the used Tridents don't get instantly snatched up. Additionally, now that more people have the Trident, there will naturally be more people who decide to sell it for whatever reason.

Speaking for myself - I totally understand why someone would pass on a Trident, especially if you have a good testing schedule down and never have troubles keeping up with it. That is not me. I love my reef, and I have no problem putting the time into it when it needs it - but I am also an inherently forgetful person with an uncanny ability to let "tomorrow" turn into "six months from now" or "four years from now." The Trident keeps me abreast of any big or unusual changes going on with my water chemistry and clues me in when I need to investigate something and make sure that things are going well.

It's not necessary, of course. No one needs a Trident. But it sure makes things easier for some of us. =)

 

[Potatohead]

I think a big portion of it is people not wanting to send them into Neptune for maintenance. Sell your year old one and buy another one and probably avoid the downtime for roughly the same price, no?

Problem with Trident for me is four things:

a) ongoing reagent cost is a lot more than regular test reagents and the benefits are not proven at this point
b) 18 month or so maintenance
c) the cost is really high for something that currently takes me maybe ten minutes a week total, checking my alk 3-4 times a week.
d) I simply do not want to be that dependent on technology

 

[bsr2430]

I have a Trident and will never go back to Manual testing. Sorry, to lazy for that.

I found it out easy to get the reagents. Simply have the sites contact you when they’re back in stock. Right now I’m sitting on 2-6months and 1-2months reagent.
For people who don’t want to use it four times a day, why not set it to Manual and have it do it once a day for a cheaper cost?

 

[fishybizzness]

I think it might be easier to just check your alk once a day with a hanna checker, probably cheaper too. I feel that the Trident would be most beneficial for sps dominant tanks where the most stability is needed. I just can't see how it would be justified as needed for other types of setups. To me it's kinda like using a calcium reactor on a smaller mixed tank. You can do it but it's really not needed.

 

[fishybizzness]

Imo alot of people fell for the hype and are now realizing that they really didn't need one after all.

 

[Brett S]

I think it might be easier to just check your alk once a day with a hanna checker, probably cheaper too. I feel that the Trident would be most beneficial for sps dominant tanks where the most stability is needed. I just can't see how it would be justified as needed for other types of setups. To me it's kinda like using a calcium reactor on a smaller mixed tank. You can do it but it's really not needed.

Hanna is absolutely cheaper (especially if you count the cost of the trident itself) but not easier. With the trident you need to spend a few minutes replacing reagent once a month and that’s it. There is nothing else to do.

Imo alot of people fell for the hype and are now realizing that they really didn't need one after all.

Like I said before though, it‘s definitely not for everyone. It doesn’t do anything that you can’t do on your own with manual testing. It’s really for people who don’t want to do their own manual testing. If you’re a person who enjoys manual testing (or at least doesn’t mind manual testing) then the trident is probably not for you.

 

[dank reefer]

I think a big portion of it is people not wanting to send them into Neptune for maintenance. Sell your year old one and buy another one and probably avoid the downtime for roughly the same price, no?

Problem with Trident for me is four things:

a) ongoing reagent cost is a lot more than regular test reagents and the benefits are not proven at this point
b) 18 month or so maintenance
c) the cost is really high for something that currently takes me maybe ten minutes a week total, checking my alk 3-4 times a week.
d) I simply do not want to be that dependent on technology

That I am aware of Neptune's still has yet to release what the maintenance schedule is and cost.

Sell us a maintenance kit and let some of the more techie reefers perform it themselves. The unit would be out of warranty anyways, and I highly doubt that Neptune's would extend the warranty on the unit just because they serviced it.

 

[jrill]

I'm thinking some new and better auto testers are on the horizon. Maybe trident owners are thinking the same thing. Sell now before the market breaks wide open.

 

[jda]

I never used one, so take this with a grain of salt, but a few of my local friends are going to get rid of theirs because even though the do test more often, they were not going to do anything with those tests anyway. Their tanks are solid with CaRx and a weekly test is as good as a trident. One guy had his not test accurately some of the time. None of them would rely on the trident results to make a decision and turn something on or off, so what is the point? Basically, more tests not better than fewer and they had to test by hand to know if they trusted the thing.

I am probably putting words in their mouths, but it is almost like the provide a solution to a problem that did not exist for them.

It is almost like a pH monitor for most experienced people... why even bother knowing what it is since you are not likely going to do anything with it anyway... or ORP.

 

[rtparty]

Notice the actual trend here. Those chiming in that have them wouldn't give them up, those that have never owned one are all spitting reasons they wouldn't buy one. I am not worried about why someone wouldn't buy something or not find it useful. I am worried about those that DO have them and whether they love or hate them.

I have talked to far too many trusted hobbyists that have one and all say it's the best investment they have made. Especially if you are full of SPS.

The reason I want one? I absolutely HATE testing. I skip it all the time. I have so many other things to do that finding even 10 minutes to test (it is always 30-40 minutes for me) can be too much some weeks. Especially when work is 6 days a week for months on end. I am lucky to feed my tank every day, clean the glass weekly, empty the skimmer cup when needed and just other basic maintenance. Spending that 30-40 minutes on testing actually does get in the way.

 

[siggy]

One guy had his not test accurately some of the time. None of them would rely on the trident results to make a decision and turn something on or off, so what is the point?

How does an average person know his tank is solid? Dosing, coral growth, CO2 / Kalk running low, all good reasons for a probe or testing.
Someone said he can tell when a fish dies by watching ORP....although he sells the stuff

 

[fishybizzness]

Notice the actual trend here. Those chiming in that have them wouldn't give them up, those that have never owned one are all spitting reasons they wouldn't buy one. I am not worried about why someone wouldn't buy something or not find it useful. I am worried about those that DO have them and whether they love or hate them.

I have talked to far too many trusted hobbyists that have one and all say it's the best investment they have made. Especially if you are full of SPS.

The reason I want one? I absolutely HATE testing. I skip it all the time. I have so many other things to do that finding even 10 minutes to test (it is always 30-40 minutes for me) can be too much some weeks. Especially when work is 6 days a week for months on end. I am lucky to feed my tank every day, clean the glass weekly, empty the skimmer cup when needed and just other basic maintenance. Spending that 30-40 minutes on testing actually does get in the way.

Great points. As I mentioned earlier, it seems like it would be a great tool for sps dominant tanks. Also as you said, your work schedule makes any spare time you have very valuable.

 

[Oldreefer44]

Imo alot of people fell for the hype and are now realizing that they really didn't need one after all.

If people only bought what they needed then our economy would be 1/10th of what it is. One could argue that we dont "need" a reef tank. I consider myself simplistic in my approach to reefing but have found the Trident to be very useful as a tool for quickly checking where my parameters are trending.

 

[Billldg]

LOL, I have no plan on selling mine.

 

[GregOyeah]

I’m gonna get a lot of flack for saying this but the happy medium between the tridents too many tests/reagent issue and just manual testing with Hanna every day is the ALKATRONIC.

I can test twice, four times, eight times, a day. But I don’t care how many times at the end of the day because I make my own reagent and have a 5 gallon bucket full of it. The reagent dosing container is a 2L bottle. It’s set it and forget it. I calibrate it to my Hanna checker and recheck once every so often

 

[Roosterjack]

I love mine. Not a single complaint. Now if only that salinity probe worked as well..

 

[Dal-Reef]

Notice the actual trend here. Those chiming in that have them wouldn't give them up, those that have never owned one are all spitting reasons they wouldn't buy one. I am not worried about why someone wouldn't buy something or not find it useful. I am worried about those that DO have them and whether they love or hate them.

I have talked to far too many trusted hobbyists that have one and all say it's the best investment they have made. Especially if you are full of SPS.

The reason I want one? I absolutely HATE testing. I skip it all the time. I have so many other things to do that finding even 10 minutes to test (it is always 30-40 minutes for me) can be too much some weeks. Especially when work is 6 days a week for months on end. I am lucky to feed my tank every day, clean the glass weekly, empty the skimmer cup when needed and just other basic maintenance. Spending that 30-40 minutes on testing actually does get in the way.

Well said.. I love mine as well just to busy to test and nice to be able to log into Fusion and see what the tests show. I was watching Neptune live stream awhile back and won a Apex EL that I just gave to my buddy who did have an Apex. He also added a Trident and said it was the best thing he has bought for his tank in years.

 

[ReefBeta]

For what it worth, you can configure Trident to test however many times you want and at whatever time. I only have it to test alk once and combine once every day.

 

[bsr2430]

I love the fact that I said Manuel dose and no one told me about my spelling error. True friends here or people laughing behind my back.hahahahahaha

Sorry, Manual dosing!